Jack W. Londen

For 39 years at Morrison Foerster, Jack has handled complex, high-stakes litigation for high profile clients. Beginning with a patent infringement jury trial in 1991, he has handled many patent litigation matters. He led Nikon’s recently-settled worldwide patent litigation against its largest competitor, involving over 50 cases in five countries and covering semiconductor litigation and digital patent technologies. Although patent litigation has never been his exclusive practice area, Jack has been the lead in over 30 commercial arbitration matters arising from merger and acquisition transactions — including offering his deep experience in financial accounting disputes to determine the final purchase price. He has handled shareholder derivative cases — including a battle for control of U-Haul Corporation’s parent company in which the Nevada Supreme Court restated its standards for such litigation. Because of his skills in managing complex litigation, Jack was the lead lawyer for the executor of the estate of the founder of DHL securities, in which he oversaw the resolution of 30 other litigation cases regarding estate assets in six different countries.

Jack also maintains a renowned public interest litigation practice. He is currently lead counsel in a major case challenging the conditions of detention for immigrants held by the Customs and Border Protection agency. In 2016, he served part-time as Policy Consultant to Office of the Secretary of Education. He was also co-lead counsel in Williams v. California, which added resources and improved accountability for K through 12 public schools statewide in California, and he has done hundreds of other impact and service pro bono cases.

Jack served as Co-Chair of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, was Chair of the California Commission on Access to Justice, led Californians for Legal Aid, defending public funding for legal aid organizations, was President of the Consortium for the National Equal Justice Library, and has held many positions on nonprofit boards. He is a member of many committees of the American Bar Association on public service and representation of indigent clients. He has received awards for his public interest work from the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Center for Youth Law, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Legal Aid and Defenders Association, the State Bar of California, and other organizations.

Jack is a member of the bars of California and Arizona. He served as law clerk to the Honorable William W Schwarzer, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in 1979 and 1980. In 1980, Jack became an associate with Morrison & Foerster; he became a partner of the firm in 1984, working in the San Francisco office. From 2008 through 2012, Jack practiced in the Tokyo office, then returned to San Francisco.

Experience

Anvik v. Nikon

(Southern District of New York). Led the team defending Nikon against patent infringement claims aimed at lithography machines used in fabrication of most of the large-panel LCD displays in the world.

Nikon v. ASML

(Northern District of California). After Nikon lost an action it had brought in the International Trade Commission, Nikon retained Morrison & Foerster as trial counsel in a companion action in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. We also supervised related litigation in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Mr. Londen led the Nikon team together with Harold McElhinny. The dispute settled in November 2004 after defendants ASML and Carl Zeiss SMT, A.G., agreed to pay Nikon $145 million. Decisions from this action are published at 308 F.Supp. 3d 1039 (2004) and 222 F.R.D. 2d 647 (2004).

Post-Closing Purchase Price Adjustment Arbitrations

Represented buyers and sellers in approximately 20 arbitrations regarding post-closing purchase price adjustments after M&A transactions. In arbitrations led by Mr. Londen over the past four years, clients of Morrison & Foerster have recovered tens of millions of dollars in purchase price adjustments.

Sarei v. Rio Tinto

(Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit). Obtained the dismissal, on constitutional grounds, of mass tort claims against mining giant Rio Tinto Corporation. The claims, asserted in the U.S. District Court in the Central District under the Alien Tort Statute, are based on events on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea, where civil strife in 1989 closed the company’s copper-mining operations there and lasted until a U.N.-brokered peace in 1997. Mr. Londen argued the dismissal motion and the appeal to three-judge and en banc panels of the Ninth Circuit. Recently, the dismissal was affirmed based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, U.S. 133 S.Ct. 1659 (2013).

Williams v. State of California

(Superior Court of California, San Francisco County). Co-lead counsel for a class of all students in public elementary and high schools in California with too few textbooks and instructional materials; crowded, unsafe or unhealthy school facilities; and too few qualified teachers. After four years of litigation and months of settlement negotiations, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature enacted five statutes to implement a settlement recognizing new standards for schools and securing approximately $1 billion in funding for implementation.

AMERCO Consolidated Derivative Litigation

Represented the corporation, which is the holding company for the U-Haul rental and storage network, in defending against derivative litigation at the trial court level and in the Supreme Court of Nevada. Assisted in obtaining the recent complete dismissal of the case on the first day of trial.

Leica v. Nikon

(District of Delaware). As lead counsel for Nikon, we successfully defended Nikon in a patent infringement case involving microscope design.

Estate of Hillblom

Represented the executor of the estate of a founder of DHL Corporation in the Probate Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. For the last year of the proceedings, Mr. Londen served as lead counsel for the executor in the main probate proceeding and more than 30 collateral lawsuits and arbitrations in multiple jurisdictions, involving hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, bringing all of the proceedings to a successful close.

Investigation of Altera

Participated in the successful defense of Altera Corporation in an International Trade Commission investigation and hearing based on allegations of patent infringement involving programmable logic integrated circuits.

Action Technology v. Novell

(Northern District of California). Obtained a summary judgment for Novell in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, and an affirmance in the Federal Circuit, on patent infringement allegations brought by the assignee of a patent related to groupware software.

Target Therapeutics v. Boston Scientific

(Northern District of California). Represented the patentee in a patent infringement case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California involving interventional neuroradiological catheters. We obtained a preliminary injunction against two large competitors of the patentee; one of the competitors then agreed to acquire the patentee while the case was on appeal.

Northern Telecom v. Samsung

(Northern District of California). Represented Northern Telecom in a successful case in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco asserting claims of infringement of a fundamental patent on plasma-etching technology in semiconductor fabrication.

Rankings

Benchmark Litigation 2023

California - Litigation Star, Local Litigation Star

IAM Patent 1000 2022-2023

Ranked in California for Litigation

U.S. News Best Lawyers in America 2006-2020,2023

Recognized by

California Lawyer Magazine

California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award for Civil Rights

National Law Journal, 2006

Ranked as one of “The Top 100 most Influential Lawyers in America”