Zathrina Zasell G. Perez

Zathrina Perez is Of Counsel in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She currently practices in the firm’s Litigation Department. She focuses her practice on business litigation, government contract matters, and the representation of clients in conjunction with sports law matters.

Zathrina has extensive experience in both federal and state court. She has tried multiple cases to a judgment, both jury and bench trials. She also frequently litigates in arbitrations and has appeared before JAMS, AAA, and other major international and national arbitration providers.

Zathrina’s business litigation matters have included class actions, breach-of-contract actions, and lawsuits asserting business torts, including unfair competition, tortious interference and breaches of fiduciary duty. Zathrina’s government contract matters have included representing global companies in connection with government procurements and other types of solications as well as government contract disputes.

With respect to her sports practice, Zathrina has represented elite athletes and coaches, top teams, major sports leagues, players associations, and corporate sponsors. She has tried cases within the dispute resolution systems internal to major professional leagues and the NCAA as well as within the U.S. arbitral system for Olympic movement sport and the International Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS).

Zathrina’s representative matters include:

Business Litigation and Government Contract Matters

• Representing Deutsche Bank in obtaining a complete victory involving class action claims of fraud and violations of Missouri mortgage loan statutes with an exposure of over $400 million.
• Representing Toyota in connection with regulatory matters and business disputes.
• Representing SDG&E in connection with its successful bids for the City of San Diego’s gas and electric franchises.
• Representing Maximus in defending against a lawsuit arising from its contract with the California Public Utilities Commission regarding the California LifeLine program and seeking more than $20 million.
• Representing Duty Free Shops (DFS) in multiple cases challenging a soliciation and contract award to a competitor, including several civil actions before the Superior Court of Guam and in an international arbitration.

Sports Matters

• Representing Nike in sponsorship disputes and litigation in Olympic movement and professional sports.
• Representing LIV Golf in connection with anti-doping policies and player rules.
• Representing AmericaOne Racing and other participants in world-class, high-performance sailing in a contract-based action brought by the National Governing Body for U.S. Olympic sailing.
• Representing Nike in matters involving the Oregon Project, Nike’s elite running program.
• Representing Alberto Salazar in connection with anti-doping claims brought by USADA.
• Representing the World Surfing League in connection with anti-doping policies.
• Representing D1 student-athletes in connection with NCAA drug-testing policies.
• Advising in connection with due diligence relating to a major e-sports company.
• Representing Richard Sherman in his successful appeal of a suspension arising from a purported violation of the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy.
• Representing Josh Gordon in connection with matters arising from the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
• Drafting and advising on the implementation of anti-doping regulations for major sports leagues.
• Advising in connection with the formation of new sports leagues.

Zathrina received her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude in 2009 from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. While at Georgetown, she interned for the Honorable Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Zathrina graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a major in International Economics and a minor in Political Science.

Zathrina is admitted to practice law in the State of California.