Law360, New York (September 11, 2013, 3:31 PM ET) -- Mary-Christine (M.C.) Sungaila is an appellate partner in Snell & Wilmer's Orange County/Los Angeles office. She has consistently briefed and argued cutting-edge appeals that raise core business issues — in 2013, for example, she has two merits cases pending before the California Supreme Court —- and has helped secure important rights for women and girls, nationally and internationally. Twice named as a “Notable Appellate Practitioner” by Chambers USA (one of only six individually ranked appellate lawyers in California), she is described by clients in one Chambers listing as a “gifted appellate lawyer who consistently delivers bottom line results.”

In 2012 alone, Sungaila contributed to a range of influential cases in California and across the nation, helping to preserve the attorney client privilege, extend the assumption of the risk doctrine, limit the reach of class actions and securities laws, and prevent compelled speech under the First Amendment. She has received widespread recognition for her work, including being named one of 40 "Women Leaders in the Law" in California by The Recorder, and one of California's Top Women Lawyers by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals. She chairs the Amicus Curiae and Appellate Practice Committees of the International Association of Defense Counsel, and holds appointed positions to corresponding committees of the ABA.

Originally published in Law360, New York (September 11, 2013, 3:31 PM ET).