Washington, D.C.; San Francisco
Chambers USA reports that Eric is “hailed as ‘highly intelligent, an effective communicator and a great writer,’“ and he “‘prepares meticulously, anticipates every question, and is a gifted orator.’” Legal 500 touts his “exceptional courtroom demeanor and presentation skills” as one of “the finest appellate litigators in the nation.” And Reuters, in a report reviewing some 17,000 practitioners, identified Eric as part of an “elite cadre” of 75 lawyers who are “the most influential members of one of the most powerful specialties in America: the business of practicing before the Supreme Court.”
Eric has served as appellate counsel to a who’s who of leading companies, including American Express, AT&T, DISH Network, Facebook, Genentech, Gilead, KPMG, LG Electronics, LinkedIn, Lyft, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Norfolk Southern, Synopsys, Twitter, and Union Carbide. Across an array of industries, Eric has briefed and argued issues as diverse as patent and copyright, labor and employment, preemption, punitive damages, products liability, national security, and foreign sovereign immunity. Among his scores of arguments in courts around the country, he has argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, where he also has been a primary author of more than 100 briefs.
Eric has particular proficiency in matters of technology and intellectual property. He regularly litigates novel issues concerning the regulation of the internet, including CDA Section 230, computer fraud, takedown notices, and internet domain names. He has been counsel in dozens of patent appeals in the Federal Circuit – litigating patents ranging from semiconductor construction, computer architecture, and genetic sequencing to tobacco curing, keyboard trays, and electrical junction boxes.
In addition to traditional appellate work, Eric has years of experience developing legal strategy in high-profile and complex cases in trial courts. Eric has performed this role in high-stakes multi-district litigation, criminal trials, and civil litigation involving critical dispositive motions.
Prior to joining Orrick, Eric was a partner in the appellate group at Sidley Austin. A former law clerk on the Ninth Circuit and the Central District of California, Eric has extensive experience in California state and federal appellate courts.