William Audet
J.D., LL.M., LL.D. (h.c.)Attorney William M. Audet has been practicing law for over thirty years and prosecuting complex individual and class action case in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In recognition of his experience and dedication to his clients, Mr. Audet has been appointed to leadership roles in dozens of significant MDL, federal and state cases. Mr. Audet is the founding partner of Audet & Partners, LLP, a San Francisco based law firm with cases filed in state and federal courts in almost every state in the United States.
EDUCATION CLERKSHIP AND DEGREES
After graduating from UC Davis, Mr. Audet earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) (with highest honors) from Golden Gate University School of Law in 1984, where he was the Editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review and the student commencement speaker. In 1987, Mr. Audet obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. During his three years at the University of Wisconsin, he taught civil procedure and civil rights as a clinical professor and worked full time at the law school’s LAIP inmate legal services program as a supervising attorney to law students at the clinic.
After completing his LL.M., in 1987 Mr. Audet was hired as a staff attorney at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In 1988, he served as the first Law Clerk to the Honorable Fern M. Smith, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and in 1989, as the last Law Clerk to the Honorable Alfonso J. Zirpoli, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In 2013, Mr. Audet was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law (LL.D., h.c.) degree from the Golden Gate University School of Law in recognition of his significant contributions to the legal community and the law school itself.
APOINTMENTS AND NOTEWORTHY CASES
Mr. Audet has been appointed to leadership roles in dozens of significant MDL, federal and state cases, including: In re Pet Food Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1850 (D.N.J.) (Co-Lead Counsel)(first of its kind class action settlement relating to recognition of certain claims by pet owners and providing for multinational (U.S.A. and Canada) resolution of the claims); In re Zyprexa Product Liability Litigation, E.D.N.Y., MDL No. 1596 (Co-Lead, Chairperson of the Executive Committee); In re Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, N.D. Cal. (San Francisco), MDL No. 1699 (Executive Committee); Loretz v. Regal Stone, Ltd., No. 07-cv-05800-SC (N.D. Cal.) [the Cosco Busan case], (Co-Lead counsel with the Cotchett, Pitre firm); Postier v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp, No. 09-cv- 03290-JCS, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86372 (N.D. Cal.)(Sole class counsel); In re PRK/Lasik Consumer Litigation, Santa Clara Superior Court, Master File No. CV- 772894 (Lead Counsel). Mr. Audet has also served as leadership in a number of groundbreaking cases involving privacy rights, including, In re Apple iPhone 4 Prods. Liab. Litig., No. 5:10-md-2188-RMW (N.D. Cal.); In re iPhone Application Litig., No. 11-MD-02250-LHK (N.D. Cal.).
Over the years, Mr. Audet has been instrumental in crafting creative settlements resulting in significant recoveries for class members despite the apparent lack of assets by the initial defendants. See, e.g. United Desert Charities v. Flushmate, No. 2:12-cv-06878-SJO-SH (C.D. Cal. Aug. 25, 2014) (firm retained insurance counsel to achieve an $18 million settlement, with potentially more if certain thresholds met, with payments over 3-year period allowing for immediate repairs); Richison v. American Cemwood Corp., No. 005532 (Cal. Super. 2002) (obtained a successor in interest right to proceed against the insurance carrier for underlying damages and bad faith, multimillion dollar settlement on eve of trial); Galanti, et al. v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. 03209 (D.N.J.) (SRC) (mediated by Layne Philips, a settlement fund of $236 million, plus an additional $40 million tied to Goodyear’s future performance, was achieved).
In 2014, Mr. Audet and his Mexican co-counsel filed the first major class action case in Mexico under a then recently passed class action legislation, seeking damages and other relief for Mexico-based fisherman and businesses impacted by the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Elidio Capela Vela, et al, v. BP, et al, case #717/2012 (8th District). The case was recently certified by the trial to proceed as a class action, a first of its kind under the new law. The case has been subject to numerous appellate and ampere challenges by BP.
