Overview
Karin Swope is the Managing Counsel of the Seattle office of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP where she represents clients in nationwide antitrust and consumer protection litigation, securities litigation, privacy litigation and intellectual property counseling. Karin has represented clients for over 30 years in proceedings in state and federal courts across the country. She helps consumers fight against unfair and deceptive practices and has helped to change consumer protection law in the process.
Karin has served as lead counsel in prominent breach of fiduciary duty or securities matters against some of the country’s largest and most prominent financial institutions, including Regions Bank, Washington Mutual, and State Street Bank and Trust. In the State Street Bank and Trust matter, Karin secured an $89.75 all-cash settlement for class members. In re State Street Bank & Trust Co. ERISA Litig, 1:07-cv-09687-RJH (S.D.N.Y. Filed Aug. 22 2008). Karin also represented several of the Federal Home Loan Banks in sprawling litigation against underwriters, issuers, and sponsors of mortgage-backed securities valued at approximately $13 billion.
She has extensive experience litigating highly complex antitrust, consumer fraud and other class actions, with a particular focus on technology issues given her intellectual property background. She litigates against the largest technology companies in the country, including serving as co-lead counsel or on the executive committees in the In re Apple Device Performance Litigation No. 18-MD-2827 (N.D. Cal.), Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation No. 21-CV-02155 (N.D. Cal.); In re Zoom Video Communications, Inc. Privacy Litigation No. 20-cv-02155 (N.D. Cal) and In re Bank of America Unemployment Benefits Litigation No. 21-md-2992 (S.D. Cal.). CPM secured a class settlement amount of $310 million, with a maximum class settlement amount of $500 million in In re Apple Device Performance Litigation, which was a historic settlement amount.
She has served as an attorney for co-lead or as co-lead in antitrust actions including Google Play Consumer Antitrust Litigation, No. 20-cv-05761, (N.D. Cal.) and In re Shale Oil Antitrust Litigation, No. 24-MD-3119 (D. N.M.). CPM, along with the states, secured a class action settlement amount of $700 million for consumers and states in the Google Play Consumer Antitrust Litigation, which brought claims that Google inflated app store prices.
She has represented companies and sovereign nations in protecting their intellectual property rights. She has protected the retirement funds of employees whose employers had breached their fiduciary duties in violation of ERISA, in cases against Washington Mutual, State Street Bank and Regions Financial Corporation. She has represented shareholders in complex securities litigation, including disputes involving breach of fiduciary duty. Representative cases include In re Slack Securities Litigation and John Trotter (Ret.), Trustee of the PG&E Fire Victim Trust v. Williams et al.
Karin is currently and has served as Adjunct Professor at Seattle University School of law for over 17 years, where she teaches Copyright Law and in the Intellectual Property Art Law Clinic. She has previously served as President of Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Section of the Washington State Bar Association and is currently a member of the Western Washington Federal Bar Association Local Rules Committee. She has presented and/or co-chaired numerous CLE’s on topics ranging from E-Discovery practices to Intellectual Property. Following her graduation from Columbia Law School, Karin served as a law clerk to the Honorable John C. Coughenour in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Cowen of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
Experience
Representative Matters
Honors & Awards
Honors & Recognitions
Selected to Rising Stars and Super Lawyers lists in Super Lawyers - Washington, 2016, 2018-2022
Publications
In the News
Practices
Education
Amherst College, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Columbia Law School, J.D., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
Executive Articles Editor, Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Paul Bernstein Scholarship Recipient
Admissions
- 1994, Washington
- 1997, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
- 1997, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- 2006, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- 2006, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- 2007, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- 2009, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
- 2010, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- 2010, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- 2010, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- 2010, U.S. Supreme Court
- 2015, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- 2022, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Clerkships
- Honorable John C. Coughenour, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington,
- Honorable Robert E. Cowen, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
