Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Trial Practice

Manatt trial lawyers don’t live for the billable hour. They live for the moment. The moment you are victorious. The moment you are vindicated in everyone’s eyes. The moment you walk down the courthouse steps and can once again move forward.

We prepare for this moment from the second we meet you. Our seasoned courtroom veterans are integral members of your team from the outset. We identify key elements of your case that will be raised if it goes to trial. Our strategy prevents excessive discovery and keeps the litigation laser-focused on the primary task at hand, resolving your case long before a trial. But if your case does wind up in court, a win is deeply rooted in Manatt’s DNA.

Some law firms pair clients with lawyers who practice inside specialty areas but do not have experience trying cases. Other firms have trial lawyers who know nothing about your business. Manatt embodies the best qualities of agile litigation boutiques and full-service law firms. Our approach is different, it’s efficient, and it works. We pair our clients with a team of trial lawyers who know what it takes to win in the courtroom and Manatt lawyers who have deep expertise in your business. Other firms claim "access" to these widely respected industry thought leaders, but Manatt has them.

Our Results Speak for Themselves: 

Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc. v. ICO Global Communications
No other firm practiced the art of litigation better in 2008 than our team of lawyers responsible for obtaining the largest verdict in the country on behalf of our client, ICO. In addition to its sheer size, $631 million, the verdict included rarely awarded punitive damages for a commercial dispute. The case had its origins in a contract for 12 satellites that ICO signed with Hughes Electronics in the 1990s. When Boeing purchased Hughes in 2000, it took over the contract--and promptly demanded an additional $400 million from ICO to build the remaining satellites. ICO claimed that Boeing, now a competitor, had jacked up prices in an effort to drive ICO out of business.

Adderley v. NFL Players Association
High-stakes litigation isn’t always all about money. Sometimes the stakes include things that are more abstract, but no less important, like dignity and respect. That was certainly the case in the high-profile litigation that Manatt conceived, and then took to verdict, in 2008 for a class of retired NFL players. For more than 14 years, the NFL Players Association ("NFLPA") had paid nothing to these retired players under their licensing agreements and ignored significant marketing opportunities, so we filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 2,062 retired NFL players. At trial, we presented evidence that proved the NFLPA instructed game company Electronic Arts to deliberately "scramble" the images of retired players in its popular Madden Football video game franchise, thus avoiding having to pay royalties to actual players. The jurors voted unanimously in favor of the retirees, underscoring their verdict with an additional $21 million in punitive damages.

Dairy Farmers of America v. Cacique, Inc. (DFA)
We secured a $14,305,418 verdict for DFA, the largest manufacturer of Hispanic-style cheeses and creams in the world. Under a contract between DFA and Cacique, DFA supplied approximately 22 million pounds of milk each month. In August 2007, Cacique suddenly terminated the contract on 10 days’ notice, which DFA claimed was a breach of the contract’s six-month notice requirement. Cacique attempted to justify the termination by arguing that in 2004 it had to recall several batches of defective cheese that it claimed were caused by DFA milk, and that it had only learned the defect was DFA's fault in August 2007. Cacique cross-complained seeking damages for the recall and damage to its reputation as a result of the recall. However, after a five-week trial, the court found that (1) Cacique breached its contract with DFA, (2) Cacique failed to show that DFA delivered defective milk in 2004, (3) DFA had negotiated with Cacique in good faith, (4) Cacique did not act in good faith in its dealings with DFA, and (5) the court did not believe Cacique’s claimed justification for the termination.

Hailey v. Blue Shield
The issue of when health insurers are entitled to cancel an individual’s health insurance policy for misrepresenting his or her health history at the time of enrollment has been a hot issue in California for several years and has also received federal attention. In this case, the plaintiffs, a married couple, alleged that our client Blue Shield had wrongfully rescinded their health coverage, leaving them with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid medical bills after a devastating car accident. Not only was this case the seminal lawsuit concerning rescission, but it was the first rescission case in California to proceed to a jury trial. As the trial progressed and the evidence mounted that the plaintiffs had engaged in willful misconduct, it became evident that they could not continue. In a dramatic conclusion, the plaintiffs confessed that they had intentionally sought to mislead Blue Shield and agreed that Blue Shield had done nothing wrong. Following their confession, the trial court entered a directed verdict in favor of Blue Shield and the health insurance industry breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Visto Corp. v. Seven Networks, Inc.
We represented Visto Corporation (now Good Technology) in a patent infringement action in the Eastern District of Texas brought by Seven Networks, the provider of Sprint Business Connection software and Cingular Xpress Mail software. After a jury verdict of willful infringement in favor of Visto, the court doubled damages, awarded attorneys’ fees, and entered a stayed injunction. The case subsequently settled on very favorable terms for our client.

