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Cesar Lopez-Morales

Partner

Washington, D.C.

A former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and DOJ attorney, Cesar draws from his experience at both the trial and appellate levels to develop legal strategy and draft persuasive briefs in high-stakes cases, with a particular emphasis on government-facing work.

Cesar serves as appellate counsel in high-stakes cases across an array of subjects, with a particular focus on the firm's technology and life sciences sectors.  He is a skilled advocate who focuses on simplifying complex concepts and crafting a compelling story that frames factual and legal issues in a way that is more likely to produce favorable results for clients. Cesar routinely drafts briefs in federal and state courts of appeals and in the U.S. Supreme Court, and presents oral argument in federal and state appellate courts.  He is also embedded at the trial level to brief dispositive motions and ensure that issues are preserved with an eye towards appeal.

Cesar's versatility allows him to tackle the most sophisticated and complex legal issues across a wide range of substantive areas, including constitutional and administrative law, statutory interpretation, complex commercial litigation, trade secrets, and federal preemption.  

Before joining Orrick, Cesar was an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch, where he represented the United States and its agencies in dozens of cases involving challenges to the legality of federal laws, actions, and programs. He argued and won dispositive motions in federal district courts nationwide. His experience included litigating cutting-edge matters involving the Appointments Clause; the Spending Clause; the Territory Clause; the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments; the separation of powers; the Administrative Procedure Act; the Federal Vacancies Reform Act; the Freedom of Information Act; and the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act.

He also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing immigrants and veterans in their appeals to the federal courts of appeals and filing amicus briefs in precedent-setting cases of public interest. He is especially passionate about advancing the rights of the residents in the U.S. territories.

Cesar served as a law clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the October 2023 Term, who he recently interviewed for the annual Shapiro Lecture at Boston University School of Law.  He also clerked for Judge José A. Cabranes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then-Presiding Judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Judge Jay A. Garcia-Gregory of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

    Representative engagements include:

    Constitutional and Administrative Law, Statutory Interpretation, and other Government-Facing Work
    • Hintze v. Daniels (9th Cir. No. 24-6806) – Represent prisoner and present oral argument in unlawful conditions-of-confinement appeal following denial of qualified immunity at summary judgement.
    • Perciavalle v. McDonough (Fed Cir. No. 22-1491) – Successfully represented and presented oral argument in appeal from a highly fractured en banc Veterans Court decision on an issue of administrative law regarding the scope of “clear and unmistakable error” review. The Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in our client's favor.
    • State of Washington v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (Wash. S. Ct. No. 103748-1) – Represent Meta in First Amendment challenge to the largest campaign-finance penalty ever awarded anywhere in the country.
    • Oracle America, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor (D.D.C. No. 1:19-cv-03574) – Represented Oracle in an Administrative Procedure Act and a constitutional challenge to the Department of Labor's administrative scheme for prosecuting, adjudicating, and remediating certain claims against government contractors. Case settled while cross-motions for summary judgment were fully briefed and pending.
    • Martinez v. Garland (9th Cir. No. 20-72429) - Represented noncitizen in petition for review in asylum case in Ninth Circuit. Successfully obtained dismissal of removal proceedings against client.
    • FAA v. Rojas & Jobe v. NTSB (U.S.) – Represented FOIA requesters at the certiorari stage in U.S. Supreme Court in cases about the scope of Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act and the continued vitality of the so-called consultant corollary doctrine.
    • Represent biopharmaceutical companies/ innovators as amici in challenges to legality of government’s guidance implementing the Inflation Reduction Act’s Drug Price Negotiation Program.
    • Successfully represented United States in litigation defending the constitutionality of appointments and bankruptcy procedure upheld in FOMB for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC, 590 U.S. 448 (2020).*
    • Represented DOJ in lawsuits challenging the legality of appointment of Acting Attorney General.*
    • City and County of San Francisco v. Whitaker (N.D. Cal.)* – Successfully represented DOJ and presented oral argument in dismissal of Administrative Procedure Act challenge to rescission of guidance documents.
    • Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (E.D. Wa.) – Successfully represented USDA and presented oral argument in support of dismissal of Administrative Procedure Act challenge to meat country-of-origin labeling regulations.*

    * Representation prior to joining Orrick.

    Technology & Innovation Sector
    • Curcio v. Audible Magic Corp., et al. (Cal. Ct. App., 6th Dist., H051709) – Succesfully represented Meta Platforms and presented oral argument in defense of dismissal of trade-secrets misappropriation claim.
    • McFall v. Meta Platforms, Inc. (Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist., A172022) – Sucessfully represented Meta Platforms in affirmance of dismissal of negligence claim relating to Instagram use.
    • Appian Corporation v. Pegasystems, Inc. (Va. S. Ct. No. 240736) – Successfully represented Pegasystems in affirmance of decision vacating a record $2 billion trade secrets judgment.
    • Represent leading social technology company in appeal in Ninth Circuit involving Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and various state-law claims relating to the client's self-serve advertising services. 
    • Represent employers in Washington Court of Appeals seeking retroactive application of remedies provision of the State’s Equal Pay & Opportunities Act.
    • Represented leading agroscience company in high-profile commercial dispute in the Delaware Supreme Court involving complex question of federal preemption under Brulotte/Kimble. Case settled while appeal was pending.
    • Represented leading consumer technology company as an amicus in the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Arthrex, Inc., to defend the continued operation of inter partes review of patent claims.
    Life Sciences & Health Tech Sector
    • Represented leading biopharmaceutical company in defending against tens of thousands of products-liability and related claims against lifesaving HIV medications at both trial and appellate levels in California state and federal court. Successfully obtained common-issues summary judgment on post-approval failure-to-warn claims in federal MDL (N.D. Cal.) based on federal preemption, and secured writ review in a coordinated procced in the California Court of Appeal that involved more than 24,000 plaintiffs.
    • Represented leading biopharmaceutical company in California Court of Appeal in a qui tam action alleging violations of the California False Claims Act and presenting a question of first impression about the federal preemption of claims under state false claims statutes premised on fraud on the FDA. 
    • Represented leading biopharmaceutical company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a qui tam action alleging violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute stemming from the organization and implementation of the company's physician speaker programs and advisory boards. Case settled while motion for summary judgment was pending.

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