Willenken LLP is a preeminent litigation boutique without peer in trial experience and strategic acumen. An elite, minority-owned and majority-women law firm, we are equally skilled in the art of taking a hostile witness on cold cross as we are at penning a cogent dispositive motion. We are the go-to firm of Fortune 500 companies for their most challenging, complex business litigation matters. Firm-wide, our attorneys have tried over 200 cases to verdict or judgment. We thrive on providing last-minute trial representation to clients in high-stakes lawsuits.
We represent both plaintiffs and defendants and focus exclusively on complex commercial litigation, with special emphasis on class action defense, real estate litigation, intellectual property, entertainment litigation, complex contract disputes, product liability litigation, trade secrets, and utility regulatory matters. Willenken is based in Los Angeles and our attorneys handle cases nationwide. True to our roots as trial lawyers, we are guided by one overriding principle: Winning Matters®.
Willenken and its lawyers have been recognized by leading independent legal and business publications, including Best Lawyers, Benchmark Litigation, The American Lawyer, Chambers and Partners, Daily Journal, Corporate Counsel, Lawdragon, and Los Angeles Business Journal.
We have achieved notable results for our clients, a sampling is provided below:
- We prevailed in a high-stakes breach of contract case touted by the pharmaceutical industry press as “one of the five big healthcare lawsuits.” On behalf of AbbVie, the firm filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court concerning the breach of a pharmaceutical supply contract arising out of the world-wide shortage of Lupron, the leading drug for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. In late 2019, Lupron’s manufacturer, Takeda, experienced production disruptions at its Hikari, Japan plant due to quality issues that were cited by the FDA. Takeda was thus unable to fulfill AbbVie’s U.S. Lupron requirements in violation of the supply agreement. Starting in 2020, Takeda failed to provide AbbVie with reliable, sufficient, or timely supplies of Lupron. The liability phase of the trial was conducted over four days in the Spring of 2021 and the Court issued the liability ruling in favor of our client AbbVie in September 2021, finding that Takeda had breached the supply contract in three separate ways. The damages phase of the trial was subsequently held across three days in January 2023. In September of 2023, the Court issued its damages ruling and substantially adopted all of AbbVie’s damages claims and analyses, awarding our client AbbVie lost profit and other damages in the principal sum of $448 million. Takeda ultimately paid a final judgment that, including pre- and post-judgment interest, totaled $505.6 million.
- On behalf of a national hardware retailer, we secured critical motion in limine rulings in Georgia, excluding expert opinions bearing on product defect issues, leading to a favorable settlement on the eve of trial, in a product liability lawsuit where three plaintiffs alleged a gas can explosion caused permanent and disfiguring injuries.
- We represented former executives of a billion-dollar-funded electric vehicle start-up facing allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets, violation of non-solicitation and confidentiality obligations, and breach of fiduciary duties in arbitration. Willenken provided our clients with meaningful strategic counsel and defended against the plaintiff ’s most aggressive discovery tactics. We successfully brought a demurrer that forced the plaintiff to file a Third Amended Demand and started a new clock on document productions and stayed two steps ahead of the plaintiff in forensic discovery. The plaintiff was ultimately forced to come to a global settlement that was very favorable for our clients.
- We obtained a total defense victory and secured dismissal with prejudice of a bid-rigging and unfair competition lawsuit against Motorola Solutions.
- On behalf of Lumens Co., Ltd., a Korean LED manufacturer, we achieved a total victory in a dispute with its distributor over non-payment of goods and allegations of various business torts. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a memorandum disposition affirming Lumens’ victory of summary judgment finalizing the award of $1 million in damages and dismissal of $16 million in counterclaims.
- We defended the nation’s largest gas utility in a five-week major personal injury trial. Although the client already stipulated to liability, we staved off punitive damages and the jury awarded less than half of plaintiff’s demand.
- In a two-week breach of contract trial, we defended a leading consumer electronics maker. We won a motion for non-suit on claims for consequential damages and the jury awarded less than half of plaintiff’s demand.
- We defended a major gas utility in three consolidated wrongful death actions. Before jury selection, we won a key motion to exclude evidence of a similar prior accident. All three claims then settled at a fraction of plaintiffs’ demands.
As a certified minority-owned law firm, diversity and inclusion are hallmarks of our practice. We staff our cases with a diverse group of partners and associates by virtue of the composition of our firm. Furthermore, we are proud and active members of the California Minority Counsel Program, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity, and the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, among other notable organizations.
Practice Areas:
- Appellate Litigation
- Class Action Defense
- Complex Commercial Litigation
- Product Liability Litigation
- Real Estate Litigation
- Entertainment Litigation
- Intellectual Property Litigation
- Copyright
- Patent
- Trade Secrets and Employee Mobility
- Trademark and Trade Dress
- Last Minute Trial Representation
- Plaintiff-Side Commercial Litigation
- White Collar Defense and Government Investigations
Updated Sep 2024
