Author: Kristy Werness

Kaba Inducted into Prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers

Known as the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in North America, ACTL limits membership to no more than one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. Mr. Kaba, recognized as one of the best trial lawyers in the country by Chambers and Benchmark Litigation, is also a fellow of the prestigious International Association of Trial Lawyers, making him one of the select few who are fellows of both organizations.

With Mr. Kaba, Hueston Hennigan now has four fellows of the ACTL, including Brian Hennigan, John Hueston and Vicki Chou.

Founded in 1950, the ACTL is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Fellowship is extended only by invitation, after careful investigation, to experienced trial lawyers from all branches of trial practice who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.

Hueston Appointed Chair of UCI Law’s Board of Visitors

The board of visitors is an advisory committee — comprised of legal, business and community members — that serves the law school by invitation of the dean. Board members advise the dean on strategic planning and efforts to continue to strengthen the school’s national and global standing; they support the school’s fundraising efforts; and they promote the school’s programs, students and leadership in local, national and global communities.

“It’s an honor to be appointed to serve as chair of the UC Irvine School of Law Board of Visitors,” said Mr. Hueston. “UC Irvine Law is a forward-thinking school committed to not only delivering an innovative education to tomorrow’s lawyers but also to instilling values such as the importance of public service and equity in the profession. I look forward to working with the board to continue to play my small part in the school’s future.”

Dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law Austen Parrish said Mr. Hueston has been a “steadfast supporter of UC Irvine Law School and a remarkable leader in the legal community.”

“We are thrilled to have him chair our board of visitors and we are excited for the innovative ideas and strategic guidance he will bring to our law school,” Dean Parrish said. “John is one of the nation’s finest lawyers and a true innovator. His commitment to professional excellence, his support of social justice issues and lawyers making a difference in the communities they serve, fits perfectly with the law school’s mission and bold ambitions.”

For UCI Law’s press release, please go here.

Court Appoints John Hueston as Monitor to Ensure VA Compliance with Historic Ruling to Provide Care for Homeless Veterans

The judge’s ruling held the VA accountable for failing to honor its obligations on the West Los Angeles VA Campus and ordered that the campus be used to provide housing and healthcare to disabled veterans as originally intended. The ruling voided four significant land-use leases on the West LA VA campus, including UCLA, Brentwood School, Safety Park and Bridgeland, and ordered the construction of both permanent and temporary housing.

“I am honored to have been selected as the monitor to ensure timely and comprehensive compliance with Judge Carter’s order, and am pleased to serve on a pro bono basis,” said Hueston. “Our veterans have made immeasurable sacrifices, and for far too long, the VA failed to provide a home and care for veterans as it pledged more than 100 years ago. I look forward to ensuring compliance with this order so that adequate housing and care is provided to veterans who desperately need it.”

As part of his role, Hueston will oversee the planning and construction of both temporary and permanent supportive housing, the construction of a Town Center, staffing the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program case worker ranks to an appropriate level, increasing VA homeless veteran outreach staff to an appropriate level, ensuring that the VA does not enter any land use agreement that does not principally benefit veterans and their families, and auditing compliance to ensure elimination of specified discriminatory practices against disabled veterans.

Hueston has a long and distinguished private and public sector career. His work as a prosecutor included sweeping and complex investigations and cases, including U.S. v. Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. During his tenure as a prosecutor, he earned national accolades for his work, including the Department of the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service (the highest award granted by the attorney general within the Department of Justice), and three DOJ Director’s Awards for Superior Service.

A Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Hueston was recently recognized by Chambers USA for his Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession. At Hueston Hennigan, he represents Fortune 500 companies and governments as lead counsel in complex civil matters, including breach of contract, real estate, and fraud cases. He has also served as independent counsel for investigations on behalf of numerous government agencies, including the County of San Bernardino, the City of Santa Monica, and the San Diego Association of Governments.

You can see the order appointing a special monitor here.

Coverage of the appointment appeared in the Daily Journal.

