Author: Kristy Werness

From the Editors:

“Phenomenal trial attorneys”
“Carry tremendous gravitas with the court”
“Trial focus. They start with the end in mind”
“Steel trap minds”
“Every member of the Hueston Hennigan team has a deep well of relevant experience in governmental investigations, and that experience informs how they direct corporate responses to inquiries”
“Every member of the team is talented and hard working; those at the top of the team are all leaders, either innate leaders or those who the firm developed”

Brian Hennigan was selected to the Legal 500 “Hall of Fame” for Investigations and White Collar Defense. John Hueston was recognized as a Leading Lawyer for both Commercial Litigation and White Collar Defense. Vicki Chou was also recognized among the next generation of partners.

Marshall Camp, Doug Dixon, Padraic Foran, Brittani Jackson, Moez Kaba, Rob Klieger, Allison Libeu, Mike Purpura, Christy Von der Ahe Rayburn, and Joe Reiter were also included as key lawyers.

 

The Legal 500 Series, now in its 35th year, is widely acknowledged as the world’s largest legal referral guide. More than 300,000 buyers of legal services are surveyed and interviewed globally each year.

The Legal 500 is an independent guide, and firms and individuals are recommended purely on merit. It is the only guide to truly reflect the needs of corporate counsel by focusing on the strength in depth of the teams (practice and associates) rather than simply list individual partners.

In an interview with Law360, Mr. Reiter discussed the victory he obtained for Amazon.com in a suit brought by eBay, alleging an international racketeering and fraud conspiracy to poach top sellers from the online auction platform. While this was a “tough case factually, with many defendants and many causes of action,” Mr. Reiter and the Hueston Hennigan team prevailed on all claims.

Mr. Reiter also discussed the complete defense verdict he secured for PricewaterhouseCoopers against a whistleblower who had reported to the SEC. “I think we disproved the plaintiff’s narrative and completely flipped it on its head,” Mr. Reiter said. PwC “had, in fact, encouraged the plaintiff to raise any concerns,” and Hueston Hennigan was able to “vindicate the reputation of a client who had had these horrible things alleged.”

When asked what motivates him, Mr. Reiter said “first and foremost, delivering results” for his clients. He went on to say that clients place a great deal of trust in the firm, and he aims to exceed their expectations, especially “when reputation and significant exposure is on the line.”

Mr. Reiter also likes working with “some of the best trial lawyers in the country,” and says he finds the “the intensity and high stakes [of trial] enlivening.” “When you’re in trial, you’re singularly focused on winning the case before you,” he said. “That gives me an adrenaline rush that I think brings out my best work.”

A team of Law360 editors selected the 2022 Rising Stars winners after reviewing more than 1,350 submissions. Attorneys had to be under 40 as of April 30, 2022, to be eligible for this year’s award.

 

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Hueston Hennigan “boasts outstanding trial capabilities” and “[has] an unparalleled ability to break down complex and sophisticated matters for clients who need to make strategic bet-the-company high-stakes choices.” “They have sharp, innovative lawyers who are immediately responsive day or night.” Clients furthered, “every lawyer I’ve ever dealt with in the firm is top-notch … it’s a blend of superior skills and an unwavering devotion to clients.” Another client explained, “Hueston Hennigan has very strong associates … they know how to try cases. They’re a very skilled bunch of trial lawyers and that’s what we want.”

Chambers further described Hueston Hennigan as a “high-caliber litigation platform with powerhouse white collar criminal defense credentials.”

John Hueston is “consistently recognized as one of the top trial attorneys in the country, with clients regularly turning to him for their most sophisticated commercial disputes.” Mr. Hueston has earned Chambers’ highest recognitions including Band 1 (USA: Litigation – Trial Lawyers), Band 1 (CA: Commercial Litigation) and Star Individuals (CA: White Collar). “John is a highly skilled trial lawyer – he’s so convincing and persuasive and his cross-examinations are outstanding.” “John is devastatingly savvy and effective. He’s a special blend of superior intellect, intuition, incisiveness, courtroom artistry, energy, practicality, fair-mindedness, and determination.” “John is the best trial lawyer I’ve ever worked with.”

Chambers likewise recognizes Moez Kaba as a leading, go-to trial lawyer: “The term ‘steel trap mind’ was coined for Moez. There’s nobody quicker or more consistently on the money when complex judgment calls need to be made.” “Moez is one the best litigators I have worked with. His legal skills are only surpassed by his professionalism. He’s strategic, agile, creative, and a master in the courtroom.” “He’s highly skilled on paper and is a very versatile trial lawyer.”

Chambers describes Brian Hennigan, as possessing “a wealth of experience in high-stakes criminal enforcement matters and advises clients on white collar matters ranging from antitrust and False Claims actions to fraud.” “He is one of the best lawyers I have ever worked with. He’s thoughtful, sensible, wise and creative.”

Vicki Chou “enjoys a burgeoning reputation for her role in representing clients facing major enforcement actions, with clients benefiting from her significant experience in bet-the-company litigation matters and her prosecutorial experience as an Assistant US Attorney in California’s Central District.” A client noted, “if there’s anything coming out of Central District, she is all over it and understands it implicitly.”

Chambers’ feedback describes Rob Klieger as having a highly respected litigation practice, which sees him handle high-stakes profit participation, intellectual property and contract disputes. Clients noted “he is a dynamo who works very hard and is committed to his clients.”

