Cyndie M. Chang
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
Suite 3100
865 South Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017-5450
USA

Phone: +1 213 689 7432
Fax: +1 213 403 5937
Email: cmchang@duanemorris.com

Cyndie M. Chang litigates complex business and commercial disputes involving contracts, unfair competition, trademark, trade secrets, products liability, entertainment and real estate law. Ms. Chang is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker. In addition, she has handled insurance matters involving large, multimillion-dollar environmental, asbestos and toxic tort continuing injury claims.

Ms. Chang has represented many businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, and has obtained favorable results in trial and arbitration. Recently, Ms. Chang was named the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association ("NAPABA") 2010 "Best Lawyers under 40," awarded to 20 lawyers across the country. She was also named a 2010 and 2011 "Rising Star" in Los Angeles Magazine's Super Lawyer Rising Star section, given to no more than 2.5% of attorneys in the state.

Currently, she is the Regional Governor of NAPABA for the Central District, Los Angeles, which encompasses ten minority interest bar organizations in Southern California. She is also the Executive Vice-President of the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association ("SCCLA"). Ms. Chang has also participated in the American Bar Association's Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section ("TIPS") 2010 Leadership Academy, selected with a group of approximately 20 lawyers in the nation identified to be emerging bar leaders. Further, Ms. Chang has been appointed as the Vice-Chair of the ABA-TIPS Business Litigation Committee and a member of the Standing Committee on Diversity in the Profession. In addition, she is her firm's office Pro Bono Coordinator and a Fellow to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity ("LCLD"). Ms. Chang previously served on the boards of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles ("APABA"), the Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine Editorial Board and the State Bar Committee on Women in the Law. She also has continued involvement with the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles and the Southern California Business Litigation American Inn of Court. Ms. Chang has also been featured in the Los Angeles Business Journal, the Daily Journal and other legal publications.

Ms. Chang previously served as judicial extern to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ms. Chang is a graduate of Loyola Law School, where she was a published Note and Comment Editor for the Entertainment Law Review, the Student Editor of the ABA Student Lawyer national magazine and a member of the National Moot Court Team and Scott Moot Court Honors Board. She previously was a member of the ABA Law Student Division Board of Governors, a liaison to the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession and an elected officer of the Loyola Student Bar Association. Further, Ms. Chang is a graduate, with honors, of Johns Hopkins University and was awarded the Senior Leadership Award for her class and the Multicultural Student Affairs Award. She was elected into the academic honor societies of Pi Sigma Alpha for Political Science, Psi Chi for Psychology, and the Order of Omega. Ms. Chang served as the chair of the Inter-Asian Council, chair of Asian Awareness Month, and the convocation speaker for Black History Month. She also obtained the National Leadership Award in her sorority and the Louis Azrael Fellowship for writing excellence.

In the community, Ms. Chang serves on the Board of Directors for the Asian Pacific Community Fund ("APCF"), a non-profit organization that supports Asian Pacific Islander communities in need and generates funding for 29 affiliate agencies in Southern California.

Representative Matters

• Obtained decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that affirmed a district court's decision to grant the request by an excess liability insurer to remand its declaratory judgment action to state court and to dismiss pursuant to the Colorado River doctrine a damages action brought against the insurer because a parallel state court proceeding was pending. R.R. Street & Co. Inc. v. Transport Insurance Co., 656 F.3d. 966 (9th Cir. Sept. 2, 2011).
• Counsel for lead party in a multimillion-dollar environmental coverage action arising from perchloroethylene ("PCE") contamination. Briefings addressed novel issues under California law regarding coverage for the settlement of punitive damage claims and an excess insurer's duty to defend.
• Obtained a verdict following an eight-day jury trial in favor of our client Starpoint USA, Inc. d/b/a Daewoo Motor America, Inc., a former corporate subsidiary of defendant Daewoo Motor Co., Ltd. (Daewoo Korea), in its action seeking defense and indemnity for products liability pursuant to the parties' agreement.
• Representation of corporations, including publicly traded companies and Fortune 500 companies, in contract, indemnity, licensing, trade secret and commercial lease disputes.
• Representation of national restaurant chains in local commercial litigation disputes; Prevailed at binding arbitration on behalf of national fast food chain against a $8.6 million claim for damages. See West's Trial Digest, 2 TD 13th 25.
• Representation of major oil company in eminent domain matters.
• Representation of companies in environmental liability disputes.
• Representation of insurance companies in complex coverage claims arising out of environmental contamination and/or product injuries against manufacturers and distributors.

Admissions

• California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Education

• Loyola Law School Los Angeles, J.D., 2003
• The Johns Hopkins University, B.A., with honors, 2000

Honors and Awards

• Named National Asian Pacific American Bar Association ("NAPABA") 2010 "Best Lawyers under 40"
• Named a "Rising Star" in Los Angeles Magazine's Super Lawyer Rising Star section, 2010, 2011
• Graduate of the American Bar Association's Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section ("TIPS") Leadership Academy, 2010
• Graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel ("IADC") Trial Academy
• Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association ("SCCLA"), President's Award for outstanding service and commitment to SCCLA
• Scott Moot Court Honors Board, Top Ten Brief
• Women Lawyers of Long Beach, Scholarship Recipient
• Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, Scholarship Recipient

Selected Publications

• "Exploring Internet Privacy Through Cable Broadband Struggles; ISPs Walk a Fine Line Between Privacy and Security," Loyola Entertainment Law Review

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Co-Moderator and Co-Chair, "Action for Lawyers II" workshop, 23rd Annual NAPABA Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, November 2011
• Co-Moderator and Co-Chair, "Acting for Lawyers" workshop, 22nd Annual NAPABA Convention INSPIRE, Los Angeles, California, November 2010
• Panelist, Duane Morris Annual Retreat, "Examples of Successful Marketing," Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2010
• Panelist, Duane Morris Diversity Retreat, "Balancing Responsibilities: Are Law Firms Doing Enough to Promote/Recruit Lawyers of Color to Partnership? How Can Corporate America Help?" Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 2009
• Panelist, Duane Morris Annual Retreat, Insurance Practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2008
• Speaker, Duane Morris Diversity Retreat, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 2008
• Speaker, Career Workshop, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California, January 2008
• Moderator and Chair, "Phoenix Rising," full day CLE program presented by the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association, Loyola Law School, October 2007
• Panelist, Duane Morris Annual Retreat, Marketing and Business Development Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2007
• Panelist, Duane Morris Diversity Retreat, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 2007
• Presenter, "Pellicano: How Do You Hire and Supervise Private Detectives, and What Happens When Things Go Wrong?" MCLE presentation for the Southern California Business Litigation Inn of Court, Los Angeles, California, October 2006 - Received Circle of Excellence Award from the American Inns of Court for placing second in Top Programs of 2007