Litigation

Our strength in litigation rests on a sophisticated understanding of our clients' businesses and technologies and our ability to execute creative and aggressive responses to the problems that public and private companies encounter.

Business Litigation & Counseling

Our business litigation attorneys represent companies in a broad spectrum of commercial matters, including disputes with competitors, vendors, customers, or business partners. While we recognize that some disputes can only be resolved by a jury, our business litigation attorneys also regularly help clients avoid the burden and expense of litigation through creative business solutions and the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation. We have represented plaintiffs and defendants in cases alleging breach of contract, fraud, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of warranty, and interference with economic relationships, and we defend companies in product liability cases. The clients we have represented in commercial disputes include industry leaders such as Acxiom, Amkor, Autodesk, Group Canal+, Linear Technology, and Vitesse.

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Consumer Litigation

Our consumer litigation attorneys defend companies accused of violating false advertising, consumer protection, and unfair competition laws. These cases often arise from statements in advertisements or on product packaging that allegedly misrepresent the actual performance of a product, from website terms of use that allegedly do not accurately describe a service to conduct that allegedly violates statutes designed to protect consumers. Among other types of cases, we have defended class actions alleging violations of California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Business & Professions Code sections 17200 and 17500, false advertising actions brought by competitors and the Federal Trade Commission, and cases asserting violations of federal statutes such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. We have represented U.S. and foreign companies in a variety of jurisdictions, including California, New York, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, and Arizona. The companies we have defended in consumer class actions include industry leaders such as Hewlett-Packard, Palm, Netflix, Avaya, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, Go Daddy, Netgear, and SanDisk.

For more information, please read about our Retail, Consumer & Advertising practice and review our publications and presentations.

Consumer Regulatory & Privacy

A well-established team that includes the former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the firm's consumer regulatory and privacy attorneys were among the first in the nation to focus on privacy and information governance as a discrete and specialized practice. Our team has advised hundreds of companies on all aspects of privacy and data security law, both in the United States and abroad, and serve a vast array of industries, including technology, digital media and entertainment, and life sciences. Among many other matters, our attorneys have helped clients develop privacy and security policies, implement compliance programs, resolve complex international e-commerce issues, protect trade secrets, devise appropriate legal responses to computer security breaches, and comply with federal anti-spam legislation. We have offered strategic advice to businesses in a variety of fields on issues relating to advertising and marketing practices and consumer protection. In addition, our attorneys have successfully defended clients involved in government investigations, enforcement actions, and litigation, including bet-the-company matters.

Corporate Governance and Mergers & Acquisitions Litigation

At Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, we take an integrated approach to all corporate governance matters and mergers and acquisitions, involving a litigator at the beginning of each situation or transaction—whether we are representing a target company, bidding company, or shareholders. Enlisting this expertise early on allows our corporate governance and M&A litigators to provide critical advice about the scope of the board's fiduciary duties, structural issues relating to possible transactions, and other strategic issues. This timely input reduces the likelihood of litigation, while also reducing the risks if a suit is filed.

The firm handles all types of corporate governance and M&A litigation, including cases arising out of business combinations, hostile takeovers, and proxy contests. In addition to our vast experience and success in the California courts, we have an impressive track record in the Delaware Chancery Court and the Delaware Superior Court, as well as many other federal and state courts. Read more

Employment Law

Our team of experienced attorneys counsels clients on every facet of the employer-employee relationship, including hiring practices, the establishment of personnel policies, compensation issues, union-organizing efforts, government-agency investigations and audits, layoffs and terminations, and mergers and acquisitions. The firm represents clients in high-stakes litigation such as employee-mobility disputes, class actions, sexual harassment, and whistleblower retaliation cases. We manage internal investigations into executive misconduct and advise boards of directors on executive employment decisions and management transitions.

We handle the defense of employee complaints in state and federal courts and before all federal and state government agencies. In order to prevent employee disputes, or to minimize the exposure of such claims, our attorneys also provide on-site training to help our clients managers and supervisors prevent employee-related litigation, which can be both costly and damaging to a company's reputation.

Intellectual Property Litigation

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's team of nearly 100 intellectual property litigators has deep technology and business expertise, and a proven track record of success. Since our clients' businesses have traditionally focused on creating and marketing products rich in intellectual property, enforcing IP rights and defending against claims of infringement or misappropriation always have been critical components of our firm's practice. Consequently, we have the experience and resources to provide our clients with the best available representation in intellectual property cases. Read more

Internet & Copyright Litigation

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has long played a central role in shaping the legal landscape governing cyberspace. Our Internet & Copyright Litigation practice routinely tackles cutting-edge legal issues, from the earliest battles over the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Internet domain names, and spam to today's cases over online copyrights, free speech, and privacy. Our attorneys represent recognized industry leaders, early-stage start-ups, and a host of others in between. Among our current engagements is the representation of Google and YouTube in defense of a highly publicized copyright infringement action brought against them by Viacom. Read more

Securities Litigation

Our expertise in securities class action litigation is nationally recognized. Since 1999, we have defended more securities class action cases than any other law firm nationwide. We also handle litigation arising out of business combinations, hostile takeovers and proxy contests. In addition, we represent a number of companies and individuals in investigations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Read more

Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility Litigation

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's trade secrets and employee mobility practice provides clients with highly specialized counseling and litigation services related to trade secret law, restrictive covenants, and nondisclosure and invention-assignment agreements. The firm has advised and represented hundreds of Silicon Valley's most innovative companies and individuals on these issues, as well as industry-leading companies and start-ups around the world. Our trade secrets attorneys are widely published and recognized as leaders in the field, having pioneered many complex and cutting-edge matters that have resulted in new law. Read more

White Collar Crime & Government Investigations

Our attorneys represent individuals and corporations under investigation for, or charged with, violating federal and state criminal law. We have successfully defended clients in a wide range of cases including: securities fraud, price fixing, tax evasion, and insider trading. We are frequently called upon to represent companies and individuals in connection with inquiries and investigations by federal and state prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Attorneys at the firm have extensive experience counseling clients in matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), including advising on compliance programs as well as internal and external investigations. We also assist boards of directors in the investigation of allegations of misconduct, whether in connection with pending litigation or before any adversarial processes are commenced.