 

Chambers Research is conducted by 200 Research Analysts, across 200 jurisdictions and provides nearly 6,000 rankings tables. Annually they collect hundreds of thousands of responses from clients, the majority via in-depth interview. Hueston Hennigan’s rankings are available, here.

A founding partner of Hueston Hennigan, Ms. Plessman focuses on trial practice and complex litigation. She represents clients in matters involving securities fraud, copyright infringement, wildfire litigation, trade secret theft, breach of contract and professional negligence. The Daily Journal cited Ms. Plessman’s representation of a Western utility that provides service in Oregon and Northern California in the litigation fallout from the 2020 Labor Day Fires. She also obtained appellate affirmation of a preliminary injunction against the defendants in a case where she represented minority shareholders of SweeGen Inc., the maker of food and beverage sweeteners.

Allison Libeu focuses her practice on complex civil litigation with a niche specialty in the “corporate divorce” arena, which typically involves disputes between the founders or owners of a business. She noted that “Hueston Hennigan takes on complex cases, whatever the topic.” Editors noted her successful representation of Monster Energy Co, recently winning $175 million plus royalties in one of the largest-ever U.S. trademark arbitration awards. “The big award came after Libeu cross-examined Vital Pharmaceutical’s damages expert and obtained critical admissions about his methodology that undercut his opinions and agreed with her disgorgement and royalty theories.” Editors also noted her successful representation of baby products manufacturer Hello Bello in a trademark dispute with a company named Hello Products.

Ms. Plessman has established herself as a top litigator, representing clients in high stakes matters, including securities fraud, copyright infringement, wildfire litigation, trade secret theft, breach of contract and professional negligence matters, and white collar defense. Ms. Plessman consistently delivers successful outcomes for high-profile clients faced with complex, challenging business, regulatory, and criminal matters. Her recent victories for SweeGen and Broadcom has garnered her repeated recognition by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top Women Lawyers in California,” and by the Los Angeles Business Journal’s as one of the “Women of Influence: Attorneys.”

The Los Angeles Business Journal highlighted the region’s outstanding legal community by recognizing Los Angeles’ top 100 lawyers for their legal achievements, community involvement and impacts on the profession. The Top 100 lawyers have demonstrated exceptional legal skill and achievements across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership and contributions to the Los Angeles community at large.

Click here to view full profile.

Ms. Plessman has established herself as a top litigator, representing clients in high stakes matters, including securities fraud, copyright infringement, wildfire litigation, trade secret theft, breach of contract and professional negligence matters, and white collar defense. Ms. Plessman consistently delivers successful outcomes for high-profile clients faced with complex, challenging business, regulatory, and criminal matters. Her recent victories for SweeGen and Broadcom has garnered her repeated recognition by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top Women Lawyers in California.” She has also been included on Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Women of Influence: Attorneys” list for the third consecutive year.

“A recognized rising star” and one of the “brightest litigators across the US,” Ms. Chou is a partner and a key member of the White Collar and Investigations team. She is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney and served as a Deputy Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California. Since joining Hueston Hennigan, Ms. Chou has been involved with developing strategies related to many of the firm’s complex and high-profile cases. She has been recognized as a rising star by multiple publications: Top White Collar Attorneys by the Daily Journal, 40 & Under Hot List by Benchmark Litigation, Women of Influence and Minority Leaders of Influence lists by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and one of only 20 recipients of National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) 2020 Best Under 40, a significant accomplishment as the field includes those in all areas of the law, including the judiciary, academia, and politics.

The Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Women of Influence: Attorneys” list recognizes women for their “exceptional legal skill and achievement across the full spectrum of responsibility, exemplary leadership as evidenced by the highest professional and ethical standards, and for contributions to the Los Angeles community at large.”

Click here to view full profile.

The Daily Journal noted Mr. Dixon’s two trial wins in 2021 – securing a $25 million trial victory in the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of the patentee-plaintiff, Acorn Technologies, against Samsung involving utility patents relating to semiconductor technology, and securing a complete defense verdict of no infringement and invalidity representing ClearOne Inc. against Shure Incorporated in a design patent case in the District of Delaware—an extremely rare invalidity result in a design patent case.

“Trials are about organizing facts around a memorable story,” Dixon explained. “Asking the inventor to describe the process that led to that ‘eureka’ moment when he or she discovered something novel, something new, helps humanize and dramatize what can often be complex technology in a very memorable way.”

Rayburn—who participated in both the Acorn and ClearOne trials—credits “a lifelong ability to translate issues that people might not understand into plain English, to explain things in simple terms” and a mechanical engineering degree from Stanford University as assets in representing clients in intellectual property litigation.

Daily Journal editors noted the multi-district battle between ClearOne and Shure, describing it as a “David and Goliath story.” In a related case in the Northern District of Illinois, Rayburn was able to show, before trial, that Shure likely infringed a ClearOne patent, thus obtaining a preliminary injunction, something rare in patent litigation. ClearOne then obtained a contempt finding against Shure for Shure’s violation of that preliminary injunction and had that contempt finding upheld on appeal before the Federal Circuit.

The list recognizes the very best intellectual property attorneys in California who have made an impact on the law and society within the last year.

Doug Dixon profile

Christy Von der Ahe Rayburn profile