Cristina Salvato

Cristina (Tina) M. Salvato is an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group in the firm’s Century City office. Tina focuses her practice on intellectual property and media defense litigation and counseling. She also litigates commercial disputes and has experience in all aspects of litigation including motion practice, depositions, and trials.

Tina has experience litigating right of publicity, copyright, trademark, trade secrets, and unfair competition claims. She also counsels clients on IP protection and enforcement and provides pre-publication review on advertising, defamation, privacy, and IP matters.

Tina has litigated and counseled media clients on federal and state FOIA, media access issues, and defamation law. Tina’s experience includes litigating contract disputes in the food and beverage, publishing, energy, health care and technology industries.

Tina maintains an active pro bono practice. She has litigated two section 1983 cases to trial, serving as third and second chair, respectively. She also regularly provides legal services to non-profit groups on First Amendment, intellectual property, and media law issues.

Before joining Sheppard Mullin, Tina practiced at a boutique law firm in Chicago specializing in media law and intellectual property litigation and counseling. She also worked in house as a law clerk for Tribune Media Company where she gained experience counseling broadcasters on media, IP, and advertising issues and drafting talent and licensing agreements.

After college, Tina worked in Washington, D.C. for Atlantic Media as an associate staff writer for The Hotline, a daily publication covering campaigns and elections news. She also spent two years in Japan teaching English in public schools through the JET Program.

Representative Experience:

• Represented London-based newspaper in FOIA litigation to obtain documents from the Chicago Police Department about a secret detention facility.
• Defended website in cutting-edge right of publicity class action over the use of names in search engine advertising results.
• Defended food and beverage industry companies in trademark infringement cases involving restaurant names and company slogans.
• Represented television station in successful efforts to obtain school bus video recordings.
• Provided pre-publication review and counseling on access issues for non-profit news organization.
• Litigated two pro bono jury trials as third and second chair, and successfully overturned a jury verdict through post-trial motions.

Education:

• J.D., University of California, Irvine, 2013, Senior Editor, UC Irvine Law Review, Faculty Award in Evidence; Dean’s Award in First Amendment Law
• B.A., Brown University, 2006

Admissions:

• California
• Illinois

Memberships:

• Media Advocacy Training Committee, ABA Forum on Communications Law, 2017-2018
• Media Law Resource Center (MLRC)
• Los Angeles Copyright Society, Associate Member
• Creative Arts Committee Co-Chair, Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, 2014-2016