Jordan D. Segall is a litigation partner in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
His practice is focused on commercial litigation in trial and appellate courts, with a particular focus on representing technology and media companies in digital privacy, trade secrets, copyright, patents and consumer device litigation, as well as representing lawyers and law firms in professional responsibility disputes.
In 2022, Mr. Segall, with his colleague Laura Smolowe, secured a $30 million award of compensatory damages, punitive damages, and interest for the Estate of Etsuko Toguri in an AAA arbitration against a former real estate partner for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary, and fraud following the defendant’s secret $45 million sale of a parcel of land in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The arbitration award was confirmed by the Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2022 and named a Top Verdict of the Week by the Daily Journal.
Mr. Segall maintains an active pro bono practice, with a particular focus on appellate matters. In 2022, he represented former Los Angeles Times journalist and UC Berkeley professor Grant Therolf in an appeal before the California Court of Appeal regarding press access to juvenile records for children who have died under suspicious circumstances while within the jurisdiction of state child protective services. He has represented the ACLU in seeking to substantially reform the way Southern California counties provide public-defender services. He also authored the American Bar Association’s amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Outside of the firm, Mr. Segall serves on the board of the Western Justice Center, as well as the board of the Pasadena’s Playhouse Village Foundation, where he works to promote dense, walkable neighborhoods in Pasadena, Calif. Before joining the firm, Mr. Segall clerked for Judges Richard A. Paez and Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Segall graduated from Stanford Law School, where he was named the distinguished senior editor of the Stanford Law Review and served as associate editor of the Stanford Law & Policy Review. He was the recipient of the American Justice Institute Criminal Essay Prize, and president of the Stanford Entertainment and Sports Law Association. Mr. Segall received his M.A. and B.A. with honors in history from the University of Chicago.
Experience
Key Representations:
- The Estate of Etsuko Toguri in obtaining a $30 million award of compensatory damages, punitive damages, and interest in AAA arbitration against a former partner for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud for failing to pay share of partnership property. The case involved the sale of a $45 million parcel of land in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The arbitration award was confirmed by the Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2022 and named a Top Verdict of the Week by the Daily Journal.
- A law firm in obtaining dismissal from a RICO claim and several state-law claims alleged in the course of handling litigation for a healthcare client.
- A law firm in obtaining a favorable settlement on the eve of trial in a legal malpractice action arising from the firm’s representation of a financial services organization.
- The Walt Disney Company in obtaining successful dismissals or settlements of multiple claims of copyright infringement related to their globally successful film franchises, including Frozen and Pirates of the Caribbean, including representing the company in subsequent federal appeals.
- Plains All American Pipeline in obtaining summary judgment for the defense in a case arising from an accidental release of oil in Santa Barbara County and brought by the landowner where the spill occurred.
- Intel’s Investment Policy Committee in the U.S. Supreme Court, in a merits case regarding the construction of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
- The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico in the U.S. Supreme Court, in a challenge brought by a hedge fund alleging that the Board’s members were appointed in violation of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
- Intel in co-authoring an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Oil States Energy v. Greene’s Energy, urging the Court to affirm the constitutionality of inter partes review by the Patent and Trademark Office.
- Amgen as a plaintiff in obtaining a favorable settlement, including a multi-year royalty, of a trade-secrets disputes against Coherus BioSciences.
- Airbnb in groundbreaking multi-forum litigation against the largest residential landlord in the United States. Airbnb obtained dismissal under the Communications Decency Act of a federal lawsuit alleging that Airbnb interfered with the landlord’s lease agreements and aided and abetted trespass.
- Online retailers in proceedings regarding compliance of e-commerce websites with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Ten-X, an online real estate marketplace, in obtaining a preliminary injunction, and later a cash settlement and public apology, in its lawsuit against Commercial Real Estate Exchange and its CEO alleging misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Fortress Investment Group in obtaining a complete defense judgment following a five-week bench trial of claims of fraud by a hedge fund that had a line of credit with Fortress.
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, “Legal Malpractice Defense: Lessons From the Trenches,” Practising Law Institute (PLI), May 23, 2024
Speaker, “Ten Years of Copyright Termination: What We’ve Learned and Where We’re Going,” Los Angeles Copyright Society, December 13, 2023
Education
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Stanford Law School (J.D., 2011); senior editor, Stanford Law Review; associate editor, Stanford Law & Policy Review
-
The University of Chicago (M.A., 2005)
-
The University of Chicago (B.A., 2005)
Clerkships
- Judge Dorothy W. Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2012-2013
- Judge Richard A. Paez, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2011-2012
Bar Admissions
- California
Experience
Key Representations:
- The Estate of Etsuko Toguri in obtaining a $30 million award of compensatory damages, punitive damages, and interest in AAA arbitration against a former partner for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud for failing to pay share of partnership property. The case involved the sale of a $45 million parcel of land in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The arbitration award was confirmed by the Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2022 and named a Top Verdict of the Week by the Daily Journal.
- A law firm in obtaining dismissal from a RICO claim and several state-law claims alleged in the course of handling litigation for a healthcare client.
- A law firm in obtaining a favorable settlement on the eve of trial in a legal malpractice action arising from the firm’s representation of a financial services organization.
- The Walt Disney Company in obtaining successful dismissals or settlements of multiple claims of copyright infringement related to their globally successful film franchises, including Frozen and Pirates of the Caribbean, including representing the company in subsequent federal appeals.
- Plains All American Pipeline in obtaining summary judgment for the defense in a case arising from an accidental release of oil in Santa Barbara County and brought by the landowner where the spill occurred.
- Intel’s Investment Policy Committee in the U.S. Supreme Court, in a merits case regarding the construction of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
- The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico in the U.S. Supreme Court, in a challenge brought by a hedge fund alleging that the Board’s members were appointed in violation of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
- Intel in co-authoring an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Oil States Energy v. Greene’s Energy, urging the Court to affirm the constitutionality of inter partes review by the Patent and Trademark Office.
- Amgen as a plaintiff in obtaining a favorable settlement, including a multi-year royalty, of a trade-secrets disputes against Coherus BioSciences.
- Airbnb in groundbreaking multi-forum litigation against the largest residential landlord in the United States. Airbnb obtained dismissal under the Communications Decency Act of a federal lawsuit alleging that Airbnb interfered with the landlord’s lease agreements and aided and abetted trespass.
- Online retailers in proceedings regarding compliance of e-commerce websites with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Ten-X, an online real estate marketplace, in obtaining a preliminary injunction, and later a cash settlement and public apology, in its lawsuit against Commercial Real Estate Exchange and its CEO alleging misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Fortress Investment Group in obtaining a complete defense judgment following a five-week bench trial of claims of fraud by a hedge fund that had a line of credit with Fortress.
News
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, “Legal Malpractice Defense: Lessons From the Trenches,” Practising Law Institute (PLI), May 23, 2024
Speaker, “Ten Years of Copyright Termination: What We’ve Learned and Where We’re Going,” Los Angeles Copyright Society, December 13, 2023
Industries
Education
-
Stanford Law School (J.D., 2011); senior editor, Stanford Law Review; associate editor, Stanford Law & Policy Review
-
The University of Chicago (M.A., 2005)
-
The University of Chicago (B.A., 2005)
Clerkships
- Judge Dorothy W. Nelson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2012-2013
- Judge Richard A. Paez, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 2011-2012
Bar Admissions
- California