California

Los Angeles boutique Willenken prides itself on being 100% minority owned as well as its nimble structure that affords it the opportunity to flex its trial capabilities on a frequent basis. While the firm’s primary client base is largely composed of entities domiciled in the same South California environs, the small team is logging big accomplishments of late, with its name and reputation extending well beyond the Golden State borders. A peer quips, “You go to other, bigger, firms, and you say, ‘OK, I’ve got a case that’s going to trial – who’s going to do it?’ and the answer is ‘Uhhh, I don’t know!’ Are you kidding me? That’s not the case with Willenken. Obviously not all of their cases go trial, but they are ready!” It is also noted that the firm is getting more involved in entertainment litigation of late. Willenken made the leap to “Highly Recommended” in the previous edition of Benchmark and remains there this year, an impressive showing for the compact shop.
     The most emblematic example of the firm’s increased reach is its victory, as co-counsel, for a Chicago-based entity in Delaware Chancery Court: a Willenken team led by prolific trial lawyer Paul Loh and also composed of Jason Wilson, Amelia Sargent, and Kenneth Trujillo-Jamison scored big for AbbVie in a long-running and hard-fought commercial case concerning the drug Lupron. This drug was manufactured by Takeda, whose factory got shut down due to regulatory issues, causing a major shortage of Lupron. AbbVie sued for all the lost business, triumphing in March 2024 with a $500 million verdict. The firm’s Delaware co-counsel in the matter testifies on the team’s behalf: “They did a great job, those people are very smart, so it was really cool to work with them and get such a good result. The lead lawyer was Paul Loh – he is great.”Loh was retained by  Home Depot to handle a last-minute personal injury/product liability trial before Los Angeles Superior Court. The incident involved a six-year-old boy who ingested a coin battery that he removed from the remote control of an air conditioner which was purchased from Home Depot. The boy claimed that he suffered a permanent debilitating condition that prevents him from swallowing food or liquid and will require life-long tube feeding and care. The trial commenced in February 2025 and settled on confidential terms after the first trial witness testified. Loh also led a team, which also included Eileen Ahern, that was engaged by Ubee Interactive, a Taiwan-based technology company that manufactures broadband communication devices and solutions, to defend the company against a $14million contractual indemnity claim brought by Charter Communications related to a patent infringement case that was litigated against Charter in the Eastern District of Texas. Charter settled that case and in turn sued Ubee for contractual indemnity because certain cable modems that Ubee sold to Charter allegedly contributed to the accused infringement. Jason Wilson has been retained by Open AI to represent it in a trademark infringement suit against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. OpenAI alleged that Open AI’s use of its name is confusing to consumers and could damage OpenAI's reputation. Wilson argued in October 2024 before the Ninth Circuit that it has a right to use the name because its trademark was registered first.Additionally, Wilson and his team requested to vacate the injunction blocking Open AI from using its trademark while the trademark infringement lawsuit is pending. In February 2025, the court allowed a trademark infringement counterclaim brought by Open AI to proceed against OpenAI, finding that Wilson’s client has plausibly alleged that its mark became associated with AI tools before OpenAI became known for ChatGPT. Wilson will also serve as the lead trial counsel in this case that is scheduled for trial in October 2025.