James Hancock is a partner in the Litigation Department in Morrison Foerster’s Palo Alto office. His practice focuses on securities class actions, shareholder litigation, corporate governance, intellectual property, and complex commercial disputes.

James represents clients across a range of industries, including high technology and life sciences. His recent experience includes ten trial teams for cases in federal court, state court, and international arbitration. James is also involved in the firm’s pro bono practice, including successful class actions on behalf of veterans seeking medical treatment for their participation in chemical and biological testing programs conducted by the U.S. military, and on behalf of foster parents in Hawaiʻi resulting in more than $80 million in benefits.

James received his J.D. cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, he served as a legal intern for the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, and as a judicial extern for the Honorable James A. Teilborg in the U.S. District Court of Arizona. He received his B.A. in political science from Stanford University.

Representative Matters 

• In re Hawaii Island Air Inc. (District of Hawaiʻi)
  Represented directors and investors in a five-week jury trial related to the bankruptcy of an airline, in which our clients prevailed on every claim before the jury.
• In re Cloudera Inc. Securities Litigation (California State Court)
  Represented Cloudera and its directors in securities class actions, in which our clients prevailed on summary judgment.
• ACP Master, Ltd. v. Sprint Corporation (Delaware Chancery Court)
  Represented SoftBank Corporation in breach of fiduciary duty and appraisal litigation, in which SoftBank prevailed in a two-week trial regarding Sprint’s merger with Clearwire.
• Micrel LLC v. Zinn (California Superior Court)
  Second chair in a trial successfully defending a former executive against claims for breach of contract.
• Zilincik v. Tesla Motors Inc. (California Superior Court)
  Part of a team in a six-week trial for breach of contract claims involving employee stock options, on behalf of the defendant.
• Smartphone Litigation
  Represented the plaintiff in a high-profile smartphone case, resulting in a jury verdict of $539 million.
• Amgen Inc., et al. v. Sandoz Inc., et al. (Northern District of California)
  Represented the defendant in patent litigation in federal district court, where our client prevailed on summary judgment of noninfringement for its biosimilar pharmaceutical product.
• Saints Capital Everest LLC v. Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (JAMS Arbitration)
  Defended the respondent in claims seeking over $400 million in damages in connection with the acquisition of InnFocus, Inc. The parties reached a favorable settlement shortly before the final hearing.
• Haldor Topsøe A/S, et al. v. Umicore Catalyst USA, LLC (SCC Arbitration)
  Represented plaintiffs in federal district court and international arbitration, prosecuting trade secret misappropriation claims against former employees and their new employer. The parties reached a favorable settlement shortly before the final hearing.