Cynthia H. Cwik, Esq., FCIArb, has more than 30 years of broad litigation and ADR experience, including serving for 20 years as a litigation partner at two global law firms, Jones Day and Latham & Watkins. At these firms, she successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation and ADR matters, with an emphasis on cases involving science, technology and health care issues. Her extensive background and experience with high-stakes commercial cases make her particularly well suited to resolving challenging legal disputes effectively and efficiently.

As an advocate, Ms. Cwik served as first chair in various litigation and pre-litigation matters, with experience in all phases of pretrial, trial and appellate work in both state and federal courts. She has handled high-stakes commercial legal disputes in diverse fields, including technology, semiconductors, health care, energy, utilities, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, life sciences, biotech, chemicals, consumer products, mining, computer software, manufacturing and banking/financial services. She has deep experience with class actions, multidistrict litigation (MDL), mass torts, product liability cases, consumer class actions, health care disputes, environmental actions and securities cases. She has worked extensively on large, multiparty matters, and she has been able to facilitate successful resolutions by considering the differing points of view of the various stakeholders and building consensus. She has worked closely with scientific, medical, economic and other expert witnesses, and taken the lead in complex evidentiary hearings. She has lectured and published articles regarding scientific evidence and causation issues.

Ms. Cwik has significant experience with ADR proceedings, including domestic and international arbitrations and mediations. She has handled numerous high-value commercial ADR matters. She has experience acting as an advocate in ADR matters, as well as acting as solo arbitrator, a member of a three-arbitrator panel and a mediator. She has issued numerous reasoned awards in arbitrations. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals. She has served as a judge pro tem/temporary judge with the San Diego Superior Court, where she has handled dozens of bench trials in civil matters. She also has served as a mediator for the San Diego Superior Court. As an arbitrator and mediator, she has handled disputes in a range of areas, including business/commercial, health care, hospitality/travel, privacy, emerging technologies, telecommunications, e-commerce, personal injury and tort, products liability, warranty, false credit reporting, the California Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, real estate and real property and breach of fiduciary duty.

Ms. Cwik has held several leadership positions in the legal community, including having served as president and chair of the Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Association. She continues to serve as a lifetime honorary member of the Executive Committee. She is widely acclaimed for her success in the legal profession, including having been selected multiple times as one of “California’s Top Female Litigators” by the Los Angeles Daily Journal and the San Francisco Daily Journal. A journalist described Ms. Cwik as having “fierce focus and keen attention to scientific detail” and as an “indefatigable and accomplished litigator.”

Ms. Cwik has deep knowledge regarding emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and privacy and cybersecurity issues. She currently serves as the vice-chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Task Force on Law and AI. She previously served as a Fellow with Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute, where she focused on cutting-edge technology, including AI. She also has served as chair of the ABA Science & Technology Law Section. She is the co-editor of the book Artificial Intelligence: Legal Issues, Policy, and Practical Strategies (2024), which contains contributions by more than 40 preeminent AI and legal experts from in-house legal departments, private practice, nonprofits, academia, government and the judiciary. She has been an invited speaker and moderator for numerous programs, including ABA Presidential Showcase programs, ABA AI and Robotics National Institute programs, the RSA cybersecurity conference and programs sponsored by the Association of General Counsel and the National Judicial College. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), and she has received the (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) certificate. She also has earned Stanford University’s Foundations for Data Science Certificate.

Throughout her career, Ms. Cwik has been devoted to pro bono and public service initiatives. She served as partner in charge of her firm's pro bono program in the San Diego office. While she was the head of the program, her office received the Public Service by a Law Firm Award from the San Diego County Bar Association. For several years, she served as the partner representative from her office for her firm’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Committee. In this capacity, she investigated and resolved matters involving workplace issues.

