Jonathan Sommer has litigated in court and in arbitration a wide range of commercial litigation matters, including business torts and contracts, securities fraud, real estate, partnership disputes, unfair competition, trade secrets, franchise, and merger and acquisitions. He has also prepared and argued appeals to California and federal appellate courts.

Mr. Sommer graduated cum laude from Williams College in 1992 with a B.A. in History. He earned his law degree, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 1997, where he was an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review and Order of the Coif.

Representative Matters/Published Cases

• Represented Overstock.com in high-profile defamation case against billion-dollar hedge fund and forensic accounting analyst, including defense of counterclaim for alleged securities fraud. Obtained retraction from analyst and monetary settlement from hedge fund.
  
  
• Represented The Toronto-Dominion Bank in obtaining summary judgment against claims involving contested acquisition of an options trading firm.
  
  
• Represented a nationally-known trial lawyer in obtaining a substantial settlement related to a major purchase of misrepresented antiques.
  
  
• Represented Cisco Systems in obtaining a multimillion-dollar arbitration award against a former executive for breach of fiduciary duty and summary judgment on the executive's defamation claim arising from statements in the Wall Street Journal.
  
  
• Represented Solidus Networks in obtaining summary judgment that affirmed the company's ownership of key disputed patents.
  
  
• Represented Ronin Capital LLC in obtaining summary judgment in arbitration of partnership claims.
  
  
• Represented Hi-Tech Engineering in obtaining dismissal of Lanham Act claims based on patent invalidity.
  
  
• Represented Deloitte & Touche in obtaining dismissal of securities fraud claims.
  
  
• Represented Stern Grove Festival pro bono in obtaining take-nothing arbitration award.
  

Representative Matters/Published Cases

• Morrison & Foerster v. Momentous.ca Corp., 2008 WL 648481 (N.D. Cal. 2008) 
  
  
• MJT Securities, LLC v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, 2007 WL 1725421 (N.D. Cal. 2007) and 2006 WL 1236661 (9th Cir. 2006).

• Wilson v. Microfinancial, Inc. and Deloitte & Touche LLP, 2006 WL 1650971 (D. Mass. 2005).

• Bennett v. Cisco Systems, Inc., 2003 WL 1949616 (6th Cir. 2003).

• In re Conservatorship of Nadine Hathaway, 2002 WL 31859461 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002).

Court Admissions and Memberships

Mr. Sommer is admitted to practice in California as well as a number of federal courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  He is a member of the California State Bar, the State Bar of Texas, and the Bar Association of San Francisco.