Carolyn Beasley
Named one of the best lawyers in the Bay Area by California Lawyer Magazine, Carolyn has an active practice wherein she represents clients in a wide variety of substantive areas including employment law, misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark law, intellectual property, and general business contracting/negotiation.

Carolyn began her legal career trying criminal cases on behalf of the federal government with the US Attorney’s Office before joining Morrison & Foerster’s litigation department where she tried civil cases. In 2000, she moved to the intellectual property group at Brobeck, Phleger, and Harrison where she prosecuted trademark applications, developed branding strategies for her clients, and protected their intellectual property rights.

In 2006, after having spearheaded various class action cases against Wal-Mart, Carolyn was appointed by a federal judge to serve as Co-Lead counsel in employment class actions pending against Wal-Mart in over thirty states across the nation, and also served as Lead Counsel in a like class action in Massachusetts. Carolyn has since negotiated settlements totaling $130 million dollars and which provide significant injunctive relief for her clients in those matters.

In addition to her extensive trial experience, Carolyn has also successfully drafted and argued numerous appeals. Most notably, Carolyn won a unanimous reversal before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts of three separate rulings of the trial court judge that will have a lasting impact for class action litigants and employees in that state. Carolyn has also won appellate rulings in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Courts of Appeals in California and Massachusetts. In 2006, Carolyn founded the Beasley Law Group, and has successfully litigated the Wal-Mart litigation to completion.

Representative Matters

• Since 2001, has served as lead counsel in various employment class actions involving Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and negotiated settlements for her clients including substantial injunctive relief and totaling $130 million;
• Member of Plaintiffs’ litigation team in landmark employment case where jury awarded $172.3 million dollar verdict in Savaglio v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Alameda County Superior Court (No. C-8356870);
• Defended Dean Foods Company in class actions alleging false advertising under the CLRA and UCL;
• Served as lead defense counsel for DuPont in toxic tort case involving over twelve defendants;
• Represented widow and children of a farm worker killed by police during an unlawful raid of their home. Jury found that defendants violated the Fourth Amendment in the manner that they entered the home, and in shooting the decedent. After a three week jury trial, the family was awarded $12.5 million in damages;
• Represented a gas gathering company in antitrust case against processor for violations of the Sherman Act. Drafted prevailing brief in subsequent appellate proceeding before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. This appellate victory appeared as the lead story in BNA’s Antitrust & Trade Regulation Report in the February 6, 2004 issue. See American Cent. Eastern Texas Gas Co. v. Union Pacific Resources Group, Inc. 2004 WL 136091;
• Represented Silicon Valley Bank, a subsidiary of publicly-traded SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) in multiple bad-faith insurance coverage cases against several insurance companies. These cases were resolved on confidential terms;
• Represented defendant, and successfully obtained summary judgment against plaintiffs’ claims under Proposition 65 in Dowhal v. SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare (2004) 32 Cal.4th 910.



For more information about the Beasley Law Group, please call 510.691.2422.