Karen G. Johnson-McKewan
Partner
旧金山Our tech company clients survive and thrive by rapid invention and evolution, often faster than the law can keep up. Litigating for these companies therefore demands as much art as science. An industry that pulses with creativity and constant pressure to change needs an attorney who is part litigator and part visionary.
Karen specializes in litigation that crosses the boundaries between traditional legal practices, and therefore requires inventive and strategic approaches. These solutions, tucked in the creases between law and industry, are why leading technology and Fortune 500 companies hire Karen to resolve their most complex litigation.
Over the past 32 years, Karen has first-chaired state and federal trials, and arbitrated more than a dozen disputes. She manages intellectual property and commercial matters for companies such as Oracle, NVIDIA, Netflix, VMWare and Levi Strauss & Co.
In addition to her legal background, Karen’s relationship management skills give her clients a significant advantage. She knows how to pull together and lead the best team, from multiple disciplines within Orrick, and often involving multiple law firms. An example is as co-lead of Orrick’s Automotive Technology & Mobility group, she brings together the best creative and strategic legal minds with companies changing the future of transportation. Able to unite what were, and will be, competing firms into a single powerful unit takes a special type of leadership, one which Karen has demonstrated time and again.
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The following is a sample of some of Ms. Johnson-McKewan's cases.
- Netflix/Fox v. Netflix. Currently representing Netflix in case challenging Fox's use of long-term exclusive services agreements with business executives as anti-competitive and a violation of California's pro-mobility public policy.
- Oracle/State of Oregon. Represented Oracle in connection with dispute arising from Oregon's failure to launch health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act. Litigation involves constitutional questions concerning the Copyright Remedies Clarification Act and 11th Amendment immunity, as well as complex state-federal preemption issues.
- Oracle/DrugLogic. Successfully prosecuted declaratory judgment action as to Oracle's non-infringement of patents covering adverse drug reaction analysis and reporting methods.
- Harman International. Successfully represented Harman in connection with patent litigation targeting core automated driver assistance system technology of acquired company, on-going advisory work on multiple intellectual property and commercial matters.
- iVillage/NBC. Represented iVillage (which NBC acquired in 2006) in the complete dismissal of all federal claims, namely trademark infringement, false advertising, dilution and cybersquatting, asserted against iVillage in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California based on iVillage's use of certain trademarks on its astrology website.
- William A. Brandt, Jr. v. NVIDIA Corporation (In re 3dfx Interactive, Inc.), U.S.D.C., Northern District of California, Bankruptcy Court. Successfully defended NVIDIA Corporation in trial of fraudulent transfer and successor liability action brought by 3dfx's bankruptcy trustee arising from NVIDIA's 2001 acquisition of assets from 3dfx Interactive, Inc.
- Carlyle Fortran Trust, CarrAmerica Realty v. NVIDIA Corporation, U.S.D.C. Northern District of California. Successfully defended NVIDIA in litigation brought by landlords of 3dfx Interactive, Inc., alleging NVIDIA interfered with 3dfx's commercial leases by entering into an asset purchase agreement with 3dfx.
- Shell Oil Co. v. Pacific Indemnity, et al. San Mateo Superior Court. Tried 12 week pollution coverage case on behalf of the policy-holder, the Shell Oil Company, arising from decades-old pollution at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado. This was a retrial of a case originally tried 10 years earlier with disastrous results for our client. The original adverse judgment was reversed on appeal. Two weeks before going to the jury, the defendants agreed to an extremely satisfactory settlement.
- Ho v. Creswell. San Francisco Superior Court. Tried and won 10 week jury trial involving allegations of securities fraud against our client, a securities broker-dealer; successfully defended verdict on appeal; recovered all attorneys' fees for client.
- Estate of Hillblom/In Re Testamentary Trust of Larry Lee Hillblom. Superior Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federal District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, San Francisco Superior Court. Represented the Trustees of a Charitable Testamentary Trust in connection with the probate of an estate in which eight illegitimate children claimed rights as pretermitted heirs to the entirety of a US$600 million estate. Successfully negotiated settlement of heirship claims; successfully defended constitutionality of retroactive legislation re pretermission rights; successfully defended Trustees against removal attempts and recovered clients' lawyers' fees from estate.
- Hampton v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. San Francisco Superior Court. Successfully defended Wells Fargo Bank at trial and on appeal in a case arising from trustee's embezzlement of funds from custody accounts maintained at Wells Fargo.
- Sangster v. Paetkau. San Francisco Superior Court. Successfully defended, in trial court and on appeal, a major New York law firm and individual attorneys in a malicious prosecution case.
- In Re Belloc Trusts. San Francisco Superior Court. Defended Wells Fargo in connection with a Petition to Remove Wells Fargo as trustee of the Belloc Trusts in which Wells Fargo was accused by its co-trustee of malfeasance in the administration of a US$60 million trust. Wells Fargo succeeded in having its co-trustee suspended, successfully defended the co-trustee's claims of malfeasance, and recovered its attorneys' fees incurred in the effort.
- Pro bono. Represented a breast cancer survivor and owner of Check Your Boobies, in a trademark matter for a breast cancer awareness group.
