OVERVIEW
As a partner in Hausfeld’s Washington, D.C. office, Swathi has built a diverse and impactful career. She has worked on some of the highest-profile and most comprehensive class action antitrust cases in recent years, recovering over $3 billion in settlement awards for the firm’s clients. She represented a class of health insurance subscribers in In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, securing $2.67 billion in settlement and broad injunctive relief to increase opportunities for competition in the healthcare industry. She has also played a key role in significant antitrust matters within the sports industry, particularly concerning players’ rights around names, images, and likenesses (NIL). Swathi was instrumental in the landmark O’Bannon v. NCAA trial, which secured class injunctive relief allowing college athletes to receive compensation for their NIL rights, marking a pivotal victory for college athletes that continues to have significant implications.
From initial case investigations through trial, Swathi has represented the firm’s clients in all aspects of litigation. Swathi currently serves as Court-appointed Co-Lead Counsel in In re RealPage, Inc., Rental Software Antitrust Litigation, where she represents a class of renters who are alleged to have been harmed by algorithmic price-fixing in the multifamily rental market. Swathi has represented hundreds of patients in wide-ranging healthcare mass torts, and she has also fought for victims of data breaches and privacy violations, challenging retailers, health insurance providers, restaurant chains, and financial institutions for their inadequate security measures.
At Hausfeld, Swathi leads the firm’s Community Services Committee and serves on the US Hiring Committee. Prior to joining Hausfeld, Swathi worked on several presidential campaigns and in the U.S. Senate, both for then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and as a law clerk to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Clients
Swathi has litigated a variety of other cases across the legal spectrum, securing favorable results for her clients. In the antitrust realm, she has represented both individual and class clients in the health insurance, transportation, and financial services sectors seeking to recover damages from price-fixing and market allocation cartels. As an avid sports fan, Swathi has relished the opportunity to represent current and former athletes as they seek fair treatment for the dedication they put into the game.
Swathi has also represented small credit unions, banks, and consumers across the country who have suffered damages as a result of data breaches at companies including Target, Home Depot, Wendy’s, and ParkMobile. Through her work on these cases, she has developed an expertise in data breach law and has helped to design and implement unique settlement frameworks in this developing area of law.
EDUCATION
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2011
Brown University, B.A., Human Biology & Public Policy, 2007
BAR ADMISSIONS
District of Columbia
New York
District Court for the District of Columbia
District Court for the Southern District of New York
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
AFFILIATIONS
Brown University Alumni Interviewing Program - Washington, D.C., Chair (2012-present)
Brown University Women’s Leadership Council, Member (2016-present)
Changing Perceptions, Board of Directors (2016-present)
Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, Managing Editor (2010-2011)
Georgetown Law’s Institute for Public Representation, a civil rights clinic, where she previously worked on Title VII litigation in the D.C. District Court
Law360 Sports Editorial Advisory Board, Member (2019)
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Clerk
WHAT OTHERS SAY
American Antitrust Institute
- Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice, an honor she received three times:
- As part of the In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation case team in 2021
- As part of the In re Municipal Derivatives Antitrust Litigation case team in 2016
- As part of the O’Bannon v. NCAA case team in 2015
Benchmark Litigation
- 40 & Under List since 2023
Best Lawyers
- Best Lawyer since 2025
- Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action - Plaintiffs
Global Competition Review
- Litigation of the Year - Cartel Prosecution in 2021: an honor she received as part of the In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation case team.
- Litigation of the Year - Non-Cartel Prosecution in 2015: an honor she received as part of the O’Bannon v. NCAA case team.
Lawdragon
- 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers since 2019
- 500 Leading Litigators in America in 2022
- 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in 2024
Litigation Counsel of America
- Selected Fellow since 2019
Super Lawyers
- Rising Star, Antitrust Litigation in Washington, DC since 2016
Other
- Rising Star Under 40, Sports Law by Law360 in 2016
- Minority Business Leader by The Washington Business Journal in 2016 - an honor held for the top 25 Greater Washington leaders who embody entrepreneurial drive, creativity and success in business.
- Litigation of the Year - Non-Cartel Prosecution: an honor she received by the Global Competition Review as part of the O’Bannon v. NCAA case team in 2015.
