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Jonathan Hughes is a director with the firm’s Litigation Department, Vice Chair of the firm’s Attorney Liability Practice Group and serves on the firm’s Management Committee.

Mr. Hughes specializes in representing law firms and lawyers in complex litigation and legal ethics matters. He has tried and won numerous cases, including, recently, the defense of a national law firm and several of its individual partners in a case brought by the Chapter 7 trustee of a law firm that dissolved and filed for bankruptcy, in which the trustee was seeking profits, under Jewel v. Boxer, on matters that originated at the dissolved firm.

Mr. Hughes also litigates complex commercial cases outside of the law firm context. He represents high tech companies, investment companies, and businesses and executives in employment, partnership dispute and unfair competition matters. Mr. Hughes tried and won a four-week jury trial in Tampa, Florida for a California-based software company. He also was part of the trial team for the Oakland Raiders in a four-month jury trial in Sacramento, California resulting in a $34.2 million jury verdict for the Raiders.

Mr. Hughes has lectured on a variety of issues, including legal ethics, electronic discovery and evidence, and the use of technology in trial.

Prior to joining the firm, he served as law clerk to the Honorable Melvin Brunetti of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. During law school, Mr. Hughes was an extern to the Honorable Fern M. Smith of the United States District Court, Northern District of California.

Representative Matters


Trial
  • Represented the law firm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and several of its individual partners in a one week trial in Los Angeles, resulting a complete defense verdict for our clients.
  • Represented The Oakland Raiders in a four-month jury trial in Sacramento, California resulting in a $34.2 million jury verdict in favor of the client.
  • Represented Ariba, Inc., a software company, in a four-week jury trial in Tampa, Florida resulting in a defense verdict in favor of the client, and a judgment in favor of the client on its counter-claims.
Pro Bono
  • Filed litigation that led to the construction of new classroom buildings for a public elementary school in Oakland, California.
  • Representation of individual clients in immigration, family law and landlord/tenant matters.

Education

  • J.D., University of California Hastings College of the Law (Member, Hastings Law Journal; Order of the Coif; Thurston Society), 1996
  • A.B., University of California, Davis (cum laude, Political Science), 1993

Admitted

  • California
  • United States District Courts, Central and Northern Districts of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Memberships

  • State Bar of California
  • ABA Litigation Section
  • Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Association of Business Trial Lawyers

Selected Publications

Selected Presentations

  • "Ethical Dilemmas Arising with Depositions," Practising Law Institute: Taking and Defending Depositions 2010 (June 2010)
  • "Ethics: Issues Facing the Water Professional," 18th Annual California Water Law Conference (May 2010)

Awards & Honors

Mr. Hughes was recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer in 2007 and is an AV-rated attorney, a peer-awarded honor given by Martindale-Hubbell. He was also honored by the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley with the Honorable Robert F. Peckman Award for his outstanding public interest litigation work.