Mr. Fong is co-leader of the firm's Appellate practice team, ranked in Chambers USA 2007 and 2008 as one of the leading national appellate practices. He has argued and briefed numerous cases before state and federal appellate courts, including appearances in 80 published decisions. He has argued six cases before the California Supreme Court, prevailing in five of the six cases and establishing important precedent in the fields of banking, libel defense, public employment and municipal regulation. As an associate, he successfully argued before the California Supreme Court in a libel defense case on behalf of a newspaper that had published a series of investigative articles detailing police and prosecutorial misconduct in the conviction of an alleged Chinatown gang murder. The victory resulted in reversal of a $6 million judgment against the newspaper.

Mr. Fong has successfully represented clients in numerous multi-million dollar appeals in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, including prominent cases on banking issues and arbitration proceedings. In 1994, he successfully argued a prominent Ninth Circuit case defining the scope of fiduciary duties in a multi-bank loan, resulting in reversal of a $1.8 million judgment against a bank. In 1996, he was lead attorney in an important Ninth Circuit case defining the conflict of interest rules for arbitrators, resulting in reinstatement of a $5 million arbitration award for his client. In addition to arguing numerous cases before the Ninth Circuit, Mr. Fong has authored briefs in leading cases favorably decided by the Second Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Eighth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit, Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, including a landmark administrative law case, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 467 U.S. 837 (1984).

Mr. Fong has extensively analyzed issues of appealability in federal courts, publishing an article on the topic in The Practical Litigator (published by the American Law Institute - American Bar Association ). He was elected to the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers in 1991 and currently serves as one of its vice presidents. He completed a three-year appointment to the Appellate Courts Committee of the State Bar of California in 1986. Mr. Fong has been certified as a specialist in appellate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Fong has been a contributing author of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy's (NITA) commentaries to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. He is one of the appellate lawyers in California recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America for 2007 and 2008.

Mr. Fong recently completed a three-year appointment by the American Bar Association to its Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. He also has served on the board of directors of Lawyers for One America, a national collaboration of organizations working on diversity and pro bono issues in the legal profession. In 2000, Lawyers for One America produced its Report to the President of the United States on the Status of People of Color and Pro Bono Services in the Legal Profession. Mr. Fong was the honoree at the 2006 annual dinner of the Asian Law Caucus, which honored Mr. Fong for his leadership in promoting diversity in the legal profession.

Mr. Fong has served as president of the Asian Pacific Bar of California and as president of the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. He has also served on the board of directors of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and as co-chair of its Committee on Minority Employment. Mr. Fong completed a three-year term on the steering committee of the California Minority Counsel Program in 1997. He was the 1995-97 treasurer of the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, and has been a member of that organization's executive committee for more than a decade. Mr. Fong is chair of the firm's Diversity Committee and has served as chair of the Employment Committee for the firm’s San Francisco office.

Following law school, he served as law clerk to the late Honorable Constance Baker Motley, former Chief Judge of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Education

J.D., Harvard Law School, 1979
cum laude, Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Civil Rights - Civil Liberties Law Review

A.B., Harvard College, 1976
magna cum laude

Admissions

State of California

External Publications

Circuit Court Review: 9th Circuit - Notable Cases from California and Hawaii, The National Law Journal, 24-Oct-2005

From Domestic Violence to the Recall Election - 9th Circuit Addressed a Range of Statutory and Constitutional Issues, The National Law Journal, 23-Aug-2004