
Sean McTigue is a Partner at Bartko Pavia LLP and a member of the firm’s business litigation practice. His work involves representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal litigation. Sean was instrumental in helping obtain an $845 Million judgment for ASML in one of the largest trade secret victories in U.S. history, receiving recognition from both The Daily Journal and The Recorder. The victory resulted in Bartko Pavia being ranked as Number 3 in the Top 100 Verdicts for 2018 – published by The National Law Journal (June, 2019) – and having the highest ranked intellectual property victory in the U.S. for 2018.
During law school, Sean served as an extern for Justice Mark B. Simons of the California Court of Appeal in San Francisco and clerked with the United States Attorney’s Office, Criminal Division, in Oakland. He also competed nationally in moot court competitions, reaching the national final round in the National Moot Court Competition, as well as the regional semi-finals in the Constance Baker Motley Moot Court Competition. In law school, Sean earned the Posser Prize for excellence in Torts.
Credentials
Education
- University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, J.D.
- University of Utah, H.B.S.
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of California
Experience
- ASML US, Inc. v. XTAL, Inc. (Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara). Represented the plaintiff, a leader in computational lithography, in a case involving theft of trade secrets, breaches of contract and fiduciary duty, and computer fraud by numerous former employees who joined a competing company; second-chaired a three-week jury trial that led to one of the largest trade secret verdicts in history.
- UEBT, California, and Sidibe, et al. v. Sutter Health, et al. (Federal and State Courts in California). Sean served as an attorney in trial courts for an integrated healthcare system in antitrust and unfair competition disputes against private class-action and government plaintiffs.
- Stardock v. Reiche, Ford (Northern District of California). Lead counsel for defendants and cross-complainants in district court case and related proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board involving allegations of copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, and related claims; reached favorable settlement near the conclusion of fact discovery.
- Koret v. Taube (San Francisco Superior Court). Sean was on the firm’s trial team representing the widow of the founder of a prominent charity in a removal action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and misuse of charitable funds.
- Netlist v. Diablo (Northern District of California). Sean represented plaintiff in the trial of trade secret, patent, and trademark claims involving HyperCloud® LR-DIMM memory module technology.
Insights
Press Release
14, May 2025
Bartko Pavia’s Patrick M. Ryan obtains $222 million jury verdict against Walmart
Press Contact
Media Mentions
25, October 2024
San Francisco, CA – October 25, 2024 – As featured in Law 360– Patrick Ryan, co-managing partner of Bartko LLP, and a specialist in intellectual property and trade secret litigation, has filed a motion for sanctions against Walmart Inc. on behalf of Zest Labs, Inc. The motion, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, accuses Walmart of withholding critical patent-related evidence in ongoing litigation over Zest’s proprietary shelf-freshness technology.
Media Mentions
05, February 2024
Bartko Obtains Defense Win in Uber Trade Secret Case
San Francisco, CA — The Bartko team, led by Patrick M. Ryan and Sean McTigue, scored a major win in trade secret, tort, and breach of contract case entitled Bama Commercial Leasing LLC v. Uber Technologies, Inc., CGC-19-579763 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 3, 2019).
Press Release
05, June 2023
San Francisco, CA – In a June 5, 2023 Order, only made available on the public docket late June 6, 2023, the Honorable Evelio Grillo of the Alameda Superior Court, in VHS Liquidating Trust, et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, et al., Case Number RG21106600, issued a comprehensive Order resoundingly rejecting the Defendant Blues’ second attempt to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims.
Press Release
01, June 2022
San Francisco, CA – On June 1, 2022, the Honorable Evelio Grillo of the Alameda Superior Court, in VHS Liquidating Trust, et al. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, et al., Case Number RG21106600, issued two comprehensive orders that emphatically rejected the Defendants’ attempts to dismiss the Plaintiffs’ claims and limit their potential damages.
Press Release
19, February 2020
Bartko Wins $845 Million Trade Secret Verdict for ASML
February 19, 2020 – Bartko scored the highest Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets victory in California in 2019 and was ranked Number 2 overall in the California Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts (PDF) by Dollar in California for 2019. In May of 2019, Bartko secured an $845,114,000.00 victory in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Patrick M. Ryan is quoted as saying: “One thing that’s always a challenge in a trade secret or intellectual property trial is the need to make complex technology simple and easy to understand for the jury.” Also, Patrick stated: “Over the course of the trial, we really went through the technology and explained how it worked and why it was important, and the jury really got it.”The trial team from Bartko was led by Patrick M. Ryan, and he and Stephen Steinberg, Sean McTigue, and Brian Smith all examined witnesses and gave argument during the trial, supported by Bartko attorneys Joseph Fraresso and Chad DeVeaux.
