Arturo J. González

Partner

San Francisco, (415) 268-7020

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Education

University of California, Davis (A.B., 1982)
;
Harvard Law School (J.D., 1985)

Practices

Trials

Commercial Litigation

Class Actions

Bar Admissions

California

Arturo González is chair of the firm's Trial Practice Group. Mr. González specializes in high-stakes bet-the-company litigation.

The cases Mr. González has tried include several notable victories in a wide variety of substantive areas, including trade secrets, fraud, breach-of-contract, unfair business practices, and product liability. Mr. González won a $36.3 million victory for Hansen Medical Inc. in April 2009. In a trial involving medical robotics, a jury found that the defendant had willfully misappropriated trade secrets and breached two contracts. Mr. González also won a major trade secrets case on behalf of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. The lawsuit was filed by Silvaco Data Systems, and when the case did not settle, Cypress turned to Mr. González to try it. In another case, he represented a former member of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Board of Directors sued for fraud by the Oakland Raiders, who sought over $1 billion in damages. After a five-month trial, the jury returned a defense verdict for the Director.

Judges have praised Mr. González's trial skills: "the quality of written work product by counsel was of the highest level," and "the trial advocacy skills were superior." Another judge described his performance at trial as "phenomenal."

Mr. González was honored in The National Law Journal's 2009 “Winning” Special Report, which recognizes 10 of the country's top trial lawyers. In 2006, 2008, and 2009, he was named by the Daily Journal as one of California's Top 100 leading lawyers. In 2008, Mr. González was listed among the “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal. In 2003, the American Lawyer named him one of the nation's top 45 lawyers under the age of 45, and, in 1995, he was selected by the National Law Journal as one of the nation's top 40 lawyers under the age of 40.

Mr. González is among the youngest members of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an organization that requires the equivalent of 20 jury civil trials for consideration. Mr. González is serving as the 2010 President of the San Francisco Bar Association.

Matters.

In re Hydroxycut Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation.

Serving as lead national trial and coordinating counsel for a major food supplement manufacturer in product liability and false advertising actions filed in 28 different federal district courts. The plaintiffs allege that the supplement (which was voluntarily recalled) causes a variety of medical ailments, including liver injury. The cases have been consolidated in an MDL proceeding.

Trade Secrets Victory

163 Cal.App.4th 575. Successfully defended Cypress Semiconductor Corporation in trade secrets trial. Court bifurcated issue of statute of limitations and then made legal ruling adverse to Cypress. We persuaded Court of Appeals to stay trial so that it could rule on statute of limitations issue. In case of first impression, appellate court reversed and remanded case for trial. The trial court dismissed the case on summary judgment, finding that Cypress never acquired the allegedly secret source code.

Vega v. Bank of the West

Won jury verdict for National bank as lead defense counsel in race discrimination case, which included claims of denied services, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Won affirmance of jury verdict after arguing the case on appeal.

California False Claim Act Defense

Scored a trial victory on behalf our client in a case filed by the City of Modesto alleging violation of the California False Claims Act and seeking $7-million for underpaying taxes. We successfully argued that the City's tax code was unconstitutional and that the City had violated our client's right to due process of law. Following a bench trial, the Court entered judgment (including legal fees) in our client's favor.

Dinerman v. 3M

Obtained a non-suit ruling for defendant in a breast implant case, after the court concluded at a Kelly-Frye hearing that there was no evidence that the silicone implants caused autoimmune disease.

Gallardo et al. v. Reinnecius, et al.

Successfully represented a widow and children of a farm worker who was killed by police in a three-week trial where the jury found various constitutional violations and awarded $12.5 million in damages. In a post-trial order awarding substantial legal fees, the District Court wrote that "the quality of the written work product by plaintiffs' counsel was of the highest level" and that "the trial advocacy skills of plaintiffs' counsel were superior."

Butt v. State of California

Lead counsel on behalf of a class of parents from the Richmond Unified School District. The school board had voted to close its public schools six weeks early because the district had run out of funds. Obtained an injunction preventing the schools from closing. Argued the case before the California Supreme Court. Butt v. State of California, 4 Cal. 4th 668, which held that a premature closure of the schools would violate a child's right to a public education.