Jordan Eth is Co-Chair of the firm's Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White-Collar Defense Group. He is a nationally recognized litigator, representing public companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, SEC investigations, derivative suits, and internal investigations. In 2008, Mr. Eth received a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award for co-leading the successful defense of JDS Uniphase Corp. and its former executives in a securities class action jury trial seeking $20 billion in damages.
Mr. Eth has more than 20 years of experience handling complex and high-stakes litigation. He has represented dozens of companies and individuals in a broad range of industries, including financial services, computer software and hardware, life sciences, and consumer products. Read more about Mr. Eth's representations.
Mr. Eth is a frequent speaker across the country on securities litigation topics and actively participates in programs put on by The SEC Institute, the Practising Law Institute, and the Stanford Directors' College. He has also authored many articles on securities litigation.
List of Mr. Eth's speaking engagements.
List of Mr. Eth's publications.
Mr. Eth is recommended by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Legal 500, The Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark, and PLC Which Lawyer? In 2010, he was selected by his peers as one of Law360's 10 Most Admired Securities Attorneys.
He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Chief Judge Robert F. Peckham, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, from August 1985 through August 1986. From 1980 through 1982, Mr. Eth worked as an economist in Washington, D.C., first for the United States Department of Energy and then for the Budget Committee of the United States House of Representatives.
Mr. Eth received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and served as Co-President of the Moot Court Board. He received his B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College, with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa.
Representative Matters
Mr. Eth’s representations have led to many significant victories for defendants, including the following:
Brodsky v. Yahoo! Inc., et al., 630 F. Supp. 2d 1104 (N.D. Cal. 2009) (dismissal of securities class action, with prejudice, against Yahoo! and former officers);
In re JDSU Securities Litigation, (N.D. Cal. 2007) (jury verdict on behalf of JDSU and former executives in a case seeking $20 billion for alleged securities fraud and insider trading);
Jacobs v. Yang, No. 206-N, 2004 Del. Ch. LEXIS 117 (Del. Ch. Aug. 2, 2004), aff’d, 2005 Del. LEXIS 38 (Del. Jan. 21, 2005) (affirming dismissal of derivative suit filed against Yahoo! officers);
Nolte v. Capital One Financial Corp., 390 F.3d 311 (4th Cir. 2004) (affirming dismissal of class action against Capital One and Capital One Officers and Directors);
Employers Teamsters Local Nos. 175 and 505 Pension Trust Fund v. The Clorox Company, 353 F.3d 1125 (9th Cir. 2004) (affirming summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings);
Wilkes v. Versant Object Tech. Corp., U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25009 (N.D. Cal. 2001), aff’d, U.S. App. LEXIS 1539 (9th Cir. 2003) (affirming dismissal);
Kane v. Zisapel (Madge Networks), U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19984 (N.D. Cal. 2000), aff’d, U.S. App. LEXIS 5204 (9th Cir. 2002) (affirming dismissal);
Gaffney v. Tandem Computers, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11132 (N.D. Cal. 1997) (granting summary judgment);
Strassman v. Fresh Choice, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19343 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (dismissing complaint);
In re VeriFone Securities Litigation, 11 F.3d 865 (9th Cir. 1993) (affirming dismissal, 784 F. Supp. 1471 (N.D. Cal. 1992));
Pleasant Overseas Corp. v. Hajjar, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20981 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (dismissing complaint against Cadence Design Systems);
In re Fortune Systems Securities Litigation, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18504 (N.D. Cal. 1988) (granting partial summary judgment).