William R. Sears

Will is a partner in Quinn Emanuel's Los Angeles office with a distinctive practice spanning antitrust, competition, and class action litigation. His significant experience on "both sides of the V" gives him unparalleled insight into plaintiff strategies and how to defeat them—making him particularly effective at defending companies against complex commercial litigation.

On the defense side, Will provides strategic counsel to Fortune 500 companies navigating their most challenging antitrust and regulatory matters. He recently defeated class certification for a major technology company in a privacy class action in the Northern District of California. Will has substantial experience defending companies in competition matters across multiple jurisdictions. For example, he currently represents a Chinese consumer products manufacturer in a series of antitrust class actions and recently represented a company in the life sciences space in complex, multi-jurisdictional non-compete litigation. Will has particular depth in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors, having represented pharmaceutical companies in both antitrust litigation and False Claims Act investigations. Additionally, he has obtained complete dismissals of antitrust claims against a pharmaceutical company, a sports organization, a music streaming company, and an international salmon producer, and has substantial experience successfully defending companies through the full litigation lifecycle.

Will's extensive plaintiff-side experience—including multiple 8-, 9-, and 10-figure recoveries—provides defense clients with a crucial competitive advantage. Having secured two record-setting settlements over $1 billion, including in In re Credit Default Swaps Antitrust Litigation and in In re Dell Class V Shareholder Litigation, and currently representing a proposed class against Ticketmaster/Live Nation, Will leverages his deep understanding of how plaintiffs build their cases, value their claims, and approach settlement negotiations. This dual perspective enables him to anticipate plaintiff strategies, identify weaknesses in their theories, and develop more effective defense strategies from the outset.

A former college debate coach with deep courtroom experience, Will has tried cases in both state and federal courts and argued dozens of motions nationwide. His cross-border litigation experience includes coordinating multi-jurisdictional enforcement matters and advising international clients on U.S. antitrust compliance. Clients have praised his "exceptional" execution and management, and a partner at another firm recently called Will "definitely one of the Top 3 cross-examiners/depo takers I've ever seen." For his achievements, Will was recognized as one of Law360's "Rising Stars" in 2023, one of the Daily Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers” in 2023, and a Lawdragon 500 “Next Generation” Antitrust and Class Action Lawyer in 2023 and 2024.

Will rejoined Quinn Emanuel in 2017 following a clerkship for the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He previously worked in the firm's New York office. Will graduated from Columbia Law School, where he was James Kent Scholar, won the Greenbaum prize for best oralist in the school's Harlan Fiske Stone moot court competition, and served as Senior Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.