PUBLICATIONS, RECOGNITIONS & CHARITABLE WORK
Over the past twenty years, Mr. Audet and his co-author have published a primer for law practitioners entitled Handling Federal Discovery, Audet & Fanady (James Publishing) (now in its 20th edition). In addition, Mr. Audet authored and published a brochure summarizing the Mexican Class Action procedures in both English and Spanish that has been distributed to the federal bench and Federal practitioners in Mexico City, Mexico.
In 2005, Mr. Audet was named as the “Champion of Justice” by the Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) for his longstanding contribution to the legal community and his pro bono activities in San Francisco. For three years, Mr. Audet also served as a voting member of the BASF’s judicial review committee. Mr. Audet recently finished the first of two courses required to serve as a pro tem judge in San Francisco Superior Court. Mr. Audet has been repeatedly named as a “Super Lawyer” and “Top Attorney” for the Northern District of California for class actions and mass torts. He has been frequently quoted in regional and national legal and general press articles and has appeared on CNN and other news stations regarding his cases.
Mr. Audet and his firm have made significant financial contributions to various legal aid organizations, including the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco – Employment Law Center, the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, BASF and Golden Gate University School of Law. In 2009, Mr. Audet and his family established and continues to solely sponsor a non-profit organization based in Baja, Mexico (“Little Shoes of Light”) that provides shoes, educational material and food to needy families (mostly single mothers with children).
Mark Burton
JDMark Burton is of Counsel to Audet & Partners. He graduated in 1995 with a Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University School of Law, where he was an associate editor of the Golden Gate University Law Review. During law school he clerked for the San Francisco Superior Court and practiced as a certified law clerk at the Contra Costa Public Defenders Office. Mr. Burton’s practice focuses on complex litigation, including class and non-class action claims involving mass torts, product liability, personal injury, employment claims and consumer class actions. He successfully tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts in a variety of matters and is as a Super Lawyer every year since 2008.
David Kuang
JD“David” Ling Y. Kuang graduated with a B.A. in Political Science, Minor in Economics, from University of California, Davis and later earned a J.D. from Golden Gate University, School of Law in 2013. He focuses his practice on the prosecution of class actions and other complex matters in both California state courts and federal courts throughout the United States. His work has earned him numerous accolades including recognition as a top attorney by SuperLawyers® (selection onto their 2019 Rising Stars list, an honor reserved for top 2.5% of attorneys in the state). Representative case work includes being part of a trial team that sought, on behalf of a class of insurance purchasers, restitution in excess of $100M dollars, pursuing actions against Fortune 100 companies for product defects, and safeguarding privacy and consumer data protection in suits against Silicon Valley scions. His experience prior to joining Audet & Partners include, among others, gaining a wide breadth of judicial insight working with Associate Justice Nathan D. Mihara in the California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District; and further expanding his experience on the international stage, having clerked for the Honorable Sharon D. Melloy in the Hong Kong District Courts.
Michael McShane
JDMichael McShane earned his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California at Santa Barbara, before earning his Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon, where he was the Articles Editor for the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation. A member of the California State Bar since 1987, during the last thirty years Mr. McShane’s practice has been devoted exclusively to prosecuting complex class action litigation throughout the United States. Michael McShane has served as class counsel and lead counsel in dozens of cases during his career, primarily in Federal District Courts and usually in Multi-District Litigation (MDL) proceedings. He is a member of the bars of the California Supreme Court, United States Supreme Court and has been admitted to practice in many Federal District Courts and Courts of Appeal. Mr. McShane has represented millions of class members and recovered well over a billion dollars on their behalf. His areas of practice include products liability involving defective roofing, siding and plumbing, consumer claims, antitrust litigation, insurance fraud and medical/pharmaceutical overcharge cases.
Thom Smith
JDThom E. Smith received his B.A. degree in English from Louisiana State University in 1990. In 1993, Mr. Smith was awarded a J.D. from Boston College School of Law and was thereafter admitted to the bar in Massachusetts, Louisiana, and California. Since 1995, Mr. Smith’s practice has primarily been in product liability and mass tort litigation. At Audet & Partners, LLP, as mass tort case coordinator, Mr. Smith focuses his work on the organization and administration of litigation, settlement, and claim processing of defective pharmaceutical and medical device cases involving Transvaginal Mesh, Plavix, and Granuflo.