PUBLICATIONS
Swathi's other publications include:
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- "Consumers Strike Out: Time Warner Cable Defeats Challenge to Rate Hikes for Unwanted Sports Content," Trade, Sports & Professional Associations Newsletter (Spring 2015), Author
- "Going to Trial as an Associate," ABA Trial Practice Committee: Trying Antitrust Newsletter (Fall 2015), Author
- "Is Major League Baseball’s Antitrust Exemption in Jeopardy?" ABA Antitrust Section Media & Technology E-Bulletin, Vol. 1, Iss. 3 (2013), Author
- "The NFLPA’s Potential Legal Liability to Former Players for Traumatic Brain Injury," Concussions Litigation Reporter, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2012), Co-Author with Michael D. Hausfeld
Press:
EVENTS
- "Robinson-Patman Compliance: A New Era", ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting (March 29, 2023), Panelist
- “To Favor or Not to Favor MFNs”, ABA Section of Antitrust Law (Oct. 18, 2022), Panelist
- “Antitrust: A Day in the Life (Reprisal)”, ABA Section of Antitrust Law (June 30, 2022), Panelist
- “Anatomy of Antitrust Litigation III: Summary Judgment”, ABA Section of Antitrust Law (June 23, 2022), Panelist
- Mock Trial, ABA Antitrust Law Spring Meeting (Apr. 7, 2022)
- "Litigation Strategy After Amex," ABA Section of Antitrust Law (Nov. 6, 2020), Panelist
- "Practicing as a Sports Lawyer: Antitrust and Beyond," ABA Section of Antitrust Law – Trade, Sports and Professional Associations Committee Virtual Panel (July 9, 2020), Moderator
- "Practicing as a Sports Lawyer: Antitrust and Beyond," ABA Section of Antitrust Law – Trade, Sports and Professional Associations Committee Panel (Sept. 5, 2019), Moderator
- "Uncommon Law: An Alumni Conversation," Brown University Alumni Association Panel (July 23, 2019)
- Speaker, "Inside O'Bannon v. NCAA," Legal Talk Network podcast (Oct. 21, 2015), Panelist
- "Preparing for an Antitrust Trial as an Associate," ABA Section of Antitrust Law (Aug. 24, 2015), Speaker
- "The Sports Report: Sports, Consumer Protection and Antitrust – What’s Hot in 2015!," ABA Trade, Sports and Professional Associations (June 16, 2015), Speaker
PERSPECTIVES
Experience
Antitrust/Competition
- In re Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation – In one of the largest and most complex antitrust class action cases ever litigated, Swathi represented tens of millions of subscriber plaintiffs alleging higher premiums and loss of competition in the market for health insurance due to a conspiracy among 36 insurer defendants to allocate geographic territories. In November 2020, the Court granted preliminary approval to the proposed settlement agreement resolving the claims of Blue Cross Blue Shield subscribers for $2.67 billion. The settlement was unanimously affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit, and in June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined any further review, paving the way for the distribution of billions of dollars to subscribers nationwide, along with systemic changes to BCBS practices that will create opportunities for more competition.
- In re Municipal Derivatives Litigation – Swathi worked as part of a team that secured nearly $250 million in settlements for a class of municipalities affected by alleged bid-rigging in the market for municipal bonds.
- In re Air Cargo Shipping Services Antitrust Litigation – Swathi joined the trial team to prepare for trial against the final four defendants in a worldwide conspiracy to fix fuel surcharge on air cargo; her work assisted in driving settlements with the final defendants totaling nearly $200 million. In 2016, she was recognized for her work in this, and the above-mentioned Municipal Derivatives case, at the American Antitrust Institute Enforcement Awards, where she won two of the three awards for “Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice.”
Environmental & Product Liability
- Bowman et al. v. St. Joseph’s Medical Center et al. – Swathi participated in a mass tort action arising from the placement of unnecessary stents in patients at a Baltimore-area hospital, which culminated in a month-long jury trial in Maryland state court and a global resolution compensating over 240 affected patients.
Sports & Entertainment
- Dryer et al. v. National Football League – Swathi represented a class of retired NFL players whose names, images, and likenesses were being used in NFL Films features. She was involved in negotiating a $50 million settlement agreement, which created a Greater Good Fund to provide health and welfare programs to former NFL players and also established a licensing agency, in partnership with IMG, to help former players market their names, images, and likenesses. After this novel settlement was reached, Swathi continued to advise the Court-appointed Board of Directors on implementation of the settlement agreement.
- O’Bannon v. NCAA – Swathi represented a class action on behalf of current and former Division I men's basketball and FBS football players against the NCAA and its member institutions based on rules foreclosing athletes from receiving compensation for the use of their names, images, and likenesses. In 2014, plaintiffs completed a three-week bench trial in which Swathi was part of a trial team that successfully obtained class injunctive relief allowing college athletes to receive compensation for their NIL rights, a landmark victory for college athletes.
Technology & Data Breach
- In re Premera Blue Cross Customer Data Breach Litigation – Represented Premera health insurance customers whose confidential medical information was accessed during an extended breach. A $74 million settlement including a $32 million settlement fund was granted final approval in March 2020.
- In re Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. Data Security Litigation – Representing financial institutions who were forced to cancel compromised cards, issue refunds due to fraudulent transactions, stop and block unauthorized transactions on their customers’ accounts, and increase fraud monitoring because of the breach. A $5 million+ settlement was preliminarily approved in March 2020.
- First Choice Federal Credit Union v. The Wendy’s Company et al – Represented financial institutions who have had to pay to replace credit cards and cover fraud losses sustained by customers as a result of a data breach at Wendy’s franchisees. A $50 million settlement was granted final approval in November 2019.
- In re The Home Depot, Inc. Customer Data Breach Litigation – Represented financial institutions who had to pay to replace credit cards and cover fraud losses sustained by customers as a result of a data breach at Home Depot affecting 56 million people. A $25 million settlement was granted final approval in September 2017.
- In re Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litigation – Represented financial institutions who had to pay to replace credit cards and cover fraud losses sustained by customers as a result of a data breach at Target which exposed 40 million debit and credit card accounts. This case resulted in a ground-breaking $60 million+ total settlement.
