Author: Kristy Werness

Moez Kaba Named a Client Service All-Star MVP by BTI Consulting

BTI Client Service All-Star MVPs are attorneys identified for multiple years by top legal decision-makers as delivering the absolute best client service.

Clients described Mr. Kaba as “an instinctively great lawyer at every stage of litigation, from claims analysis to trial” who is “so artful at hearings, depositions, etc. and thinks great on his feet.” They called him “super sharp and responsive to our needs,” delivering “consistently outstanding client service.”

Mr. Kaba was one of only three attorneys out of the 256 on the list to be recognized organically by multiple clients and one of 11 recognized three years in a row.

The BTI Client Service All-Stars report is based solely on unprompted, confidential feedback from clients. BTI Consulting Group conducted more than 350 independent, individual interviews with chief legal officers and general counsel at Fortune 1000 companies and large organizations. No law firm submissions, self or firm referrals, or suggestions are accepted for inclusion.

Veteran Trial Lawyer Ben Balding Joins Hueston Hennigan

Mr. Balding was most recently a supervisory assistant U.S. attorney in the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where he served as lead or co-lead counsel in more than 10 trials. With nearly 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer and litigator, he will focus on high-stakes complex commercial litigation and white collar defense.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ben to the firm,” said Moez Kaba, managing partner of Hueston Hennigan. “He has excelled in trying the kinds of complex, high-stakes cases our clients rely on us to handle, and that experience makes him an outstanding fit for Hueston Hennigan.”

During almost a decade at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Balding served as lead or co-lead counsel in 11 jury trials and argued four appeals before the Ninth Circuit. He was chosen for multiple leadership roles at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including chief of the Complaints Unit and deputy chief of the Transnational Organized Crime Section.

Mr. Balding’s notable matters range from securities fraud to national security. He served as co-lead counsel in a 15-day complex securities jury trial that secured a conviction for an activist short seller involved with a multiyear market manipulation scheme, and he obtained guilty verdicts against a CEO and touring company for sanctions evasion in violation of an Office of Foreign Assets Control designation. Mr. Balding directed a multi-agency task force targeting transnational criminal organizations, and served as lead prosecutor in complex bank fraud and international money laundering cases involving Chinese and Mexican criminal organizations.

“Ben is a battle-tested trial lawyer who has secured victories across the toughest categories of federal prosecution—from securities fraud to RICO to sanctions evasion,” said John Hueston, one of the firm’s founding partners. “Coupled with his extensive complex civil litigation experience, Ben will be a tremendous asset to our clients in the country’s highest-stakes litigation and most sensitive white collar matters.”

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Balding was a partner at Meylan Davitt Jain Arevian & Kim, where his practice encompassed a range of civil litigation, including trade secrets and intellectual property. He was also previously an associate at Irell & Manella, where he handled high-stakes securities and commercial litigation.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join Hueston Hennigan, the preeminent trial boutique in the country,” said Mr. Balding. “The firm tries the most challenging cases with teams that are experienced and relentless, and it’s the ideal platform to build my practice and deliver the results clients expect from the firm.”

Mr. Balding earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.S., summa cum laude, in Mathematics-Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Hueston Hennigan Secures Significant Victory for Samsung Bioepis at Third Circuit

Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on increasing patient access to high-quality medicines by developing and manufacturing biosimilars. Janssen’s preliminary injunction motion sought to prevent Samsung Bioepis from launching its ustekinumab biosimilar with partner Quallent Pharmaceuticals. The preliminary injunction motion threatened Samsung’s ability to commercialize its biosimilar drug, which treats inflammatory conditions including moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and put several important commercial relationships for the company at risk.

In April 2025, the Hueston Hennigan team defeated Janssen’s motion at the district court, with the court holding that Janssen had failed to show irreparable harm in the absence of a preliminary injunction. Janssen subsequently appealed to the Third Circuit. While the appeal was pending, in January 2026, the team defeated a second motion for a preliminary injunction brought by Janssen in the district court.

In a unanimous precedential opinion issued on April 14, 2026, the Third Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of Janssen’s first motion for a preliminary injunction. The court agreed with Samsung Bioepis’s articulation of the standard for showing irreparable harm, and held that Janssen had failed to show that it would suffer such harm.

“We agree with the court’s well-reasoned decision,” said attorney for Samsung Bioepis, Hagan Scotten. “The ruling represents an important win for Samsung Bioepis and its ability to offer its biosimilar drug in the United States.”

In addition to Scotten, the Hueston Hennigan team includes John Hueston, Christine Woodin, Karen Ding, Bram Alden, Chandler Matz and Katie Ross.

The case is Johnson & Johnson et al. v. Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., No. 25-1831 (3rd Cir.) and 25-cv-01439 (D.N.J.).

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Admin’s Decision to Break Up Atmospheric Research Lab

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is a federally funded research and development center in Colorado that has served as the cornerstone of the country’s atmospheric and Earth systems research infrastructure for decades. The lawsuit alleges that the decision to dismantle the center is in retaliation against the State of Colorado. You can read more at NBC News.

The team includes Michael Purpura, Bram Alden, Frank Troncoso, Austin Reagan, Emilie Miner and David Kim.

Former AUSA Jenna Williams Returns to Hueston Hennigan

Ms. Williams most recently served as an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where her responsibilities included prosecution of some of the office’s most complex cases. An experienced trial lawyer, her practice will focus on complex commercial litigation and white collar defense and investigations. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Ms. Williams was an associate at Hueston Hennigan.

“We’re so pleased to welcome Jenna back to Hueston Hennigan,” said the firm’s managing partner, Moez Kaba. “Jenna brings a wealth of experience from both her time as a federal prosecutor and her prior tenure at the firm. Her return strengthens our already deep bench of former federal prosecutors and skilled trial lawyers.”

Prior to rejoining Hueston Hennigan, Ms. Williams spent six years in the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where she represented the United States in criminal matters involving wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, among others. She has brought five felony jury trials to verdict, ranging from wire fraud to drug trafficking. Additionally, during her time in the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force and the Transnational Organized Crime Section, Ms. Williams led complex, long-term financial investigations that resulted in indictments and guilty pleas, including the prosecution of the founder and former board member of a company who defrauded lenders and investors out of $248 million (United States v. Joseph Sanberg) and the prosecution of a former board member of the same company for defrauding lenders out of $145 million (United States v. Ibrahim AlHusseini).

“Jenna’s deep experience as a trial lawyer and as a complex civil and criminal litigator make her a ‘triple threat’ and a perfect fit for Hueston Hennigan,” said co-founding partner John Hueston. “Her addition marks the fourth leading AUSA from Los Angeles to join us in the last year.”

As a prosecutor, Ms. Williams also authored numerous appellate briefs and argued several appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, including handling the briefing and argument for a complex appeal from a nearly month-long international drug trafficking and conspiracy trial.

Prior to serving as a federal prosecutor, Ms. Williams was an associate at Hueston Hennigan, where she handled a range of complex commercial litigation in state and federal court, and represented executives, individuals and public entities in federal investigations.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to rejoin the amazing team at Hueston Hennigan, the premier trial boutique in the nation,” said Ms. Williams. “I’m eager to help deliver the results clients expect from this firm.”

Ms. Williams served as a law clerk to the Hon. John B. Owens of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School and her B.A. in Economics from Brown University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.