Patrick Gunn, Partner In Charge - SF

Patrick P. Gunn serves as partner in charge of Cooley's San Francisco office.  He joined the Firm in 2000, and his practice focuses on complex business litigation.

Mr. Gunn received his J.D. in 1994 from Boston University School of Law, where he helped found the Boston University Journal of Science & Technology. In 1990, he earned a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Colorado, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was an honors program scholar.

In 2009, Mr. Gunn was singled out by Benchmark Litigation as a California "rising star". He was also just named one of Northern California's "Super Lawyers", a designation reserved for the top 5% of licensed attorneys in California, as determined by peers.

Mr. Gunn is active in the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), and a member of the Urban Land Institute. Since 2004, Mr. Gunn has also served on the Institutional Review Board of The RAND Corporation, an international think tank devoted to improving policy and decision making through research and analysis.

Representative matters currently or recently handled by Mr. Gunn include the following:

  • Acting as lead trial counsel in the defense of AREI, an investment firm, in 16 coordinated securities fraud actions alleging $260 million in losses.
  • Obtained a defense award for a Silicon Valley chip designer in a $20 million arbitration arising out of a contract dispute. The award included a determination that the client was entitled to reimbursement of its attorneys' fees and costs.
  • Obtained dismissal of a $10 million slander of title claim brought against client eBay arising out of eBay's efforts to develop a new headquarters campus in San Jose. Subsequently obtained an award of attorneys' fees on behalf of eBay.
  • Defeated efforts by a commercial landlord to obtain a $22.5 million writ of attachment against biotech client VaxGen based on alleged breach of contract.
  • Successfully defended Fairfield Residential in a $20 million breach of contract and governance suit brought by Fairfield's co-founder. Negotiated a "walk away" settlement in which Fairfield paid nothing and obtained dismissal with prejudice of all claims against it.
  • Acted as lead counsel in a two month bench trial resulting in decision rejecting implied contract claims that would have precluded development of a master planned residential community with a build out value in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
  • Obtained dismissal of a multimillion dollar defamation claim against client Citadel Broadcasting, one of the nation's largest radio broadcasters. Subsequently obtained an award of attorneys' fees for Citadel.

Education

  • Boston University School of Law
    JD, 1994
  • University of Colorado at Boulder
    BA International Affairs, 1990, Phi Beta Kappa

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

Admissions

  • California

Memberships

  • American Bar Association
  • Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Los Angeles County Bar Association
San Francisco
101 California Street
5th Floor
San Francisco, California 94111-5800

Phone: 415/693-2070
Fax: 415/693-2222
pgunn@cooley.com
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