Daniel J. Bergeson

When a company or its leaders are at risk, founding partner Daniel J. Bergeson uses his substantial litigation and trial experience to advocate for their rights and reputations in lawsuits involving securities, intellectual property, employment, private equity and venture capital, and commercial law. He focuses on the essential facts to persuade juries, judges, and triers of cases in state and federal courts and arbitration forums in Silicon Valley, Delaware, New York, and other dispute resolution venues nationwide.

Daniel brings more than 40 years of business trial experience to bear in the most contentious and prominent business litigation disputes and investigations. His clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups facing bet-the-company threats. In addition, he has protected the rights of several Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and executives in state and federal courts throughout the nation as well as in state and federal regulatory and investigative matters.

Daniel has served as an expert witness in breach of fiduciary duty, employment, and corporate governance matters.

Silicon Valley Trial Lawyer

Daniel is immersed in Silicon Valley’s unique business, venture capital, and tech ecosystem. He represents companies, founders, entrepreneurs, C-level executives, directors, and special committees in high-stakes litigation and investigations. He has achieved favorable settlements and trial outcomes in sophisticated disputes related to a range of claims, including, among others:

• Breach of contract
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Corporate governance
• Defamation
• Fraud
• Government Investigations
• Mergers + Acquisitions
• Patent infringement
• Shareholder actions
• Trade secrets
• Venture Capital & Private Equity

Updated Oct 2025

• Represented the President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Super Micro Computer, Inc. in a class action lawsuit alleging violations of Section 10(b) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act.
  
  
• The Firm represents several venture funds in a case filed on behalf of a proposed class of common shareholders of a company, alleging claims of breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty arising out of the company’s financing rounds.
• The Firm represented defendants Auxogyn and Stanford University in a declaratory relief action filed by Unisense as to noninfringement, invalidity, and unenforceability of Auxogyn’s ‘906 Patent. The Court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint.
• The Firm represented defendants Iconiq Capital and Divesh Makan, financial advisors to Mark Zuckerberg, in this litigation involving claims by Plaintiff that defendants defrauded him in connection with his assignment to an entity controlled by Mr. Zuckerberg of the right to purchase certain real property, in exchange for a $1.7 million payment by Mr. Zuckerberg.

• Arbitration
• Commercial
• Dispute resolution
• Intellectual property
• Securities

• Stanford University Graduate School of Business – EPGC (2012)  
• University of Michigan ( J.D., 1982)  
• The Honors College at Michigan State University (B.A., 1978), summa cum laude,
  Phi Beta Kappa

• Association of Business Trial Lawyers Northern California Chapter
• American Bar Foundation
• Trial Law Institute
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of California – Mediation Panel Member
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District – Alternative Dispute Resolution Program Member
• Northern District Court Historical Society
• Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society
• University of Michigan Law – Development and Alumni Relations Committee Member

• California
• District of Columbia
• Michigan
• New York
• Utah
• United States District Court, Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California, Southern District of New York, and Utah
• United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit
• United States Supreme Court