Arturo González is co-chair of Morrison & Foerster's Litigation Department. Mr. González specializes in high-stakes, bet-the-company litigation.
Mr. González has successfully defended three trials where the plaintiffs sought more than $1 billion in damages. One of these victories was 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, 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. After a five-month trial, the jury returned a defense verdict for the director.
Mr. González has also been very successful trying cases for plaintiffs. In 2010, he won an $10.8 million jury verdict in a breach-of-duty and trade secrets case, including a finding that multiple defendants acted wilfully. He also won a $36.3 million victory for Hansen Medical Inc. in April 2009 in a trial involving medical robotics. In that case, the jury found that the defendant had willfully misappropriated trade secrets and breached two contracts. He also obtained a $12.5 million verdict for plaintiffs in a civil rights trial in federal court.
Judges have consistently 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 2010, he was selected as one of the country’s top 22 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 recommends Mr. González as a general commercial litigator, noting that he is “[a] great advocate who quickly establishes a rapport with judges and juries.”
In 2006, 2008, and 2009, he was named by 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.