Robert A. Lewis

Bob’s complex commercial litigation practice is wide-ranging; for example, it includes a defense verdict in a jury trial seeking damages under the earn-out provision of an acquired high-tech company and a defense judgment in a jury trial seeking damages from the denial of stock options. In the area of professional liability defense, Bob represents software integrators, insurance and reinsurance brokers, lawyers, actuaries, and other professionals in malpractice actions. Examples include a defense jury verdict on a reinsurance intermediary malpractice claim and a defense verdict on a malpractice claim against ERISA actuaries. In the area of insurance, Bob previously was the head of his predecessor firm’s insurance industry group and has litigated and provided counseling in virtually every facet of insurance law. Examples include a jury verdict in his client’s favor in a bad faith claim, the successful arbitration of a retrospective premium dispute, and appellate court affirmance of summary judgment on a coverage issue relating to excess workers’ compensation insurance. The 2012 edition of Chambers USA noted that clients respect Bob’s “superior knowledge of how the [insurance] industry works.”

In the antitrust area, Bob’s accomplishments include a defense verdict in an eight-week jury trial on claims of alleged secret rebates and a victory in the seminal case rejecting antitrust claims in the area of prepaid prescription plans.  In the area of trade secrets, Bob’s experience includes the successful arbitration of a claim for alleged misappropriation of software trade secrets and the coordination of multistate litigation to prevent the theft of trade secrets by competitive hirings from a client.  Bob is also an experienced appellate lawyer, having briefed numerous appellate matters and argued more than a dozen times in the Ninth and Tenth Circuits and in the California Court of Appeal.

In addition to his legal work, Bob served as an independent trustee of the Alliance Money Market Fund.

• Obtained defense verdict in three-week jury trial on claims of professional negligence, seeking more than $33 million against a reinsurance intermediary
• Obtained defense verdict in eight-week jury trial on antitrust claims alleging secret discounts and seeking more than $40 million
• Obtained judgment for defendants in two-week jury trial seeking millions in damages for denial of stock options
• Obtained defense verdict in three-week jury trial on claims of fraud and breach of contract and seeking more than $25 million stemming from an earn-out provision in the acquisition of high-tech company
• Obtained multimillion-dollar plaintiff’s verdict in jury trial on behalf of bankruptcy trustee seeking insurance benefits for debtor
• Obtained defense verdict in bench trial on claims of professional negligence and seeking more than $10 million against ERISA actuaries stemming from alleged under-reserving of pension plan
• Obtained plaintiff verdict in bench trial on behalf of corporation against former employee who had engaged in kickback schemes with vendors
• Obtained defense verdict on summary judgment for law firm in seminal case relating to claims of malpractice stemming from hiring policies
• Obtained defense verdict on summary judgment for insurance company on claim of bad faith stemming from rescission of legal malpractice policy on basis of misrepresentation
• Represented corporation in litigation brought in five states to curtail concerted effort of competitor to obtain trade secrets by hiring corporation’s employees
• Represented insurance entities in numerous lawsuits alleging unfair business practices under California Business and Professions Code Section 17200