- Columbia University, (B.A., magna cum laude)
- Stanford Law School (J.D.)
Law Clerk to the Honorable Raymond C. Fisher, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
“Intelligent, articulate, and always well prepared. There isn’t anyone I would rather have representing me in trial.”
Steven Lamar, Beats by Dr. Dre Concept Creator & Founder, ROAM Audio
Named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California in 2022, one of the Top Women Lawyers in California in 2017 and 2021 and one of the Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers in California in 2018 by The Daily Journal and a Next Generation Leader in Tech Law by The Recorder (2018, ALM), Ms. Brook’s practice focuses on commercial litigation at every level, and ranges from two-party business and employment disputes to complex, multi-party and class action cases involving securities, contract, and intellectual property law. Ms. Brook is also well known for her work related to defamation.
Landmark Legal Work
In 2023, Ms. Brook and her co-lead counsel secured a historic $787.5 million settlement to resolve Dominion Voting System’s massive defamation lawsuit against Fox news Network, on the very day a jury trial was to commence in Delaware Superior Court. Ms. Brook and her team filed the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News Network on behalf of Dominion two years earlier over allegations that Fox made false statements that Dominion rigged the 2020 presidential election.
The milestone deal has made media waves, receiving coverage from The New York Times (who called the settlement, “the latest extraordinary twist in a case that has been full of remarkable disclosures”), The Washington Post (who called the matter, “one of the most highly-anticipated media trials in decades), Wall Street Journal (who said, “the case was set to test the contours of modern media law”). Ms. Brook spoke to the LA Times about the win and was interviewed on MSNBC: Deadline, Anderson Cooper 360, and CBS Mornings. She was also recognized as a Litigator of the Week by Law.com for the massive result.
Ms. Brook is prosecuting similar defamation claims on behalf of Dominion against Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, One America News Network (OAN) and Newsmax TV. In these cases, she and her team have already defeated every motion to dismiss filed by the defendants.
Ms. Brook has handed several other important defamation cases on behalf of well-known clients, including billionaire hedge fund founder Louis Bacon and the former CEO of Tinder, Greg Blatt. She has also been involved in several lawsuits related to the #metoo movement, all of which settled out of court or before trial.
Prior to her work on the Dominion cases, working pro bono work, Ms. Brook successfully represented Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in litigation brought to try and prevent the counting of every legally cast vote in the 2020 presidential election. Two of those cases were dismissed after Ms. Brook and her team filed motions to dismiss. A third case, brought by Donald Trump in Wisconsin against Governor Evers, was dismissed following a bench trial in which Ms. Brook and her team represented the Governor.
In 2018, Ms. Brook obtained a $25 million verdict for her client, Steve Lamar, after a three-week trial in LA Superior Court on his claims he was owed royalties from music moguls Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine on the sale of Beats Electronics headphones. Ms. Brook’s contributions to the case included a multi-day direct examination of leadoff witness Steve Lamar, and paving the way for trial by convincing the California Court of Appeal to reverse an earlier summary judgment order that had dismissed much of the case. Click here for a profile on Ms. Brook’s contribution to the case written by legal news publication, The Recorder.
In 2015, Ms. Brook was an integral part of a legal team that represented a class of 7,000 limited partners who invested in oil and gas limited partnerships and alleged that they voted to divest themselves of their partnership rights based on false and misleading statements and omissions in defendants’ proxy statements, losing millions in the process. After three years of hard-fought litigation, Ms. Brook’s team obtained a $37.5 million settlement for the class, with the class receiving $24.5 million).
Background & Dedication to the Community
In addition to her robust docket of cases, Ms. Brook actively participates in a range of legal and philanthropic organizations in Los Angeles and nationwide such as the Federal Bar Association, of which she is Board Member. During her time at Stanford Law School, Ms. Brook co-founded Building a Better Legal Profession, a national organization that promotes diversity within the legal profession by compiling and publishing data on law firms’ commitment to the retention and promotion of women and minority attorneys. Ms. Brook remains deeply committed to inclusiveness of women and people of color and promotes that commitment in her role as Co-Chairperson of Susman Godfrey’s Employment Committee.
Prior to joining Susman Godfrey, Ms. Brook served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Raymond C. Fisher in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Before law school, Ms. Brook worked at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, where she helped develop a groundbreaking program designed to engage students at Historically Black, Hispanic, and Christian Colleges in political activism. As an attorney, Ms. Brook regularly draws on her experience in grassroots political engagement to understand the needs of her clients and the points of view of opposing counsel, courts, and juries.
Ms. Brook is admitted to practice in California and the U.S. District Courts for the Central and Northern Districts of California.
Jibe Audio LLC et al. v. Pentagram Design Inc. et al. Obtained a $25 million verdict for her client, Steve Lamar, after a three -week trial in LA Superior Court on his claims he was owed royalties from music moguls Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine on the sale of Beats Electronics headphones. Ms. Brook played an instrumental role at trial; one of her most significant contributions was a multi-day direct examination of leadoff witness Steve Lamar. She also paved the way for the jury trial to happen after a key appellate argument in which she convinced the California Court of Appeal to reverse a summary judgment order against her client. More recently, Ms. Brook and her team were awarded another $9 million in attorney’s fees, plus an ongoing royalty on the Studio 3 headphone that is still in production.
