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Ben Au

Partner

Santa Monica

Ben is an exceptional tech litigator who represents companies, investors, and founders. From representing Fortune 50 tech giants to start-ups, Ben guides clients through their business-critical issues, including trade secrets disputes, breach of contract claims, founder and corporate control disputes, venture capital and portfolio company defense, and government investigations and enforcement actions.

Ben’s civil litigation practice includes trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract and business torts, and funder / founder disputes. Ben also has extensive experience in government enforcement actions before the SEC and FTC, as well as federal criminal matters. He has also conducted numerous internal investigations on behalf of corporate clients.

Ben is committed to impacting his community and maintains an active pro bono practice. Ben serves on the Board of Directors for 826LA, a literacy and writing education non-profit. Ben previously served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and co-chaired its White-Collar Crime Committee, and Ben currently serves as the vice-chair of its Ninth Circuit Amicus Committee. Ben also served two terms as an appellate lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit, as well as two terms on the Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Association.  

Ben was recognized as a 2025 "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation.

    • Lead counsel for cryptocurrency bridge in multiple disputes following a hack of $150M+ in digital assets. Recognized as Litigator of the Week for winning motion to dismiss of most claims.
    • Co-lead counsel for Walmart in a putative civil RICO class action.
    • Lead counsel for American Express in a malicious prosecution case related to criminal charges for credit card fraud.
    • Lead counsel for multiple top 10 largest tech companies in trade secrets, business tort, and contract disputes.
    • Lead counsel for multiple C-suite executives in SEC, FTC, and state AG enforcement actions on issues ranging from securities fraud, export controls, FCPA, data privacy breaches, and anti-trust.
    • Led an internal investigation for a major space industry company investigating potential fraud, waste, and abuse.
    • Led an internal investigation for one of nation’s largest healthcare providers regarding potential theft of intellectual property.
    • Lead counsel for former CEO of an electric car company in an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
    • Lead Counsel for leading electric car company in contract and supply chain disputes.
    • Co-lead Counsel for leading electric car battery technology company in trade secret dispute.
    • Lead counsel for major California cultural institution in an investigation by the California Department of Justice.
    • Lead counsel for clean energy company in an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.