Representative Matters

• Business Commercial
• Arbitrator in various business and commercial matters, including cases involving emerging technologies, telecommunications, e-commerce, investment advisory matters, breach of contract, negligence, warranty, personal injury and hospitality/travel disputes
• Mediator in various matters, including cases involving breach of contract, negligence, fraud, warranty, products liability, and real estate and real property
• Counsel in high-stakes commercial legal disputes in diverse fields, including technology, semiconductors, health care, energy, utilities, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, life sciences, biotech, chemicals, consumer products, mining, computer software, manufacturing and banking/financial services
• Counsel in numerous complex, multiparty cases involving consumer protection laws, including MDL involving dozens of consumer fraud actions brought in 26 states, including California, against more than 100 defendants
• Class Action & Mass Tort
• Counsel in medical device class action product liability litigation, including serving as national class action counsel and settlement counsel
• Counsel in mass tort litigation involving plaintiffs alleging their health was impaired by environmental or workplace exposure to chemicals
• Counsel in consumer class actions, including serving as the lead with regard to class certification proceedings
• Counsel in a class action in which residents near manufacturing facility alleged they should receive medical monitoring because of exposure to emissions from the facility
• Counsel for a chemical manufacturer in a mass tort case involving more than 1,000 plaintiffs with allegations of personal injury and property damage because of environmental exposure to chemicals
• Cybersecurity & Privacy
• Arbitrator in privacy actions, including actions alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
• Advisor regarding privacy issues in health care, including HIPAA
• Energy & Utilities
• Counsel for energy companies and gas and electric utilities in mass tort and environmental matters, including mass tort litigation alleging personal injuries and wrongful death caused by exposure to chemicals
• Counsel for an energy company in a putative class action alleging negligence and violation of California’s unfair competition laws
• Counsel for an energy company in a purported nationwide consumer class action
• Environmental Law
• Counsel in actions involving claims of environmental exposure to chemicals
• Counsel for a Native American tribal government in a lawsuit for declaratory and injunctive relief alleging that the environmental impact statement prepared by the federal defendants did not meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• Counsel in a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) case that raised the issue of the appropriate level of review that is required when an agency imposes refined or more stringent mitigation measures after the final environmental impact report (EIR) has been certified
• Financial Markets
• Arbitrator in a case against financial professional alleging breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence and elder abuse
• Arbitrator in a case against financial professional alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of the California Corporation Code and financial elder abuse
• Arbitrator in a case against brokerage firm alleging common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and negligent failure to supervise
• Arbitrator in a case in which financial services professional was seeking expungement of a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5)
• Counsel in a shareholder class action litigation based on allegations that defendants caused the shares to trade at artificially inflated levels through the issuance of false and misleading financial statements 
• Counsel in a shareholder class action litigation based on allegations that defendants made false and misleading statements about the company’s financial results and internal controls
• Counsel in four related securities litigation matters based on allegations that there were misrepresentations and omissions in the company’s prospectus, which was issued as part of its initial offering of stock
• Health Care
• Arbitrator regarding health care payor-provider disputes
• Counsel for health care client in dozens of high-value mediations involving out-of-network payor-provider disputes 
• Counsel in actions involving a national chain of nursing homes accused of failing to meet state and national standards of care, including class action litigation alleging unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business acts and practices
• Counsel in actions involving medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and biopharmaceutical companies with allegations that products harmed the health of consumers
• Counsel in action involving provider of medical malpractice insurance
• Advisor and lecturer regarding digital health and privacy issues, including HIPAA, and impact and risks of emerging technologies on health care
• Worked closely with prominent medical and scientific experts, including experts in epidemiology, public health, pulmonology, oncology and immunology
• International & Cross Border
• Arbitrator in numerous international disputes concerning foreign travel and the travel/hospitality industry
• Counsel in a six-week arbitration in a mass tort matter in the United States brought by foreign citizens
• Counsel in an action brought by foreign citizens in the United States alleging their health was impaired by exposure to chemicals at their workplace
• Advisor regarding research and financial transactions with foreign entities, as well as risks relating to export controls and information security
• Personal Injury
• Arbitrator in actions alleging personal injuries caused by negligent property conditions
• Counsel in actions alleging personal injuries and wrongful death from exposure to environmental and occupational chemicals
• Counsel in actions alleging personal injuries from medical devices
• Counsel in actions alleging personal injuries from consumer products
• Counsel in actions alleging personal injuries from substandard care at nursing homes
• Product Liability
• Counsel for clients in various industries, including consumer product, medical device and pharmaceuticals, in class action products liability litigation
• Counsel for a biotech company in matters involving allegations that the defendant fraudulently concealed, misrepresented and suppressed material medical and scientific information about its products
• Counsel for a pharmaceutical company in a case alleging personal injuries and failure to warn

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships and Professional Affiliations

Current Affiliations

• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2024
• Fellow, Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals, 2023–2024
• Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), 2018–2024
• Certified in Cybersecurity (ISC)², 2022–2024
• Private Sector Liaison, ABA Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, 2022–2024
• Member, Planning Committee, ABA AI and Robotics National Institute, 2020–2024
• Member, Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center, 2023–2024
• Member, California Arbitration, 2024
• Member, ITechLaw, 2024
• Member, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law and ABA Litigation Section
  