Vaporstream Inc. v. Snap Inc. Represented Vaporstream Inc. in a lawsuit against Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. for patent infringement on a number of patents related to methods to reduce the traceability of electronic messages. Ms. Brook was instrumental in fending off Snapchat’s attempts to dismiss the case and shepherding it towards trial. The case was resolved in 2020, just before trial.
University Of Massachusetts Medical School And Carmel Laboratories, Llc v. L’oréal S.A. And L’oréal Usa, Inc. Representing University of Massachusetts in major patent lawsuit against L’Oreal. Allegations include using the University’s technology in over 100 of their most popular skin care products. Trial is expected in 2021.
US Dominion Inc. et al. v. Fox News Network LLC. Secured a historic $787.5 million settlement to resolve client, Dominion Voting System’s, massive defamation lawsuit against Fox news Network, just before jury trial was to commence in Delaware Superior Court. Ms. Brook represents Dominion in this milestone lawsuit against Fox News Network where Dominion accuses Fox News of making false claims that Dominion rigged the 2020 Presidential Election. Ms. Brook is prosecuting similar defamation claims on behalf of Dominion against Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, One America News Network (OAN) and Newsmax TV.
Bacon v. Nygard et al., Nygard Int’l Partnership v. Feralio et al., McKinney v. Bacon et al., Moore v. Bacon. Representing billionaire hedge fund founder, Louis Bacon, in a series of disputes involving billionaire fashion tycoon, Peter Nygard. These cases, which span the country, involve legal issues at the heart of many entertainment-related disputes including defamation claims and anti-SLAPP motions. Read more here.
Rosette Pambakian v. Gregory Blatt et al. Serving as counsel to former Tinder CEO Greg Blatt regarding allegations that a former Tinder marketing executive was unlawfully fired after she was sexually harassed. Mr. Blatt counter-sued for defamation, which was challenged via an anti-SLAPP motion. Ms. Brook secured a ruling that Mr. Blatt could move forward with his defamation claims.
Various #metoo Related Suits. Ms. Brook has served as counsel in several #metoo related lawsuits, all of which settled out of court or before trial.
Jane Doe v. MindGeek USA Incorporated et al. Filed a class action against PornHub parent company, MindGeek, alleging MindGeek has violated federal sex trafficking and child pornography laws by knowingly posting, enabling the posting of and profiting from thousands of pornographic videos featuring persons under the age of 18. The case is in the early stages.
Johnson, et al., v. Zillow; Rachel Kremer v. Zillow; Jennifer Young v. Zillow; Ashley Boehler and James Friedrich v. Zillow. Represented Zillow in various employment matters, including a class action claiming unpaid overtime. Ms. Brook coordinated the defense of the company in response to various disputes brought by nearly a dozen former employees in federal court. Ms. Brook managed all stages of the litigation and secured several key victories for Zillow. Read more here.
Schulein, et al. v. Petroleum Development Corp., et al. Represented a class of more than 7,000 limited partners who invested in 12 oil and gas limited partnerships. Plaintiffs alleged the defendants made false and misleading statements and omitted material information regarding the value of the assets held by the partnerships in proxy statements used to solicit votes in favor of mergers that caused the investors to be cashed out of their investments. On the eve of trial, the case was settled for $37.5 million, with the class receiving approximately $24 million.
Tyler Bowyer et. al. v. Doug Ducey, et al. and Trump v. The Wisconsin Elections Commission, et al. Working pro bono, Ms. Brook successfully represented Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in litigation brought to try and prevent the counting of every vote cast in the 2020 presidential election. The two cases brought by a team of lawyers led by Sydney Powell (one in AZ and one in WI) were dismissed after Ms. Brook and her team filed a motion to dismiss.
William Feehan And Derrick Van Orden v. Wisconsin Elections Commission. Defended the Wisconsin Elections Commission in case brought by former president Donald Trump in Wisconsin against Governor Evers. Ms Brook took the matter to a one-day bench trial during which she defended the Governor against Mr. Trump’s claims of voter fraud. After hearing the evidence and argument, the judge rejected the case on the merits and dismissed it. The dismissal followed earlier attempts by Mr. Trump to have cases heard as original actions in the WI Supreme Court, all of which were rejected.
Litigator of the Week, Law.com (2023, ALM)
Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator (2022)
Top 100 Lawyer, Daily Journal (2022, Daily Journal Corp)
Future Star, Benchmark Litigation (2022, 2023 Euromoney)
Top Woman Lawyer, Daily Journal (2021, 2017, Daily Journal Corp)
Lawdragon Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer (2020, 2021, 2022)
Featured in California Super Lawyers Spring 2019 Issue – Discovery Q&A with Davida Brook (Thompson Reuters)
Rising Star, General Commercial Disputes, The Legal 500 (2019)
Next Generation Woman Leader in Tech Law, The Recorder (2018, ALM)
Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in California, Daily Journal (2018, Daily Journal Corp.)
Rising Star, Super Lawyers Southern California (Thomson Reuters, 2016-2022)
Stanford Law and Policy Review, Member and Editor
Stanford Public Interest Fellow
Phi Beta Kappa Society
State Bar of California
Board of Directors, Building a Better Legal Profession
Co-author and editor, Building a Better Legal Profession’s Guide to Law Firms