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What We Do

Whether your investigation or lawsuit involves antitrust, copyright, contracts, trade secrets, securities, government inquiries, unfair competition, employment, or First Amendment rights, we are the right firm. Our breadth of experience allows us to represent plaintiffs and defendants; our depth gives us the skills, creativity, and instincts to win.

Whatever you’re facing, we’ve been there.

We’ve tried jury cases, bench trials, class actions. We’ve represented Fortune 500 companies – and sued Fortune 500 companies – and represented individual litigants as well. We’ve defended victories and reversed losses on appeal. We’ve responded to federal and state investigations, both public and undisclosed; we’ve also sued federal and state agencies to protect our clients from government overreach.

We’ve spent a year meticulously building a plaintiff’s case, and we’ve prepared a complaint, preliminary injunction, and temporary restraining order over a weekend. We’ve been law firm partners, run inhouse legal teams, served as judicial clerks, and worked for government enforcement agencies. We know what your case looks like from every angle.

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We bring and defend individual and class action antitrust claims in federal and state court, administrative proceedings, and investigations by government authorities. And we can help prevent claims before they arise, by training inhouse lawyers and client employees about antitrust compliance and by investigating and auditing company practices that could result in lawsuits. We understand how competition colors and shapes other claims by and against our clients, such as intellectual property, trade secrets, and breach of contract.

Consumer and class actions can be complex, demanding, and expensive to defend. We know how to build an efficient, multi-faceted strategy for these cases to protect you. Early and comprehensive strategies will best guide you to the successful defense you want, whether that is a dismissal at the outset, defeat of class certification, or a merits victory at trial – we’ve done all of those.

We have extensive experience, both in-house and at the firm, with plaintiff and defense trade secret and employee mobility cases. Whether your issue is proactive protection of trade secrets, departing employees failing to comply with confidentiality and recruiting obligations, or new employees for whom you must defend claims of trade secret misappropriation, we have seen it before and we can help. We also can develop a best-practices approach for your company to reduce the risk of facing claims.

We know how to protect your interests with intellectual property litigation, whether that means winning the largest plaintiff copyright infringement jury verdict in history (Oracle v. SAP) or defending against attacks on your company and people. Intellectual property issues often entwine with competition claims, which we understand how to address and use strategically.

It can be challenging to find a litigator who understands renewable energy issues and regulatory dockets. We do. Our years of working in-house steeped us in the renewable energy world and how to successfully litigate in it, whether before a public utility commission, an administrative agency, or a state or federal court. We understand the policy and business goals, the unique challenges of the industry, and how those goals and challenges play out in litigation.

We have been on both sides of the courtroom for commercial, contract, and business tort litigation, and we get the results you need. Because we have worked in-house at large, fast-moving companies, we also understand how to litigate and win these cases with minimal disruption to your business.

Responding to government investigations or enforcement actions involves challenges, in terms of cost, reputational harm, and business risk that simply do not exist in most commercial cases. We understand those challenges.

Government dollars are always under scrutiny. Whether you face a government investigation or hope to start one, we have seen False Claims Act cases from every angle—from the beginning of an investigation all the way through successful litigation. We combine our understanding of and experience with this unique statute to successfully pursue and defend these cases.

Appellate litigation demands focused organization, keen writing, compelling argument, and sound judgment. These are our strengths. We can identify the legal and trial errors that give you the greatest chance of reversing a defeat in the lower court. And when you need to protect a victory, we can craft the strategy and the brief to do that.

Over our careers, we have taken on pro bono work across the litigation spectrum, from individual defense to election law challenges to civil rights litigation. We believe we have an obligation as lawyers to make the judicial process work for everyone, especially those who lack the means to pay for their own counsel.

Sometimes a case just defies tidy categorization. Sometimes things go wrong in ways no one expected. When that happens, we’re ready. We have often been asked to handle delicate, unusual, or just odd disputes that do not fit neatly into a typical firm’s practice areas. These matters require the creative, flexible, and collaborative approach that is the firm’s hallmark.

