Author: Jason Armstrong

Chien and Perry Named Super Lawyers New York Rising Stars

Rising Stars is an annual list of outstanding lawyers who have attained significant peer recognition and professional achievement. To be eligible, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. While up to 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.

Dixon, Hueston and Kaba Land DJ Top 100 Honors

Additionally, Mr. Hueston was recognized among the publication’s “Distinguished Counsel” – attorneys who have made the Top 100 at least 15 times. The Top 100 honors “litigators handling consequential disputes, dealmakers guiding major transactions and lawyers confronting emerging questions at the intersection of technology, business and government.”

Their profiles are here, here and here (subscription required).

Best Lawyers Honors 29 Hueston Hennigan Attorneys

Fifteen lawyers were honored on the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America” list, and 14 were named to “The Best Lawyers in America” list. Additionally, John Hueston was recognized as a 2027 “Lawyer of the Year” in Bet-the-Company Litigation, and Allison Libeu was named a 2027 “Lawyer of the Year” in Litigation-Labor and Employment. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

The “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America” list recognizes lawyers who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.

The following attorneys were selected:

  • Joseph Aronsohn
  • Warren Crandall
  • Arianna Demas
  • Youzhihang Deng
  • Karen Ding
  • Craig Fligor
  • Yegor Fursevich
  • Deeksha Kohli
  • Adam Minchew
  • Emily Michael Munson
  • Cassidy O’Sullivan
  • Mariah Rivera
  • Samantha Schnier
  • Michael H. Todisco
  • Stephanie Xiao

The following attorneys were recognized on “The Best Lawyers in America” list:

  • Marshall A. Camp
  • Vicki Chou
  • Douglas J. Dixon
  • Padraic Foran
  • Brian J. Hennigan
  • John C. Hueston
  • Moez M. Kaba
  • Robert N. Klieger
  • Allison Libeu
  • Alison L. Plessman
  • Michael M. Purpura
  • Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn
  • Andrew Walsh
  • Thomas A. Zaccaro

Inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America” is determined through a comprehensive peer-review survey.

Micron Scores Complete Dismissal of Lanham Act Case

The suit accused Micron of supporting statements that YMTC is affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, and that its chips pose a threat to U.S. national security. The litigation is related to the flash memory chips used for smart phones, televisions and other devices that store data even after the device is turned off.

The motion, granted by Judge Carl J. Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was brought by Micron and co-defendant DCI Group AZ, LLC. The judge agreed with the firm’s arguments, holding that the China Tech Threat publications YMTC relied on were “political speech expressing a point of view, not commercial speech,” and therefore could not be the basis for YMTC’s claims under the Lanham Act. The court also denied YMTC’s request for leave to amend, reasoning that because the publications are noncommercial speech there is no amendment YMTC could make to state a claim for relief under the Lanham Act.

The team includes Douglas Dixon, Hagan Scotten, Sourabh Mishra and Chandler Matz.

Press coverage: “Judge dismisses lawsuit claiming Micron spread false claims to hurt Chinese chip rival YMTC,” Reuters; “Micron Sinks Chinese Chip Patent Rival’s ‘Astroturfing’ Suit,” Bloomberg; “Chinese chipmaker YMTC sues rival Micron in US over spyware claims,” Reuters.

AbbVie Secures Dual MSJ Wins in Bellwether Breast Implant Cases

Judge Lawrence Riff held that a plaintiff who elects explant surgery—with no diagnosis, no defect ever manifesting, and no physician recommending removal—has no legally cognizable injury under California law.

These are the first bellwether summary judgment orders in any court in these cases. The latest win vacates the first bellwether trial, scheduled for September 2026. It is expected that all similar cases pending in the judicial council coordination proceedings (JCCP) will be stayed pending appeal of this decision.

Hueston Hennigan is lead U.S. trial counsel for AbbVie in the Allergan textured breast implant litigation. Allergan, an AbbVie subsidiary, recalled BIOCELL breast implants in 2019 due to a potential association with a rare cancer, BIA-ALCL, and litigation soon followed. This multibillion-dollar litigation involves approximately 1,700 individual lawsuits and a nationwide class action pending in three venues, including a coordinated proceeding in LA Superior Court and a multidistrict litigation in the District of New Jersey. The plaintiffs argue AbbVie is liable under manufacturing defect, failure to warn, and misrepresentation theories.

The rulings have implications beyond these plaintiffs, as the orders’ logic applies broadly across the filed cases.  The matters were argued by John Hueston. The team also includes Moez Kaba, Christine Woodin, Vicki Chou, Craig Fligor, Karen Ding, Mariah Rivera, Bram Alden, Cassidy O’Sullivan, Youzhihang Deng, Samuel Givertz, Katharine Ross, Marcelo Bonassa, Erik Savitt, Kristen Schnell and Yona Kornsgold.

A Daily Journal article is here.

Alden Honored with OCLBA Community Service Award

The award, named for the late Katherine Darmer, a founding member of the OCLBA board of directors, honors “individuals and organizations who make extraordinary contributions to the advancement of LGBTQ equality.”

The association noted that, as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Alden secured and defended convictions in multiple cases involving LGBTQ victims, and, in private practice, won asylum for a transgender immigrant, co-founded an LGBTQ board to support homeless youth in Southern California, and helped write and defend the nation’s first law banning conversion therapy on minors.