Angela Agrusa is a spectacular litigator. She is strategic and always has an eye to endgame and what's best for her clients.
— The Legal 500 United States, 2023
United States
Angela C. Agrusa
PartnerManaging Partner, Los Angeles office
Co-Chair, Food and Beverage subsector
Co-Chair, US Product Liability, Mass Torts & Class Actions Litigation Group
Member of DLA Piper's Executive Committee
Co-Chair, Food and Beverage subsector
Co-Chair, US Product Liability, Mass Torts & Class Actions Litigation Group
Member of DLA Piper's Executive Committee
Angela and her team are strategic and aggressive client advocates.
About
Angela Agrusa is an experienced trial lawyer concentrating in reputational defense. She and her team have successfully defended corporations and celebrities against courtroom allegations in some of the most high-profile cases filed across the country.
Angela understands that reputational integrity is critical to a brand. As a trial attorney, she obtains winning verdicts and defeats cases in their nascent stages. In the last five years alone, she has successfully defended brand holders in over 50 putative class actions with combined potential exposure of more than US$100 billion. She often works with clients to find administrative or legislative solutions in addressing multi party and class litigation.
Areas of FocusConsumer Goods, Food and RetailFood and BeverageMedia, Sport and EntertainmentIntellectual PropertyLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationsBusiness and Commercial Litigation
Bar admissionsCalifornia
Litigator of the Year
— Los Angeles Business Journal, 2019
EXPERIENCE
- Leading the defense of Danone in first of its kind lawsuit attempting to hold big corporations, such as Danone, The Clorox Company, Proctor & Gamble, PepsiCo, and others, responsible for plastic pollution
- As lead counsel to WhiteWave Foods in multi-district class actions with over US$550 million of potential damages at stake, led in negotiating a settlement that preserved the client's ability to continue making its label claims
- As lead trial counsel for investors in a highly publicized lawsuit against the State of California over a US$2.3 billion sales contract entered into by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Angela negotiated a US$24 million settlement from the state after two months of trial
- As lead counsel to Hilton Hotels, winning the dismissal of two nationwide privacy actions filed in California seeking statutory penalties aggregating hundreds of millions of dollars
- As lead counsel to The Cosmopolitan Hotel of Las Vegas, settling a privacy class action filed in California with over US$2 billion in damages at stake, for US$14.5 million
- Defending NeuroBrands when the company was faced with investigation by the City of Los Angeles and City of Santa Monica, with over US$150 million in exposure for alleged 0 advertising, and arriving at a settlement that protected the popular brand's rights to bring new products to the marketplace and to advertise them
- Defending Exxon Corporation for 10 years as a principal trial lawyer in three antitrust crude oil pricing actions brought by the State of California and City of Long Beach, with over US$750 million in alleged damages at stake in each trial. The months-long trials resulted in defense verdicts for all three matters
- Lead counsel to Peter Frampton in a trademark infringement dispute brought against Billabong International which ended in a confidential monetary settlement for the rock star
- Lead California counsel to Corning, the shareholder of a large manufacturer of breast implants, in over 1,000 California actions, winning summary judgment that defeated direct liability claims and corporate liability allegations
Education
- B.B.A., Loyola Law School Los Angeles
cum laude - B.B.A., University of California at Los Angeles
Awards
Chambers USA
- Band 4, California Litigation: General Commercial (2023 – 2024)
The Legal 500 United States
- Recommended, General Commercial Disputes (2022 – 2024)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions: Toxic Tort - Defense (2023 – 2024)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Automotive/Transport (2024)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices - Defense (2024)
- Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Consumer Products (including Tobacco) (2019, 2022 – 2024)
Additional Recognitions
- Named to the Daily Journal's 2023 Top 100 Lawyers list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2023 Top 100 Lawyers list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2023 LA500 (most influential business leader in LA) list
- Named to the Daily Journal’s 2022 Top Women Lawyers list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2022 Top 100 Lawyers list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2022 LA500 list
- Named to the American Lawyer’s 2022 Trailblazers: West list
- Named to the Daily Journal’s 2022 Top 100 Lawyers list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2021 Women of Influence: Attorneys list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2021 LA500 list
- Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2020 Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers list
- Los Angeles Business Journal: Leaders of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers (2020)
- The Recorder's California Trailblazers (2019)
- The Los Angeles Business Journal honored her as Los Angeles' Litigator of the Year (2019)
- Los Angeles Business Journal's Most Influential Women Attorneys (2018-2019)
- Century City Bar Association - Trial Lawyer of the Year (2019)
- Los Angeles Business Journal Top Litigators and Trial Lawyers (2018-2019)
- Super Lawyers - Top List Achievement (2017)
- Los Angeles Daily Journal's Top 100 Lawyers in California (2017)
- Top Entertainment Attorney, Variety's Legal Impact Report (2017)
- Los Angeles Daily Journal's Top Women Lawyers in California (2014-2018)
- Southern California Super Lawyers - Top 100 (2007-2018)
- Southern California Super Lawyers - Top 50 Woman (2007-2018)
- Best of Los Angeles Women's Business Award (2012)
- The Los Angeles Daily Journal consistently names her among the "Top Women Lawyers" in California
- Los Angeles Magazine consistently ranks her as a "Top 100 Lawyer"
Seminars
- "Food Marketing Claims: Menu Labeling; Health Related; Nutrient Content; Caloric Content," CLE international's Understanding This Rapidly Evolving Area of Food Law Conference, March 18, 2016
- "Social Entrepreneurship in the Food Sector: Is the Law a Barrier to Innovation?," UCLA School of Law: Innovation Round Table, March 8, 2016
- "Dissecting the Class Certification Requirement of Commonality - What Guidance Can You Glean From The Tyson Foods Supreme Court Case?," American Conference Institute's 4th Annual Summit on Defending Food & Beverage Consumer Fraud Litigation, January 26, 2016
- "Hot Topics in Food Litigation - How to Avoid Pitfalls That Could Lead to Costly Litigation," American Conference Institute's FDA & USDA Boot Camp, September 28, 2015
- "Labeling Litigation and Navigating Class Actions," Omics Group Conferences 2nd International Conference and Exhibition on Food Processing & Technology, October 28, 2013
- "The Explosion of Litigation and Enforcement in the Food & Beverage Industry - How Non-Compliance Can Lead to Costly Litigation and How to Minimize Risks," American Conference Institute's 2nd Annual FDA & USDA Compliance Boot Camp, October 1, 2013
- "The California Update: Class Actions," Nutrition Industry Association 2013 Spring Forum, May 30, 2013
- "The California Update: Class Actions," Nutrition Industry Association Fall Conference 2012, November 2, 2012
Media Mentions
- Featured, "NY Judge Consolidates Nurture Baby Food Heavy Metal Suits," Law360, September 2, 2021
- Featured, "DLA Piper Picks Up LA Dentons Litigator And Team," Law360, March 19, 2021
- Featured, "DLA Piper Continues West Coast Expansion With Dentons Products Liability Team," Law.com, March 17, 2021
Latest insights
Connect
Phone
+1 310 500 3591
(Work, Los Angeles)