  

Former Affiliations

• Former Advisory Board Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) AI and the Judiciary Project, 2021–2022
• Former Fellow with the Yale Cyber Leadership Forum, which focused on interdisciplinary approaches to cybersecurity issues, 2021
• Guest Lecturer regarding cybersecurity, privacy and emerging technologies, including at the University of California at San Diego School of Global Policy & Strategy, 2020
• Participant in a graduate program at the Stanford Center at Peking University, “Chinese Corporations: A Case Study Workshop,” 2019
• Former Barrister, San Diego Appellate Inn of Court, 2017–2018
• Former Chair, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law, 2015–2016
• Former President and Chair, Yale Law School Association Executive Committee, 2009–2013
• Former President, San Diego Chapter, Federal Bar Association, 1996–1997
  
  

Selected Awards and Honors

• Recipient, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law Chair’s Award recognizing “years of outstanding leadership and commitment,” 2019
• Life Fellow, American Bar Foundation (This is an honorary organization of attorneys, judges and law professors whose careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to their communities and the highest principles of the legal profession), 2013
• Repeatedly listed in Best Lawyers in America and chosen multiple times as one of California’s top female litigators
• Repeatedly received AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell (This is the highest peer rating standard, and it takes into account high ethical standards and professional ability)
• Chosen by peers and colleagues as one of the top 10 attorneys in San Diego and featured as a “Transcript 10 Attorney” by The San Diego Daily Transcript, 2010
  
  

Selected Publications

• Co-Editor, Artificial Intelligence: Legal Issues, Policy, and Practical Strategies, 2024; Co-Author, AI governance chapter
• Co-Author, “Artificial Intelligence, Trustworthiness and Litigation,” part of a series on AI for the Judiciary by the AAAS, September 2022
• Co-Editor, The Internet of Things (IoT): Legal Issues, Policy, and Practical Strategies, 2019; Co-Author, privacy chapter
• Co-Editor, Scientific Evidence Review: Admissibility and Use of Expert Evidence, 2013
  
  

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Moderator, “AI Governance: A Conversation With Michael Chertoff, Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security and Miriam Vogel, President and CEO of EqualAI and Chair of the National AI Advisory Committee,” ABA Task Force on Law and AI webinar, November 2024
• Moderator, “Guidelines for Integrating Responsible AI Into Healthcare,” ABA AI & Robotics National Institute, October 2024
• Moderator, “AI Governance: A Conversation With Elizabeth Kelly, Director of the U.S. AI Safety Institute,” ABA Task Force on Law and AI webinar, June 2024
• Moderator, “Putting Generative AI to Work: Transforming Workplaces,” ABA AI & Robotics National Institute, October 2023
• Speaker, “Playing with Fire? The Latest Cyber Law Hot Topics,” RSA Cybersecurity Conference April 2023 (spoke regarding generative AI)
• Moderator, “Managing the Risks and Opportunities of Smart Communities,” ABA IoT National Institute, September 2022
• Moderator, “Keeping Track: The Internet of Bodies and the Lurking Legal Issues,” ABA IoT National Institute, June 2021 (digital health issues)
• Moderator, “Industrial IoT: Big Business, Big Legal Issues,” ABA IoT National Institute, September 2020
• Featured in an ABA Journal Modern Law Library Podcast, “Critical Legal Issues, Policies and Strategies Surrounding Smart Technology” October 2019
• Moderator, “What’s Next? Tech’s Top Counsel Reveal All,” ABA Presidential Showcase Program, August 2016 (Broadcast on C-SPAN)
• Moderator, “Views from the Top: A Roundtable on the Most Challenging Issues in Science and Technology Law,” ABA Presidential Showcase Program, August 2014

Background and Education

• Independent Arbitrator and Mediator, 2023–2024
• Vice-Chair, ABA Task Force on Law and AI, 2023–2024
• Senior Legal Advisor/Speaker/Author, 2020–2024
• Fellow, Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute, 2018–2019
• Partner and Of Counsel, Jones Day, 2010–2018
• Chair, ABA Section of Science & Technology Law, 2015–2016
• Partner, Latham & Watkins, 1996–2010
• Associate, Latham & Watkins, 1988-1995
• Law Clerk, Hon. Thomas J. Meskill, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, 1987–1988
• J.D., Yale Law School, 1987
• Editor, Yale Law & Policy Review, 1987
• B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Yale College, 1983
• Language Skills: French (intermediate); Chinese (elementary/intermediate)