Flying J v. California Transportation Commission
We represented truck stop operator Flying J in what was supposed to have been a simple land swap and cash deal between our client and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Under the original agreement Flying J was to purchase 20 acres of land along a lonely stretch of highway in Mojave, California from Caltrans—for a bargain $40,000—to build a travel plaza along a route where there are few options for truckers and motorists. In exchange, Caltrans would get four acres of Flying J land to build a frontage road. But the real winner of the deal would be Mojave, which would see 100 or more jobs and get a badly needed boost to its economy. Then everything went wrong. The Transportation Commissioner told Caltrans it should get more money for the land than what the contract stipulated. Under political pressure from the Commissioner to put the land up for public auction, Caltrans buckled. At the same time, the Commissioner brokered a back-room deal for his friend—a Flying J rival—to secure the land. Flying J called foul and turned to us for help. Our lawyers took the case to trial, where a jury agreed that the state should be held accountable for breaching its contract and awarded a million dollars to Flying J, with an additional $60 million in lost profits yet to be determined.

Super Duper Inc. v. Mattel, Inc.
Defending a clearly recognizable brand like "Metallica" or "Britney Spears" is one thing, but what if the battle is over a simple word like "say"? When Super Duper publications chose to name their child-education products "Sort and Say" and "See It and Say It," Manatt swooped in to defend client Mattel’s flagship "See ‘n Say" line of toys. Super Duper countersued, hoping to gain home court advantage in South Carolina. The case Manatt’s intellectual property experts presented was so thorough the local jury awarded Mattel $1 million. The local judge then surprised everyone by increasing the award to $2.6 million when he granted the desired injunction and attorneys’ fees at premier rates, well beyond what is normally approved in South Carolina.

Watanabe v. Blue Shield
In 2007, Manatt won a landmark case at trial for the healthcare and health insurance industries. The plaintiff was a woman who feared she had a brain tumor. Her doctor requested an MRI, but the doctor’s supervising medical group denied the request. Later, while visiting Japan, the plaintiff collapsed. An MRI revealed that she had a brain tumor the size of a lemon. She sued the medical group and her health insurance plan, Blue Shield. The case appeared to be so strong for the plaintiff that Michael Moore tried to film the trial for Sicko, his movie indicting the U.S. healthcare system. We prevented Moore from turning the case into a circus and, through a month-long trial, secured a favorable verdict for Blue Shield. In late 2008, our appellate specialists secured its position as a landmark case by obtaining a unanimous published opinion from the California Court of Appeal that cuts off a massive zone of liability for both healthcare providers and health insurers by holding that they are not vicariously liable for each other’s conduct.

Elgin Baylor v. L.A Clippers Basketball Club
After resigning as the Clippers’ general manager and executive vice president in 2008, Elgin Baylor sued the team, its owner, and its president for unlawful termination, discrimination, and harassment based on his age. Also claiming racial discrimination and harassment by the team, Baylor and his lawyers sought millions of dollars for alleged economic, mental distress, and punitive damages.

Refusing to settle and willing to take the lawsuit all the way to trial, the Clippers hired us to mount an aggressive defense. Just one day before the trial was set to begin, the Court granted several of our pivotal evidentiary motions that paralyzed Baylor’s race claims, leading Baylor to dismiss them with prejudice. Our team was then able to quickly revise its strategy to focus on unraveling Baylor’s age claims at trial. By a unanimous 12-0 vote, the jury determined that none of Baylor’s claims had merit, and fully exonerated the Clippers, owner Donald T. Sterling, and president Andy Roeser.

56 Hope Road v. AVELA, et. al.
When Nevada-based company AVELA and two of its licensees—JEM Sportswear and Freeze—began the unauthorized manufacturing and distribution of T-shirts, toys and other items bearing the image of the late Bob Marley, the reggae icon’s family turned to us for help. We filed suit on behalf of 56 Hope Road, an entity formed by Bob Marley’s widow and nine of his 11 children, against AVELA for the unauthorized use of the singer’s image on its products, which were then distributed to major retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Wet Seal. Included in the suit were claims alleging business interference and unfair competition under the federal Lanham Act. Based on our arguments, a federal jury in Nevada awarded Marley’s family $300,000 in actual damages. In addition, the federal court ruled that the defendants intentionally interfered with the family’s business relationships and engaged in unfair competition. The ruling was a major victory for our client, made sweeter by the fact that the judge in the case is expected to award further damages.

Greene v. Julien’s Auction House
We represented Julien’s Auction House in a case brought by Milton H. Greene, involving the unauthorized use of photographs of Marilyn Monroe in connection with an auction of Monroe memorabilia on consignment from the Estate of Marilyn Monroe. We were brought in as special trial counsel after summary adjudication had been granted to Greene on the issue of liability. After a full trial on the issue of damages, the jury returned a verdict of approximately $34,000, even though Greene had previously demanded $2.9 million.

Ticketmaster v. Cleveland Cavaliers Operating Co., LLC
The Cavaliers had entered into an agreement to use only our client Ticketmaster’s services and products. However, they started using a service and product by Flash Seats (a company controlled by the same principals as the Cavaliers). Following a bench trial, the court ruled that the Cavaliers organization had breached its agreement with Ticketmaster and entered a permanent injunction enjoining the Cavaliers from using Flash Seats.