Press Release
19, February 2020
February 19, 2020 – Bartko scored the highest Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets victory in California in 2019 and was ranked Number 2 overall in the California Daily Journal’s Top Verdicts by Dollar in California for 2019. In May of 2019, Bartko secured an $845,114,000.00 victory in Santa Clara County Superior Court.The trial team from Bartko was led by Patrick M. Ryan, and he and Stephen Steinberg, Sean McTigue, and Brian Smith examined witnesses and gave argument during the trial, supported by Bartko attorneys Joseph Fraresso, Alden Lee, and Chad DeVeaux.
Honors and Awards
30, June 2019
Bartko Ranked Number 3 in The National Law Journal Top 100 Verdicts
Bartko ranked Number 3 in the Top 100 Verdicts for 2018 published by The National Law Journal (June, 2019) and had the highest ranked intellectual property victory in the United States for 2018. In November 2018, with a final un-appealed judgment entered in May of 2019, Bartko secured an $845,114,000.00 victory in Santa Clara County Superior Court. (See attached award from the National Law Journal).
Press Release
31, May 2019
Bartko Firm Obtains $845,114,000 Judgment for ASML Against XTAL, Inc.
On Friday, May 3, 2019, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge entered judgment in favor of ASML US, LLC and against XTAL, Inc. in the case ASML US, Inc. v. XTAL, Inc., Santa Clara Superior Court Case No. 16-CV-295051, in the amount of $845,114,000.00. The entry of judgment finalizes the verdict returned by the jury on November 28, 2018, in favor of ASML on all five claims pleaded by ASML in its Third Amended Complaint against XTAL for theft of trade secrets, inducing former employees to breach their contracts with ASML, aiding and abetting former employees to breach their fiduciary duty of loyalty to ASML, and multiple violations of California’s Computer Data Access and Fraud Act (Cal. Penal Code Section 502). The jury also found that XTAL’s conduct as to all counts was malicious, entitling ASML to an award of punitive damages on all counts and attorneys’ fees on its Penal Code and trade secret claims. ASML’s trial team from Bartko was led by Patrick M. Ryan, and he and Stephen Steinberg, Sean McTigue, and Brian Smith examined witnesses and gave argument during the trial, supported by attorneys Andrew Winetroub, Joseph Fraresso, Alden Lee, Rishi Gupta, and Chad DeVeaux. Patrick Ryan, Sean McTigue, and Richard Lapping of Trodella & Lapping LLP represented ASML’s interests in XTAL’s bankruptcy proceedings initiated just before judgment was about to be entered.
Press Release
01, May 2019
“This is well-deserved given Sean’s enormous contributions of skill and time, as well as successful client development. Sean’s progress as a lawyer is an inspiration to all as we continue to grow and achieve even greater success,” said managing shareholder Rob Bunzel.
Publications
- Trade Secrets 2019: What Every Lawyer Should Know
- Panel Speaker, Practicing Law Institute (PLI), October 2019
Areas of Focus
Practices
Insights & News
Publications
05, September 2025
Client Alert: Texas Telemarketing Law Expands To Texts - Key Requirements
Effective September 1, 2025, SB 140 expands Texas’ telemarketing law to cover SMS/MMS and image messages. Businesses who send marketing texts from Texas or to persons located in Texas must register with the Texas Secretary of State ($200 filing fee; $10,000 security deposit).
Speaking Engagements
04, September 2025
An Nguyen Ruda and Josiah Jenkins Present for the San Francisco Employer Advisory Council
Bartko Pavia's CEO & Co-Managing partner An Nguyen Ruda and associate Josiah Jenkins will present for the (SF EAC) California Employer Advisory Council on DEI: A New Four-Letter Bad Word and What It Means in this New Environment on September 11th, in San Francisco. This seminar features discussions on the latest legal changes impacting DEI programs, compliance strategies and risk-reduction tacticsand how to design DEI initiatives that align with today’s shifting landscape
Media Mentions
07, August 2025
Law360 Spotlights Ian Papendick’s Arrival at Bartko Pavia
Ian Papendick, a seasoned antitrust attorney and former enforcer with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, was recently featured in Law360 following his arrival at Bartko Pavia LLP as a litigation and antitrust partner.
