Alison M. Tucher

Partner
San Francisco, (415) 268-7269
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Alison Tucher has a complex commercial litigation practice with an emphasis on intellectual property matters.  She has handled patent cases for a variety of technology clients and a wide range of other commercial disputes.

Ms. Tucher's trial practice at Morrison & Foerster has resulted in numerous successes, some with precedential results.  For example, in In re EchoStar, 448 F.3d 1294 (Fed. Cir. 2006), she successfully established the scope of work-product immunity for opinion counsel's papers in a patent case.  For another client, she achieved dismissal of a false claims act case for the first time on Noerr-Pennington grounds.  Ms. Tucher has led international patent litigation teams, and she litigates in trial courts and arbitral tribunals across the United States.  She also serves on the Board of Governors of the Northern California Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Ms. Tucher’s appellate experience began as a law clerk.  She clerked for Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge William Norris on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

After clerking, Ms. Tucher tried 19 criminal cases to juries in Santa Clara County.  Continuing in criminal law at Morrison & Foerster, Ms. Tucher has twice – for two clients in unrelated cases – won the freedom of a man wrongfully imprisoned for a murder he did not commit.

As a student, Ms. Tucher received Harry S. Truman and Herschel Smith Scholarships, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and served as Book Review Editor for the Stanford Law Review.  Returning to her alma mater in 2010, Ms. Tucher taught Trade Secret Law at Stanford Law School.

Confidential Client
(AAA Arbitration). Prosecuted a claim for breach of contract and violation of competition law where a patent-holder in a standardized industry failed to offer a Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) patent license. Conducted a two-week trial before a former federal judge.
United States ex rel. Richard Wilson and Chris Maranto v. Maxxam Inc., et al.
(United States District Court, Northern District of California). Obtained a favorable settlement for client in a False Claims Act case brought by two California state agency employees against Maxxam and its principal shareholder Charles Hurwitz (former owners of Pacific Lumber Co.). The claim was based on alleged fraud related to the sale of the Headwaters Forest to the United States government. Settlement was reached after parties had completed six days of a 15-day jury trial. Final amount of settlement was a small fraction compared to the original damages. There was no admission of liability by either defendant. State court dismissal on Noerr-Pennington grounds (First Amendment right to petition) was the first time this doctrine has been applied to defeat a false claims act case.
Seoul Semiconductor Co. v. Nichia Corporation
(United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas).  Successfully defended high-stakes patent litigation on behalf of Nichia Corporation against Seoul Semiconductor Co. concerning light-emitting diodes.  The case settled on favorable terms shortly after the close of fact discovery and a hearing on claim construction.
Confidential Client
(AAA Arbitration and Santa Clara Superior). Conducted a successful two-week arbitration for an entrepreneur with an international GPS-technology business. The case was a licensing dispute that went to the heart of the company's business model.
STV Asia v. Premier Retail Network
(United States District Court, Northern District of California).  Defended a retail television network and its customers against allegations of patent infringement.  The case settled after the district court issued a claim construction order adopting in all significant respects our proposed claim constructions.
Nikon Corporation v. ASM Lithography BV
(Northern District of California). Represented Nikon Corporation in patent litigation with ASM Lithography and Carl Zeiss SMT, A.G. concerning optical microlithography.  The case settled after the defendants paid Nikon $146 million.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
(U.S. Supreme Court).  Briefed a civil RICO issue in the United States Supreme Court.
In re Seagate Technology Opinion of Counsel.
Successfully established the scope of work-product immunity for opinion counsel's papers. See In re EchoStar, 448 F.3d. 1294 (Fed. Cir. 2006).
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