Lauren Blas is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn where her practice focuses on class actions, labor and employment litigation, and complex commercial litigation in the trial courts and on appeal.
Lauren represents clients in class actions in state and federal court, including several class action trials. She has litigated a wide range of appellate matters as well. She has special expertise in employment class actions under California law (including PAGA) and federal law (including Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, USERRA, and the ADA). She also has extensive experience litigating class actions under California’s consumer protection statutes, including the Unfair Competition Law, the False Advertising Law, and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
Lauren has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and acknowledged by Lawdragon for her exceptional litigation skills, as a “Leading Litigator in America” and “Leading Corporate Employment Lawyer” with more than a decade of experience. Additionally, Lauren has also been named a “Rising Star” by Law360, recognized as “One to Watch” in Labor and Employment by The Best Lawyers in America®, and designated a “Rising Star” in Class Actions/Mass Torts and Appellate Litigation in Southern California by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Recent representative matters include:
- Defeated certification of a class of content moderators bringing claims for negligence under a joint-employment theory (Young v. Bytedance) and obtained complete defense verdict in related individual arbitration.
- Defeated certification of a class of employees bringing claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (Mahone v. Amazon).
- Obtained Ninth Circuit affirmance of dismissal of putative class action alleging disability discrimination against pharmacy customers (Smith v. Walgreens Boots Alliance).
- Defeated certification of a class of employees seeking reimbursement for home internet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic (Williams v. Amazon).
- Defeated certification in full of a class of printer owners bringing claims relating to the use of color ink in printing (Cepelak v. HP Inc.).
- Secured an order denying Rule 23(b)(2) and (b)(3) certification in a putative consumer class action challenging the accuracy of ad targeting (IMB v. Facebook, Inc.).
- Obtained complete grant of summary judgment for university client in employment arbitration involving defamation and related claims.
- Obtained favorable Ninth Circuit decision on an issue of first impression regarding the scope of a California statute relating to business and professional relationships (Judd v. Weinstein).
- Core member of the appellate team in New Jersey’s successful challenge to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act before the U.S. Supreme Court (Murphy v. NCAA).
Lauren also maintains an active pro bono practice, including filing amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and representing immigration clients in removal proceedings both in the immigration courts and on appeal. She also served as co-lead counsel in securing a six-figure damages award after a weeklong jury trial for a young man wounded by a rubber bullet while peacefully protesting in Los Angeles (Jones v. City of Los Angeles). For that work, The Daily Journal honored Lauren as a 2024 “California Lawyer of the Year.”
Before joining the firm, Lauren served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Lauren graduated from Yale Law School and holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and History from Yale, where she graduated with honors and distinction in both majors. While in law school, she served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan, now of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Lauren serves on the Firm’s Hiring, Well-Being, and Professional Development committees. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation, the ABA’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program in Los Angeles, USC/Gould’s Institute for Corporate Counsel, the Los Angeles chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and as a member of the amicus panel for the Civil Justice Association of California.
Capabilities
- Class Actions
- Appellate and Constitutional Law
- Betting and Gaming
- Consumer Protection
- FDA and Health Care
- Fashion, Retail, and Consumer Products
- Labor and Employment
- Litigation
- Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
- Tech and Innovation
- Technology Litigation
- Trials
Credentials
Education:
- Yale University - 2012 Juris Doctor
- Yale University - 2009 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar
- New York Bar
Clerkships:
- US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, Hon. Sandra S. Ikuta, 2012 - 2013