Tony West is a litigation partner whose trial practice includes representing individuals and companies in civil and criminal matters. He is a former federal prosecutor and state special assistant attorney general and has served clients in both federal and state court legal matters, including several high-profile engagements. A member of the firm’s Litigation, Trial Practice, and Securities Litigation, Enforcement and White-Collar Defense (“SLEW”) groups, Mr. West’s practice includes general corporate litigation, white-collar criminal defense, civil rights and civil liberties matters, securities litigation, and antitrust. He is also co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Strategy Committee.

Named one of Northern California’s “Super Lawyers” every year since 2006, Mr. West was named one of America’s “Leading Lawyers” by Lawdragon in 2008 and one of California’s “Top 20 Lawyers Under 40” in 2004.

Public Service Career

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster in 2001, Mr. West served as state Special Assistant Attorney General, an appointee of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. In that capacity, he advised Attorney General Lockyer on various matters including high-tech crime, identity theft, the Microsoft antitrust litigation, police officer training, civil rights and police misconduct. In 1999, Mr. West helped lead an official review by the Attorney General’s Office following the shooting death of Tyisha Miller, an unarmed African-American woman, by four Riverside police officers. The inquiry led to a precedent-setting consent decree involving use of force polices and practices within the Riverside Police Department.

Federal Prosecutor

From 1994 to 1999, Mr. West served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California. He prosecuted a variety of cases, including sexual exploitation offenses against children, high-tech crimes, bank robberies, financial fraud schemes, economic espionage, firearms violations, tax offenses and government malfeasance.

One of Mr. West’s most significant prosecutions involved the “Orchid Club”: an international, online child pornography and molestation ring involving 16 defendants in four different countries. One of the first federal criminal cases of its kind, Mr. West led a team of FBI and Customs agents to secure convictions of all defendants and received commendations recognizing his efforts from U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, FBI Director Louis Freeh and U.S. Customs Commissioner George Weise.

In addition to serving as sole trial counsel in the Orchid Club prosecution, Mr. West wrote and successfully argued the government’s appellate brief in United States v. Laney, 189 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 1999), a case of first impression in the Ninth Circuit that established new case law ensuring that victims of child sexual exploitation are able to recover restitution for future counseling and psychological treatment stemming from their abuse (the case also established that a defendant who trades child pornography not for money but for other pornographic images engages in distribution for “pecuniary gain” under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines). The approach articulated by Mr. West in the government’s brief and oral argument and which was accepted by the Ninth Circuit has since been adopted by the Seventh and Tenth Circuits.

Clinton Administration and Community Service

From 1993 through 1994, Mr. West served in the Clinton Administration as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Department of Justice. Under the direction of U.S. Deputy Attorneys General Philip Heymann and Jamie Gorelick, as well as Attorney General Janet Reno, Mr. West worked on the development of national crime policy, including the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill.

Mr. West graduated with honors from Harvard College, where he served as publisher of the Harvard Political Review, and received his law degree from Stanford Law School, where he was elected President of the Stanford Law Review.

Mr. West currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Northern California Association of Business Trial Lawyers; is a Northern District of California Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative; is a member of the Litigation Section Executive Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco; and is a participant in Oakland’s McCullum Youth Court. Mr. West has also served on the Board of Directors of U.C. Hastings College of the Law, as well as the adjunct faculty of Lincoln Law School of San Jose (Trial Advocacy).

Federal Appellate Experience

In addition to his trial work, Mr. West has written and argued successfully several appeals before the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (for example, United States v. Laney, 189 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 1999) (adopting Government’s statutory interpretation); U.S. v. Tank, 200 F.3d 627 (9th Cir. 2000) (upholding conviction); U.S. v. Gardner, 139 F.3d 908 (9th Cir. 1998) (upholding conviction); Burlington Northern v. USDC, No. 04-72134 (granting writ of mandamus regarding discovery issues); and Mendez v. County of San Bernardino, No. 05-56118 (reversing District Court’s denial of attorney’s fees in Section 1983 civil rights litigation; audio of oral argument here).

