What we say about the firm's legal practice in United States
Intellectual property
Within Patent litigation: full coverage, tier 6
Based solely in San Francisco, specialist litigation firm Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. may be mid-sized but it continues to enjoy instructions from leading hi-tech and electronics names across the country, thanks to its deep trial expertise. David Silbert leads on major patent disputes, and recently served as trial counsel to Broadcom in a lawsuit against bluetooth company CSR. Silbert also represented Comcast with Matthias Kamber in a multi-defendant case brought by Acacia Media, which sought multimillion-dollar damages for infringement in relation to stored digital and audio files, with an appeals hearing affirming a ruling in favor of the defense. It is lead counsel for HTC in its smart phone technology battle with Apple, as both plaintiff and defendant, including trials before the ITC.
Litigation
Within Leading trial lawyers,
John Keker, Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P.: Extremely well known for both patent litigation and white-collar crime, John Keker has an excellent reputation. One client calls him ‘the best trial lawyer I’ve worked with’, whose ‘overall level of service is consistently excellent’, with ‘innovative, insightful and strategic approaches that are truly tailored to the case and issues at hand.’ Keker’s reputation is reflected in the ‘exceptional’ firm he founded in 1978, which is ‘stellar from top to bottom.’ Working alongside litigators such as the ‘excellent strategist’ Jamie Slaughter, ‘all round star’ Bob Van Nest, and ‘highly skilled, responsive and best in class’ Susan Harriman (herself one of the few female litigators on this list). Keker’s most recent high-profile instruction is on behalf of the plaintiffs lawyer Steven Donziger, who is fighting a RICO suit filed by Chevron, relating to the oil major’s multibillion-dollar dispute with the Ecuadorian government. Donziger, who is representing the plaintiffs in the Chevron case, is accused of ghostwriting the report of a supposedly independent court-appointed expert in Ecuador, which has had a large bearing on the case.
Within Trade secrets, Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. is a second tier firm,
A distinguishing feature of San Francisco specialist litigation firm Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. is ‘the ability to cut through to the essence of a case and empower juries and judges to decide complex issues’, a skill gained over some 30 years of trade secrets practice during which time the firm has consistently recovered a high total value of claims for plaintiffs. ‘A wealth of experience and demonstrated success’ has been shown in some of the leading cases with international elements in this field, such as that of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing against Chinese SMIC, the largest trade secret misuse case ever brought. More recently, the team, led by experienced Jeff Chanin, has defended complex cases for clients Index Ventures, Palantir Technologies and national law firm Foley & Lardner LLP against trade secret and copyright misappropriation actions from California to Delaware and Virginia. John Keker is currently defending a technology company in trade secret and copyright infringement litigation against a software company – a sensitive case in the field of national security. The firm ‘usually finds a way to overcome whatever obstacles are presented – oftentimes making new law in the process’.
Within White-collar criminal defense , tier 8
White-collar criminal defense work has been a staple part of 65-lawyer San Francisco-based litigation boutique Keker & Van Nest, L.L.P. since its formation over thirty years ago. Peopled with a preponderance of ‘outstanding trial lawyers’ including the ‘legendary’ John Keker, the team excels at representing high-level company executives in criminal trials across the waterfront of offences including securities fraud and insider trading. Stuart Gasner is particularly accomplished at handling stock option backdating cases and recently successfully defended Michael Shanahan, a former executive of St Louis-based defense contractor Engineered Support Systems, in a case brought against him by the SEC. Formerly an assistant US attorney, the ‘terrific’ Elliot Peters has an excellent reputation and has tried more than 40 criminal and civil cases and recently successfully defended an investment banker accused of obstructing justice