Litigation

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

American Media	In-N-Out Burger
AT&T	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Bombardier	Mitsui & Co.
Chevron	Petco Animal Supplies
Clark Construction	Sharp Corporation
Deutsche Bank	Stanford University
Duke Energy	Stanley Black & Decker
Dynegy	Union Bank
Fidelity National Financial	Wells Fargo & Co.
Gibson Guitar	Xerox

Recent Significant Cases and Results

Manufacturing

• Winning a Jury’s Speedy Rejection of a $40M Claim: Won a unanimous jury verdict of “no liability,” denying $40 million in alleged damages (Bombardier)
• In International Arbitration, Defeating a €20M Claim and Securing a €10M Award Instead: Won a unanimous decision awarding our client more than $13 million on its claim while rejecting virtually all of the opponent’s counterclaim (Scandinavian Equipment Manufacturer)

Technology

• Garnering Proper Credit for a Life-Saving Pharmaceutical Breakthrough: Won co-inventorship for two University of Kansas researchers whose critical contributions to a blockbuster cancer drug went unrecognized for 10 years (The University of Kansas and the University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.)
• A Tax Precedent Benefiting All Multinational Corporations in California: Saved Apple from a potential multimillion dollar exposure in the first published decision on California’s longstanding—and controversial—interpretation limiting tax deductions for interest expense (Apple Inc.)
• Setting an Important Precedent in Securities Litigation Over Proxy Disclosures: Established a precedent requiring plaintiffs to show loss causation whenever alleging violations of federal securities laws through proxy disclosures (Atheros Communications)
• Helping a German Company Dispose of an Unexpected Claim in Texas: Won dismissal of a suit filed in Texas for lack of jurisdiction, a victory affirmed by the Fifth Circuit (Lexware GmbH)
• Demonstrating Plaintiffs’ Failure to State a Claim in a Successful Defense of Corporate Officers: Overcame a remand decision from the Ninth Circuit by persuading the District Court to dismiss virtually all claims against multiple individual defendants, for a second time (Six Officers, including the CFO, of Finisar Corporation)

Financial Services

• Precedent-Setting Dismissal of $200 Million in Claims Related to Dodd-Frank Act Changes: Definitively prevailed in the first court test of an issue created by a new federal law that affects many financial institutions (Wells Fargo)
• Recovering Millions for a Hedge Fund Client: After a nine-day bench trial, won an award of more than $6 million plus attorneys’ fees and costs (Passport Capital)

Energy

• Continuing 100 Years of Investment in the San Francisco Bay Area: Resolved regulatory and citizen challenges to a lease extension on a San Francisco Bay Area oil terminal, a vital component of Chevron’s U.S. operations (Chevron USA Inc.)
• Preserving a $54 Million Jury Award on Appeal: Secured a 133-page appellate decision upholding a record-breaking award for our client (Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD))

Real Estate

• In a Rare Court Test, Holding the Line on Exempt Status Under Federal Labor Laws: Won Fourth Circuit affirmation of the summary judgment rejecting an employee’s claim for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (Federal Realty Investment Trust)
• Defending a $16M Gain and Defeating the Lower Court’s Unwarranted Expansion of Liability for All LLC Members: A complete victory for the client and an important new precedent for LLC governance through a unanimous reversal from New York’s highest court (Steve Tzolis)

Consumer

• Scoring a Concession from the Department of Justice: Comprehensive resolution of all potential civil and criminal liabilities, avoiding any charges against Gibson’s officers, directors and employees, and obtaining insurance coverage for their defense (Gibson Guitar)
• Protecting the Value of a Trademark: Won a Ninth Circuit reversal of summary judgment, followed by a federal jury award of trademark protection and $8.6 million in compensatory and punitive damages for our client (Spin Master Ltd.)

Healthcare

• Securing FTC Clearance for a Healthcare Merger: Based on preparation that anticipated regulators’ concerns, the FTC cleared the proposed transaction without any conditions (North Shore-LIJ Health System)

Pro Bono & Public Policy

• Protecting the Financial Privacy Rights of More Than 30,000 Americans: Secured an injunction blocking the online posting of confidential financial information gathered from tens of thousands of federal employees (The Senior Executives Association, the American Foreign Service Association, the Assembly of Scientists, the National Association of Immigration Judges, and several individuals, together representing thousands of federal employees)

• Persevering and Prevailing for a Seventh Circuit Precedent: Secured two successive reversals from the Seventh Circuit, which ordered the lower court to release Pillsbury’s client from prison (Elliot D. Ray)

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.