Former AUSA Bram Alden Joins Hueston Hennigan

Mr. Alden joins the firm from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where he most recently served as chief of the Criminal Appeals section.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bram to the firm,” said Moez Kaba, managing partner of Hueston Hennigan. “He is an experienced, creative and well-rounded trial lawyer who will comfortably fit within our national trial practice. And, Bram’s extensive appellate experience makes him a tremendous asset to our clients on appeal.”

Mr. Alden spent the last eight and a half years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In his most recent role as chief of Criminal Appeals, he handled and oversaw the most complex appeals, supervised nine other appellate prosecutors, advised hundreds of trial attorneys, and taught legal writing. During his tenure in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he also tried five felony jury trials and one misdemeanor bench trial, never losing a single count, including for attempted murder, threats to kill major presidential candidates, bank robbery, false impersonation of a federal agent, conspiracy, and fraud. Mr. Alden also argued over 30 cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and drafted multiple successful en banc petitions. He received the Department of Justice Director’s Award for devising responses to novel legal issues arising from the pandemic and guiding federal prosecutors nationwide.

“I couldn’t be happier to join Hueston Hennigan, which has become the preeminent trial boutique in the country,” said Mr. Alden. “There isn’t a better platform out there, and I look forward to practicing alongside the firm’s incredibly talented lawyers.”

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Alden was a litigation associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson, where his practice was focused on complex civil litigation. He served as a law clerk to Hon. John B. Owens of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Alden earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where he was Order of the Coif and articles editor for the UCLA Law Review. He earned his B.A. from Columbia University and his M.S. from Pace University while teaching fifth grade as part of the Teach for America program in New York City.

Hueston Hennigan Attorneys Receive Best Lawyers Accolades

Twelve 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, Moez Kaba was recognized as a 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” in Los Angeles. 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 their outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. The following attorneys were selected:

  • Joseph Aronsohn
  • Annie Banks
  • Karen Ding
  • Yegor Fursevich
  • Brittani Jackson
  • Brandon Marsh
  • Lauren McGrory Johnson
  • Emily Michael Munson
  • Sourabh Mishra
  • Samantha Schnier
  • Michael H. Todisco
  • Rajan Trehan

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. The methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.

‘GoodPop vs. Bad Pop’: False Advertising Suit Over Added Sugar

According to the lawsuit, despite being sold in healthy grocery stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts and featuring misleading images of fruit on its packaging, JonnyPops’ two main ingredients are water and added cane sugar. In fact, its products have 66% more added sugar per fluid ounce than a traditional Coke. In comparison, GoodPop’s bestselling line of Junior Pops doesn’t contain any added sugar and is made with 100% fruit juice and/or purees.

The suit comes during peak popsicle season when millions scour grocery store shelves to find better-for-you frozen treats for their families and amidst a growing wave of conversations around misleading labeling of better-for-you products.

The team includes John Hueston, Sourabh Mishra, Christine Woodin and Andreas Petasis.

The case has received media coverage in outlets including Law.com, Law360 and Bloomberg.

 

Record Labels Sue Generative AI Companies for Copyright Infringement

Spearheaded by the Recording Industry Association of America, this is the first time the record labels have sued AI companies alleging copyright infringement of their sound recordings.

As the complaints describe, “AI companies, like all other enterprises, must abide by the laws that protect human creativity and ingenuity. There is nothing that exempts AI technology from copyright law or that excuses AI companies from playing by the rules. These lawsuits seek to enforce these basic principles.”

The suits are UMG Recordings, Inc. et al. v. Uncharted Labs, dba Udio, et al. (1:24-cv-04777, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) and UMG Recordings, Inc. et al. v. Suno, Inc. et al. (1:24-cv-11611, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts).

The Hueston Hennigan team includes Moez Kaba, Robert Klieger, Mariah Rivera and Alexander Perry.

The suits have been widely covered in the press, appearing in outlets including Law.com, Law360, the Verge, Variety, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Wired and the BBC, among others.

 

Chambers Recognizes Hueston Hennigan as Leading Firm and John Hueston with National Outstanding Contribution Award

Mr. Hueston was recognized for being at the pinnacle of his practice due to recent victories and exceptional client service. During the award ceremony, Chambers praised Mr. Hueston as “one of the nation’s leading trial lawyers” who “built a reputation as the person to have on speed dial for when it really matters.” Chambers also underscored that, in a crowded market for litigation boutiques, he was able to build his “firm into one of the nation’s leading choices for bet-the-company litigation.” Past recipients include attorneys such as Seth Waxman, Debra Wong Yang and Mary Jo White.