OUR RESULTS

  • SolarCity Corp. v. Salt River Agricultural Improvement District (D. Ariz.) – as inhouse counsel, oversaw company’s antitrust suit against incumbent monopoly utility, defeating utility’s defense that it was immune to the antitrust laws
  • Pacific Sequoia Solar I LLC v United States (Ct. Fed. Cl.) – as inhouse counsel, oversaw company’s lawsuit against the United States challenging underpayment of federal incentives and oversaw company’s defense of government’s related False Claims Act investigation (settled favorably)
  • Bao v. SolarCity Corp. (N.D. Cal.) – as inhouse counsel, oversaw defense of securities class action (dismissed with prejudice)
  • Decuir v. SolarCity Corp. (Superior Court, NV) – as inhouse counsel, won motion to compel individual claims in would-be class action, in issue of first impression under Nevada law
  • Stastny v. Rive (San Mateo County Super. Ct., CA) – as inhouse counsel, oversaw defense of derivative suit against board members, alleging breach of fiduciary duty (dismissed for lack of standing)
  • Wiggin v. Musk (Del. Chancery) – as inhouse counsel, oversaw defense of derivative suit against company and board members alleging excessive director compensation (dismissed)
  • DeMattio v. SolarCity Corp. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct., CA) – as inhouse counsel, oversaw defense of employment class action (class certification denied, decision affirmed on appeal)
  • Oracle America Inc. v. Google Inc. (N.D. Cal. & Fed. Cir.) – represented Oracle at trial and on appeal on claims that Android operating system infringed Java copyrights and patents
  • Confidential Client (JAMS) – in a dispute over an acquisition agreement, won $50 million arbitration award on behalf of technology client
  • Greene v. Solano County Jail – as appointed appellate counsel for inmate challenging jail’s restrictions on religious exercise, won reversal of summary judgment, defeated renewed summary judgment motion on remand, and obtained favorable settlement for client
  • Hoffman v. American Express (Alameda County Super. Ct., CA& Cal. Ct. App.) – represented American Express at trial and on appeal in consumer class action (defense verdict, affirmed on appeal, class plaintiffs ordered to pay $300,000 in costs)
  • Yardi Systems, Inc. v. RealPage, Inc. (C.D. Cal.) – represented Yardi in copyright, computer fraud, and related claims against its competitor (settled favorably)
  • Oracle Corp. v. SAP AG (N.D. Cal. & 9th Cir.) – represented Oracle at trial on claims of copyright infringement, resulting in $1.3 billion verdict for Oracle (award reduced post-trial, still largest copyright judgment ever)
  • Oracle vs. Maintech, et al. (N.D. Cal.) – represented Oracle in copyright and related claims relating to software infringement (settled favorably)
  • Intel Corp. (various) – represented Intel against various class action antitrust lawsuits relating to microprocessor sales (settled favorably)
  • Confidential Client (various) – represented large chemical manufacturer in various civil and criminal antitrust price-fixing investigations by the United States Department of Justice (settled favorably without any case being filed)
  • Dai v. Goldman Sachs (San Francisco Super. Ct., CA) – defended brokerage firm against $100M claim of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty by investors (won motion to compel arbitration, client subsequently prevailed at arbitration)
  • Silver v. Goldman Sachs (Los Angeles County Super. Ct., CA) – defended investor in film projects against breach of contract and fraud claims (settled favorably)
  • Koenig v. Blanco, et al. (Napa County Superior Court, CA) – represented owner of business in defending against breach of contract and fraud claims after sale of business (jury verdict for client; plaintiff ordered to pay 100% of client’s fees)
  • Caiola v. Citibank (S.D.N.Y. & 2d Cir.) – represented individual investor asserting securities fraud claims against investment bank (in case of first impression, won appeal of order dismissing complaint, later settled)