Robert A. Lewis is a trial lawyer whose complex commercial litigation practice emphasizes insurance law, professional liability defense, antitrust and trade secrets litigation. A partner since 1985, Bob has extensive trial experience that includes numerous trials in federal and state courts throughout California and other states. Bob is also an experienced appellate lawyer, having briefed numerous appellate matters and argued more than a dozen times in the Ninth and Tenth Circuits and in the California Court of Appeal. He is experienced in alternative dispute resolution, both arbitrating many cases and serving as an arbitrator.

Bob’s complex commercial litigation practice is wide-ranging, including a defense verdict in a jury trial seeking damages under the earn-out provision of an acquired high-tech company and a recent defense judgment in a jury trial seeking damages from the denial of stock options. In the area of insurance, Bob was the head of the legacy McCutchen firm’s Insurance Industry Group and has litigated and provided counseling in virtually every facet of insurance law. Most recently, he successfully arbitrated a retrospective premium dispute and obtained appellate court affirmance of summary judgment on a coverage issue relating to excess workers’ compensation insurance. The 2012 edition of Chambers USA noted that clients respect his “superior knowledge of how the industry works.” In the area of professional liability defense, Bob routinely represents software integrators, insurance and reinsurance brokers, lawyers, actuaries and other professionals in malpractice actions, including a recent jury verdict on a reinsurance intermediary malpractice claim. In the antitrust area, his accomplishments include a defense verdict in an eight-week jury trial on claims of alleged secret rebates and a victory in the seminal case rejecting antitrust claims in the area of prepaid prescription plans. The 2012 edition of The Legal 500 noted clients comments that Bob makes “fine oral arguments” and is an “excellent cross-examiner.” In the area of trade secrets, his experience includes the arbitration of a claim for alleged misappropriation of software trade secrets and he recently coordinated multistate litigation to prevent the theft of trade secrets by competitive hirings. In addition to his legal work, Bob served as an independent trustee of the Alliance Money Market Fund.