Press Release
30, October 2025
An Ruda Serves as Judge at the Berkeley Female Founders & Funders Summit
Media Mentions
27, October 2025
Press Release
09, October 2025
Steve Vieux to Chair the California Lawyers Association’s Golden State Institute
Press Release
08, October 2025
Melissa Harvey to Present at ICSC on Non-Retail Development in Shopping Centers
Publications
06, October 2025
Meredith Vanderbilt Publishes Article in AHLA Health Law Weekly on FDA Drug Shortage Tracking
Press Release
03, October 2025
Howland Gordon to Participate in ICSC Mock Negotiation on Anchor Exclusives
Press Release
29, September 2025
ABA Antitrust Plaintiffs’ Roundtable Will Feature Insights from Ian Papendick
Press Release
24, September 2025
Honors and Awards
23, September 2025
Patrick M. Ryan Earns Repeat Recognition as 2025 Top 100 Lawyer
Publications
05, September 2025
Client Alert: Texas Telemarketing Law Expands To Texts - Key Requirements
Effective September 1, 2025, SB 140 expands Texas’ telemarketing law to cover SMS/MMS and image messages. Businesses who send marketing texts from Texas or to persons located in Texas must register with the Texas Secretary of State ($200 filing fee; $10,000 security deposit).
Speaking Engagements
04, September 2025
An Nguyen Ruda and Josiah Jenkins Present for the San Francisco Employer Advisory Council
Bartko Pavia's CEO & Co-Managing partner An Nguyen Ruda and associate Josiah Jenkins will present for the (SF EAC) California Employer Advisory Council on DEI: A New Four-Letter Bad Word and What It Means in this New Environment on September 11th, in San Francisco. This seminar features discussions on the latest legal changes impacting DEI programs, compliance strategies and risk-reduction tacticsand how to design DEI initiatives that align with today’s shifting landscape
Media Mentions
07, August 2025
Law360 Spotlights Ian Papendick’s Arrival at Bartko Pavia
Ian Papendick, a seasoned antitrust attorney and former enforcer with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, was recently featured in Law360 following his arrival at Bartko Pavia LLP as a litigation and antitrust partner.
Press Release
30, October 2025
An Ruda Serves as Judge at the Berkeley Female Founders & Funders Summit
Media Mentions
27, October 2025
Press Release
09, October 2025
Steve Vieux to Chair the California Lawyers Association’s Golden State Institute
Press Release
08, October 2025
Melissa Harvey to Present at ICSC on Non-Retail Development in Shopping Centers
Publications
06, October 2025
Meredith Vanderbilt Publishes Article in AHLA Health Law Weekly on FDA Drug Shortage Tracking
Press Release
03, October 2025
Howland Gordon to Participate in ICSC Mock Negotiation on Anchor Exclusives
Press Release
29, September 2025
ABA Antitrust Plaintiffs’ Roundtable Will Feature Insights from Ian Papendick
Press Release
24, September 2025
Honors and Awards
23, September 2025
Patrick M. Ryan Earns Repeat Recognition as 2025 Top 100 Lawyer
Publications
05, September 2025
Client Alert: Texas Telemarketing Law Expands To Texts - Key Requirements
Effective September 1, 2025, SB 140 expands Texas’ telemarketing law to cover SMS/MMS and image messages. Businesses who send marketing texts from Texas or to persons located in Texas must register with the Texas Secretary of State ($200 filing fee; $10,000 security deposit).
Speaking Engagements
04, September 2025
An Nguyen Ruda and Josiah Jenkins Present for the San Francisco Employer Advisory Council
Bartko Pavia's CEO & Co-Managing partner An Nguyen Ruda and associate Josiah Jenkins will present for the (SF EAC) California Employer Advisory Council on DEI: A New Four-Letter Bad Word and What It Means in this New Environment on September 11th, in San Francisco. This seminar features discussions on the latest legal changes impacting DEI programs, compliance strategies and risk-reduction tacticsand how to design DEI initiatives that align with today’s shifting landscape
Media Mentions
07, August 2025
Law360 Spotlights Ian Papendick’s Arrival at Bartko Pavia
Ian Papendick, a seasoned antitrust attorney and former enforcer with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, was recently featured in Law360 following his arrival at Bartko Pavia LLP as a litigation and antitrust partner.