Hueston Hennigan LLP

Partner

John Hueston has been described by Chambers as “the best lawyer of his generation” with a “commanding reputation for his trial advocacy.” “One of the top trial attorneys in the country” (Chambers), Mr. Hueston has been recognized as a “U.S. General Commercial Litigator of the Year” (2025), a “Trials MVP,” a “Competition MVP,” a “Lawyer of the Decade” and twice as a “California Lawyer of the Year,” including for his recovery of $5.15 billion after trial.

A fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Hueston represents Fortune 500 companies and governments as lead counsel in their most challenging and high-profile cases and investigations. His work ranges from winning and defeating multibillion-dollar actions to terminating some of the nation’s most significant regulatory and criminal investigations and cases.

A former lead prosecutor for the Enron trial of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, Mr. Hueston is also noted for “his deftness with sensitive, white collar matters and investigations” (Benchmark Litigation). In these matters, his unrelenting focus is not just on winning, but also on avoiding reputational damage. As noted by Benchmark Litigation, “as great as he is with high-profile work, he is equally great with deliberately ‘low profile’ stuff—the matters his clients don’t want you hearing about.”

Hueston is the President of the Board of Directors for the Social Justice Legal Foundation. The Foundation creates a new model for advancing social justice by focusing on groundbreaking trial work and innovative collaboration across private, public and academic sectors. Hueston is the Chair of University of California, Irvine School of Law’s Board of Visitors. Hueston is Chair of Sen. Alex Padilla’s Central District of California Judicial Evaluation Commission. He previously served as statewide Co-Chair of Senator Kamala Harris’ Judicial Commission and as a Central District of California Merit Selection Panel member. Mr. Hueston is a former Central District of California Judicial Conference Lawyer Representative. Hueston is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers’ Federal Criminal Procedure Committee and California-Southern State Member Selection Committee. He is the former National Co-Chair of the ABA White Collar Crime Committee. Hueston has lectured nationally at law and business schools on topics of trial advocacy and corporate governance, including Cornell, Loyola, Stanford, UCLA, UCI, USC, and Yale. Hueston is a member of the Dartmouth College President’s Leadership Council and a former member of the Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Association. He also serves as a board member for Equal Justice Works, California Indian Legal Services, and for The Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute.

Yale Law School (J.D.) Notes Editor of The Yale Law Journal; Dartmouth College (B.A.) magna cum laude