Harris v. CashCall
The plaintiff in this case, who had been terminated as part of a reduction in force, brought a seven-count action against our client CashCall, Inc., and her former supervisor, alleging pregnancy discrimination, failure to accommodate, interference with her pregnancy leave rights, and wrongful termination. The case proceeded to a jury trial, but the plaintiff later waived a jury in favor of a bench trial, where a verdict was rendered in favor of our clients on all causes of action following intensive post-trial briefing and argument.

Diversity at Manatt

Manatt considers diversity to be a fundamental component of our institutional identity. As a law firm, we have a professional responsibility, and as individuals, we have a personal responsibility to our respective communities. Incorporating diversity into our culture allows us to enhance the high-quality, creativity and excellence in legal services that our clients have come to expect.

Manatt has invested a significant amount of human and financial resources in our own diversity program. Our philosophy is simple: include women and minority lawyers at all levels of Firm leadership and promote diversity in the legal profession through our support and active involvement in various minority civic and bar organizations.

The mix of our minority and women attorneys has consistently exceeded the national average among the country's top law firms. Our talented mix includes minority and women lawyers serving as heads of offices, members of the firm's Board of Directors and management team, and chairs of some of the firm's most important practice groups.

Inclusive Culture
Our progressive culture allows us to maintain a growing mix of women and minority lawyers, and the results illustrate this commitment.  The American Lawyer ranked our Firm 29th (in the top 12%) on its Diversity Scorecard for the largest 250 law firms in the country for 2009.  Multi Cultural Law Magazine included our Firm on its 2008 lists of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity, Top 25 Law Firms for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Top 25 Law Firms for Openly Gay/Lesbian Americans.

Despite our progress and diversity success, we can do better.  Our challenge extends far beyond exceeding national averages.  Our plan cannot succeed if we focus only on recruiting minority and women attorneys.  The true challenge and measure for achieving success lies in creating and preserving an inclusive environment where our minority and women lawyers will stay, progress, prosper and succeed.  We have implemented a formal diversity program designed to enhance our recruiting and retention of diverse attorneys through an executive mentoring program intended to cultivate personally and professionally meaningful relationships between our diverse lawyers and our partners. 

Our commitment to diversity exists in a living document – a plan – that is concrete, easy to understand and publicly available.  The plan demonstrates to every law school student, lateral associate candidate, lateral partner candidate, recruiter, existing client, and potential client that we are serious about creating a workplace that mirrors the breadth of the communities where we and our clients live and work.

We focus on the following key areas to accomplish our mission.

Targeted Recruitment Effort
At Manatt, recruiting women and minority attorneys does not end on law school campuses. Our recruiting efforts focus on locating talented women and minority lawyers at all levels. At law schools, we seek out and interview students who share our core values in ways shaped and enhanced by their own experience. Manatt's 2005 Summer Program was the most diverse in the Firm's history. Our nine 2005 Summer Associates included two African-American students, three Hispanic students, one Asian-American student and three Caucasian students. Five of these nine students were women.

Mentoring as a Cornerstone
Minority attorneys who join Manatt as new or lateral hires immediately become the focus of a mentoring program. They are paired with senior attorneys who take an active role in encouraging their career development. Mentors actively work with their protégés, helping them form business plans and involving them in firm-wide marketing and development opportunities. Management holds mentors accountable for their roles and their protégés' progress at the Firm, including reviewing their efforts as part of the evaluation and compensation process.

Access to Opportunity
Success is a matter of talent and opportunity. At Manatt, we believe that the key to retaining talented minority attorneys -- and therefore the key to the success of our diversity efforts -- is providing a distinctive experience that offers clear access to professional accomplishment. We provide women and minority attorneys with important responsibilities and leadership opportunities in client development activities, complex litigation, large transactional matters and high-profile community and civic organizations. We also encourage and support minority and women attorneys who take leadership positions within the firm and outside in the community at large.

Long-Term Commitment
We challenge ourselves to make our young lawyers feel valued, involved and invested in the future of the firm. We know that they will eventually occupy the most important financial, management and executive positions at Manatt. Our professionals thrive in an atmosphere that encourages and supports responsibility, ambition, and entrepreneurship. We offer true opportunity equal to individual commitment to success and advancement. That's the history of opportunity at Manatt, where professionals with talent and drive are rewarded with a nurturing, dynamic and energizing climate.

Promoting Diversity
Promoting diversity in the legal profession requires both an investment of money and time. Our women and minority attorneys are prominently involved and hold leadership positions in some of the most important minority civic and bar organizations in the country including:

• Asian Americans of Equality
• Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association
• California Association of Black Lawyers
• California Black Chamber of Commerce
• California Women's Law Center
• Chilean Association of Attorneys
• D.C. Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs
• Hispanic National Bar Association
• Inner City Law Center
• International Human Rights Committee of the Association of the Bar of City of New York
• Korean American Bar Association
• Korean American Coalition
• L.A. Conservation Corps
• La Raza Galeria Posada
• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
• Los Angeles Urban League
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
• NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund Board
• Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association
• The Association of Women in International Trade
• Women Lawyers Association
• Women's Bar Association of District of Columbia
• Women's Forum of Washington D.C.