Biography

Sushila Chanana, a high-stakes technology litigator, co-leads Farella Braun + Martel’s Platforms Initiative and Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice.

She represents companies in general business litigation and IP matters, including trademark, copyright, trade secrets, patent, and privacy disputes. Sushila also advises companies on rapidly evolving areas of law, including data scraping, brand protection, data monetization, and anti-hacking. Her clients, which range from startups to Fortune 100 companies, routinely rely on her advocacy at both the trial and appellate levels. While she is prepared to take a case through trial, Sushila aggressively works to help clients resolve cases early on. Sushila has also represented amici curiae in various U.S. Supreme Court cases. 

Additionally, Sushila counsels companies on compliance with data privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). She is routinely invited to speak at conferences on these topics – and others, including AI.

Sushila has served as pro bono counsel for indigent clients in asylum and domestic violence matters.

Prior to embarking on a legal career, she was a cybersecurity consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She served as a U.S. Supreme Court Legal News Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Member, Executive Committee, Cybersecurity and Privacy Section, Bar Association of San Francisco (2022-present)
  • 2020 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow

Firm Highlights

Publication

California Attorney General Announces Enforcement Sweep of Mobile Applications

Shortly before Privacy Day, California Attorney General (Cal AG) Rob Bonta  announced  a California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) enforcement sweep that targeted mobile applications. The sweep focused on popular apps in the retail, travel...

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Publication

Fair Use Question Goes to Trial in AI Copyright Lawsuit – Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence

On September 25, 2023, a United States Circuit Judge determined that fact questions surrounding issues of fair use and tortious interference required a jury to decide media conglomerate Thomson Reuters’s lawsuit against Ross Intelligence...

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Event

The New Frontier AI Legal Issues for In-House Counsel

Sushila Chanana is a panelist for the session, "The New Frontier AI Legal Issues for In-House Counsel,"   at the Bar Association of San Francisco's In-House Counsel Conference 2024. To register for the event, please click ...

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Publication

California Proposes New AI & Automated Decision-Making Technology Regulations

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) released its draft  regulatory framework for automated decision-making technology (ADMT) on November 27. These regulations are a preview of what new requirements may look like for companies currently...

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Publication

Enforcement of CPRA Regulations Delayed

Shortly before the California Privacy Right Act (CPRA) modifications to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) were set to become enforceable on July 1, 2023, a Sacramento Superior Court judge issued a ruling on...

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Publication

Top 5 Privacy Cases To Watch, From Chatbots to Geolocation

Litigation — and threats of litigation — related to privacy law violations have been on the rise recently. While some judges have pushed back on the theories set forth by plaintiffs, new privacy lawsuits...

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