Mr. West is admitted to the State Bar of California, as well as the bars of the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of California and the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Legal Commentary and Opinion

A frequent public speaker and legal commentator, Mr. West has frequently appeared as a legal analyst for CBS-5 (KPIX San Francisco), CNN-Headline News, CourtTV, ESPN, KQED and KCBS Radio on a variety of legal, political, and constitutional issues. He has also been a contributor to the editorial pages of the San Jose Mercury News, The Daily Journal, and the Washington Post Online. Selected articles, commentary and presentations include:

“The California Report: Decision 2008 Post-Election Analysis,” The California Report, NPR (November 5, 2008)

Keynote Speaker, Founder’s Day, Los Angeles Consistory No. 26, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Prince Hall Affiliation (October 28, 2008)

Commencement Speaker, University of California Hastings College of Law BLSA 2008 Commencement (May 17, 2008)

“Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Resigns,”  KCBS (August 27, 2007)
Posted with permission of CBS Radio Stations Inc. © MMVIII. All Rights Reserved. Audio first appeared on KCBS All News 740 AM (64kbps audio, high speed connection required)

“White House, Congress Showdown Intensifies over Executive Privilege,” CBS-5 Eyewitness News (July 11, 2007)

“Police Transparency,” Perspective, KQED-FM (May 22, 2007)
(c) 2007 KQED and Morrison & Foerster LLP. All rights reserved. (700 kbps video, high speed connection required)

“Defending the Despised,” San Francisco Daily Journal (January 17, 2007)
Republished with permission of the San Francisco Daily Journal. © 2007 Daily Journal Corporation.

Keynote Speaker, “U.S. Civil Liberties After 9/11,” Canadian Bar Association (November 18, 2006)

Panelist, “The Use and Abuse of Peremptory Challenges,” Association of Business Trial Lawyers (September 26, 2006)

Panelist, “100 Days Before Trial,” The Bar Association of San Francisco (August 16, 2006)

Moderator, “Campaign Finance Reform: California Cities Take the Lead,” Commonwealth Club of California, (broadcast on National Public Radio, August 2, 2006). (64kbps audio, high speed connection required).

“Scooter Libby Goes to the Grand Jury,” CNN-Headline News (April 6, 2006)
Permission granted by CNN. © 2007 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (700 kbps video, high speed connection required)

Presenter, “Legal Ethics for In-House Counsel,” Morrison & Foerster MCLE Workshop (January 25 and 26, 2006)

“Dover Intelligent Design Case,” CNN Prime News Tonight (December 20, 2005)
Permission granted by CNN. © 2007 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (700 kbps video, high speed connection required)

“The Power of Honesty,”  San Jose Mercury News (September 9, 2005)
Republished with permission of San Jose Mercury News. © 2005 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.

“Virtual Nightmare: The Orchid Club and Its Aftermath,” Prosecutor’s Brief (October/November 2004)

“Maurice Clarett and Legal Changes to the NFL Draft,” ESPN (February 6, 2004)
Permission granted by ESPN © 2007 ESPN. (700 kbps video, high speed connection required)

“President’s Note,” Stanford Law Review, Volume 44 (Summer 1992)

Selected Awards and Honors

Centennial Leadership Award, Los Angeles Consistory No. 26, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Prince Hall Affiliation, 2008

Leading Lawyer in America, Lawdragon, 2008

Northern California Top 100 “Super Lawyers” 2006, 2007 and 2008

California’s Top 20 Lawyers Under 40, the Daily Journal, 2004

Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys Director’s Award, presented by Attorney General Janet Reno, 1998

Bill Key Memorial Victim/Witness Assistance Award, presented by U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi, 1998

Most Significant High-Tech Case for 1997, High-Technology Crime Investigation Association, 1998

The Yorktown Certificate, awarded by Commissioner of United States Customs George Weise, 1997