In the Chambers USA 2024 guide, Hueston Hennigan garnered top rankings in both General Commercial Litigation (Band 1) and White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Litigation (Band 1), with clients praising its “incredibly deep and broad bench” and “incredibly effective team” that is “acutely focused on optimizing outcomes.” Clients and market sources also lauded the firm’s “outstanding” and “phenomenal” quality of client service and representation. The firm was also ranked nationally in Corporate Crime and Investigations.

In addition, eight Hueston Hennigan lawyers—close to half of the firm’s partnership—were ranked:

Mr. Hueston earned Chambers’ highest ranking in three categories. He was ranked as a Star Individual in the Trial Lawyers (Nationwide), General Commercial Litigation (California), and White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Litigation (California) ranking tables. Mr. Hueston was described as “unparalleled,” “one of the top trial lawyers in the country” and “the full package of tactician, trial lawyer and human being.” Clients stated that he “is tried and tested,” has “a steel-trap mind and is incredibly quick in analyzing cases and scenarios,” and “is a gifted trial lawyer” whose “mind is several steps ahead of other people.” Mr. Hueston “is a brilliant trial lawyer and a great tactician who you can rely on for your most significant matters.”

Moez Kaba was recognized by Chambers in multiple categories, including Band 1 in General Commercial Litigation (California), in addition to being ranked among the top Trial Lawyers (Nationwide). With multiple clients raving about his trial skills, he was described as a “master in the courtroom” and “one of the best young trial lawyers” in the country. Clients praised his “blistering cross-examination” abilities, with Chambers describing him as “an incredibly strong trial lawyer and effective cross-examiner” who “is excellent on his feet” with “outstanding instincts.” Other market sources stated his “trial skills are paramount,” and he is “unbelievably articulate and well prepared” and “so bright and intellectually curious.”

Douglas Dixon was once again recognized as a top lawyer in General Commercial Litigation (California). Clients and market sources praised him as “a phenomenal courtroom lawyer” whose “analysis is sharp and sound.” Another source stated, “he plays so well in a boardroom and with a judge, because he is thoughtful.”

Vicki Chou was recognized among the top lawyers in White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Litigation (California), with clients stating she is “a truly great defense lawyer” who is “just incredible.” She was also described as “thorough,” “really great to work with” and “very smart, savvy and sharp.” Another source raved, “her ability to master the case and to manage her team was extremely impressive and she is a highly capable advocate.”

Marshall Camp garnered recognition in the White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Litigation (California) rankings, an elite group of exceptional and tested litigators. He was lauded as “a smart, savvy litigator” who “gets great results because he is always thinking like a trial lawyer.”

Brian Hennigan was also ranked in White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Litigation (California). A market source commented, “he has tried so many cases and has advised so many boards that he is a really eminent person in this space. There are not many courtrooms where he wouldn’t be well known.”

Robert Klieger was ranked in Media and Entertainment Litigation (California). Market sources described him as a “brilliant” lawyer whose “level of sophistication is very strong.”

Joseph Reiter made his debut on the Chambers rankings, as a rising star in General Commercial Litigation (California). Recognizing his extensive lineup of trials, clients described him as an impressive young trial lawyer.

Chambers and Partners is the leading independent professional legal research company operating across 200 jurisdictions. Rankings are determined by an in-depth research methodology involving detailed interviews with market sources and clients, as well as analysis of capabilities, achievement and sector presence.

 

Hueston and Kaba Named BTI Client Service All-Stars

BTI Client Service All-Stars are attorneys identified by top legal decision-makers as delivering the absolute best client service. The report is the only independently researched, client-driven ranking of attorney client service.

The BTI Client Service All-Stars report is based solely on unprompted, confidential feedback from clients. BTI Consulting Group conducted more than 300 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.

Go here for Mr. Hueston’s profile and here for Mr. Kaba’s.