Kirke M. Hasson
+1.415.983.1077

Kenneth W. Taber
+1.212.858.1813

Pillsbury’s team of approximately 200 firmwide litigators handle complex commercial cases, matters of substantial public interest, sophisticated technology disputes, and a wide variety of other assignments. We offer the depth and breadth necessary to assist our clients across industries avoid disputes and, when necessary, to resolve disputes favorably and efficiently either by trial or settlement. Our practice often involves large-scale, complex litigation with multiple parties, in multiple proceedings and forums.

The firm’s litigators appear regularly in U.S. federal and state courts, and also before regulators, arbitrators and mediators both domestically and internationally. Our attorneys also regularly assist clients with internal corporate investigations and potentially sweeping e-discovery requests.

We field innovative and cost-effective litigation teams whose qualifications and experience are second to none. We respond quickly when clients become involved in disputes, and partner with them to devise strategies designed, where possible, to avoid the need for lengthy, expensive proceedings.

Pillsbury’s litigation practice is organized around specialty teams comprised of litigators with deep knowledge and experience in a number of substantive areas and industries.

Representative Litigation Clients

Recent Significant Cases and Results

Securities Class Actions

• Breaking Through Roadblocks to Complete a $3.5 Billion Deal: Kept going-private transaction for major bank on schedule by successfully resolving two breach-of-fiduciary-duty class actions and defeating an 11th-hour injunction attempt by others (UnionBanCal Corp.)
• Prevailing through Mastery of a Complex Statute: Won dismissal of a class action and a 500-plaintiff “mass action,” with the 9th Circuit affirming both instances (Officers of Saxton Inc.)
• Saving a Client over $100 Million in Settlement: Eviscerated a class action lawsuit and resolved it for a fractional amount (A major financial services company)
• When Failure isn’t Fraud: Defending Reputations Hit by Market Forces: Successfully defended directors and officers targeted in a $30 billion stock collapse (Former officers and directors of Exodus Communications, Inc.)
• Blazing a Faster Route to the Right Result: Developed a new use for a venerable legal doctrine and spared the clients from lengthy litigation (Directors of SDL, Inc.)

Commercial Litigation and Insolvency

• Tenacious Advocacy Pays Off in Big Bankruptcy Recovery: Successfully pressed for a larger stake in a much healthier restructure company (Official Committee of Equity Holders)
• Recovering Millions After a Technology Meltdown: Maximized the financial recovery from a vendor’s technology failure (Los Angeles Unified School District)
• Seeing the Big Picture and Charting an Efficient Resolution: Implemented an atypical bankruptcy solution to overcome litigation pending in another forum (Former partners of Coudert Brothers)
• Transforming a Wrongful Claim into Rightful Gain: Turned a wrongful contract termination claim against the client into a damages award for the client (Chevron Energy Solutions)
• Protecting Companies from Coerced Disclosures: Unanimous 3-0 ruling for the client and benefiting many other companies (A major energy industry company)

Intellectual Property

• Sparing a Trillion-Dollar Industry from a Single Supplier’s Dispute: Set an important patent law precedent, limiting the reach of the ITC’s power to exclude importation of products made by parties other than the alleged infringer (AT&T Mobility)
• A Clean Sweep, by a Lean Team, Against Patent Infringers: Won a jury verdict and injunctions against patent infringement on an important medical innovation (Pressure Products, Inc.)

Antitrust

• Dismantling $5 Billion in Antitrust Claims: Defeated certification of a putative class action involving more than 400 natural gas shipper and marketer plaintiffs (Dynegy Inc.)
• Protecting the Consensus in U.S. Health Care: Ended an unprecedented investigation with no complaint filed (Infectious Diseases Society of America)
• Preserving Tens of Millions of Dollars in Savings for Taxpayers: Defeated the challenge to a competitive, cost-saving purchasing program (U.S Communities Government Purchasing Alliance)

Environmental

• Solving International Disputes with Precedent-setting Approaches: Won dismissal of a federal lawsuit and facilitated Canadian client’s historic environmental agreement with U.S. regulators (Teck Cominco)
• Proactive Protection for Land Use Projects: Won rulings that allowed construction of a new airport to commence without costly delays and prevailed in the underlying litigation (Panama City-Bay County International Airport Authority and the St. Joe Company)
• Achieving Resolutions for a City’s Drinking Water Disaster: Secured settlement and orders for cleanup of contaminated groundwater (City of Rialto, California)

Public Interest and Pro Bono

• Persuading the Supreme Court on Fundamental Constitutional Issues: Won a landmark victory upholding Constitutional protections for foreign citizens held captive by the United States (Four Kuwaiti prisoners at Guantanamo Bay); submitted an amicus brief in support of due process on behalf of the ABA (American Bar Association)
• Unprecedented Success Achieved Against Dozens of Out-of-State Gun Dealers: Measurably reduced the flow of guns to New York City criminals through a novel litigation strategy (New York City)
• Protecting the Voting Rights of a Vulnerable Population: Protected Native Americans’ access and freedom to vote in South Dakota, a project that earned Pillsbury one of the six National Law Journal Pro Bono Awards of 2008 (Four Directions)
• Piercing the Veil on Prosecutorial Misconduct: Succeeded in winning commutation from Ohio Governor Ted Strickland of a death sentence after 14 years of advocacy (John G. Spirko, Jr.)
• Saving the Career, and Life, of a Soldier: Won dismissal of all court-martial charges against Lt. Whiteside in a highly publicized case, preserving her military service benefits, including much-needed psychiatric care (1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside)

Litigation Support
Pillsbury’s Litigation Support Department includes East and West Coast-based managers and litigation support analysts experienced in all facets of litigation, practice and trial support. We provide document scanning and coding, database creation, case management programs, demonstrative evidence services and electronic evidence and forensic services.

Extranet System

Pillsbury uses extranets to share information efficiently with clients and co-counsel. Pillsbury has many active client extranets, each individually designed so that they address the needs of the parties using the site.

Leading-Edge Litigation Support Software

We are able to give access to clients and co-counsel via web-enablement of our Concordance and JFS Litigators Notebook databases, which increases our collaborative capability. In addition to the standard litigation support applications, we also use the case strategy software, CaseMap.

Electronic and Forensic Evidence Development and Vendor Selection

Our approach to electronic and forensic evidence discovery is tailored to provide the most cost effective case solutions. We can facilitate in-depth forensic review of individual laptops, PCs and servers. We are able to negotiate very competitive and, often times, below-market rates on processing large amounts of data, which in turn allows us to cost-effectively conduct large-scale reviews

Courtroom and Trial Site Support

We use industry-leading demonstrative tools at trial. These give our litigators the flexibility to present their case in a visually engaging format and can be especially effective when used to impeach witnesses during cross-examination. Our litigators’ toolbox includes sophisticated video recreations and images of scanned documents displayed on monitors positioned throughout the courtroom, as well as low-tech favorites such as foam board blowups and timelines.

Litigation Cost Control

Cost control is a major element of all litigation matters whether large or small. This requires effective communication with the client as well as updated and accurate cost information. We have the trained personnel, specialized equipment, and experienced lawyers who know how to use these resources to get our client’s work done efficiently, and to aggressively monitor costs on a real-time basis.