Arturo González is chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Commercial Litigation and Trial Practice Group and past co-chair of our Litigation Department. He is an associate with the American Board of Trial Advocates who specializes in high-stakes, bet-the-company litigation and trials. Judges have praised his trial skills, with one writing that his “trial advocacy skills were superior” and another describing his trial skills as “phenomenal.”
Mr. González has successfully defended three trials where the plaintiffs sought more than $2 billion in damages, including a trade secrets case on behalf of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. When the case did not settle, Cypress turned to Mr. González to try it. In another, he represented a national bank in a class action trial. The bank prevailed on all claims but one and the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the bank on that claim. His third billion-dollar case was representing a former member of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum board of directors sued for fraud by the Oakland Raiders. The jury returned a defense verdict for the director.
Mr. González has also won four verdicts in excess of $13 million. In 2010, he won a $13.8 million jury verdict in a breach-of-duty and trade secrets case, including a finding that multiple employees acted willfully. He also won a $39.3 million verdict in April 2009 in a trial involving medical robotics, where the jury found that the defendant willfully misappropriated trade secrets and breached two contracts. In 2012, he obtained a $63 million verdict in a wrongful death trial, and in 2004, he obtained a $15.5 million verdict in a civil rights trial.
In 2014, Mr. González continued a string of victories in trade secrets litigation, securing a defense verdict for the nation’s largest HMO in a case where the plaintiff alleged trade secrets misappropriation, breach of contract, and other claims. This followed an arbitration victory in 2013 where Mr. González received a significant settlement on behalf of a software company in a case involving trade secrets misappropriation and employee theft.
Mr. González has been consistently recognized by his peers and in legal publications. He was honored in The National Law Journal’s 2009 “Winning” Special Report, which recognizes 10 of the country’s top trial lawyers. From 2010 – 2014, he was selected as one of the country’s top 30 trial lawyers by Legal 500 US, which described Mr. González as “[i]ncredibly impressive on his feet, great storyteller to the judge and jury, highly experienced,” and a “great leader.” Chambers USA recommended Mr. González as a commercial litigator from 2010 – 2014, noting that he is a “dynamic individual” and “great advocate who quickly establishes a rapport with judges and juries.”
