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Arturo J. Gonzalez: Partner with Morrison & Foerster, LLP, San Francisco, CA [By Kenneth Davis] Before he decided to become an attorney, Arturo Gonzalez was interested in another branch of law: law enforcement.
“I grew up in a low-income neighborhood
one of California’s top 20 young lawyers.
on his behalf. Gonzalez said the team did
and saw things that I thought were not
In 2006, the Los Angeles Daily Journal
receive a judgment against the Coliseum,
right,” Gonzalez said. “Initially I wanted
named Gonzalez one of California’s top 100
which is currently on appeal.
to become a police officer because when
leading lawyers. He was also selected as a
people got into trouble, they would always
“Leading Lawyer for Litigation in California”
Gonzalez was also the lead defense counsel
call the police-whether someone stole your
by the 2006 Chambers USA: Guide to
in a race discrimination case against Bank
bike, or stole your car, or broke into your
America’s Leading Business Lawyers.
of the West in 1998. After a three-week
house. Whatever happened, you would
trial, the jury returned a defense verdict.
always call the police. And I liked the idea
Gonzalez said that he doesn’t have a
of helping people.”
particular specialty area.
However, Gonzalez eventually found that he
“I’m a trial lawyer,” he said. “Maybe I’m old-
who was killed by the police. The suit
could be of greater assistance to people by
school in that sense in that I choose not to
claimed that the police violated the Fourth
becoming an attorney.
specialize. I realize that the vast majority of
Amendment by the manner in which they
lawyers in today’s market are specialists and
entered the family’s home and shot the
“I wanted to be a police officer for a
are leaning towards specializing in one area
man. After a three-week trial in federal
long time, and it wasn’t until there were
or another. I think there’s still a need for
court in Fresno, the jury found various
some people I knew who had experienced
people who can walk into a courtroom and
constitutional violations and awarded the
problems with the law that I came to realize
try any case, and that’s something I can do.”
widow and her children $12.5 million in
And in 1999, Gonzalez represented the widow and children of a farm worker
that one thing a policeman could not do was
damages. It was the largest verdict ever
to speak on someone’s behalf in a court of
Over the years, Gonzalez has handled a
law,” he explained. “And you had to be a
number of high-profile cases. In 2003, he
lawyer to do that, and that’s when I decided
was involved in a case in which the Oakland
Additionally, last year, Gonzalez
that I wanted to be a lawyer.”
Raiders sued the City of Oakland and County
represented the mother of a 19-year-old
of Alameda for fraud (Oakland Raiders v.
who had been sitting in a park with his
City of Oakland, et al.). In the suit, the team claimed it was intentionally misled when it was lured into returning to Oakland from Los Angeles by the promise of sell-outs for the 1995 season. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, former Director of the Coliseum Ed DeSilva, and now-defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen were also named in the suit. The Raiders sought $1 billion in damages. Gonzalez successfully defended DeSilva in the case. The jury concluded that DeSilva did not mislead the Raiders and returned a defense verdict
girlfriend when a large branch fell out of a
From all indications, it would appear Gonzalez made the right decision. He is now a nationally recognized trial attorney and a partner with renowned international law firm Morrison & Foerster. In addition, a number of legal publications have acknowledged Gonzalez for his stellar legal work. In 2003, The American Lawyer named him one of the nation’s top 45 lawyers under the age of 45. He was also selected by the
National Law Journal in 1995 as one of the nation’s top 40 lawyers under 40, and in 1998 by California Business Magazine as PAGE
awarded in California for a police shooting.
tree and landed on his hip. He was taken to a hospital emergency room, where he sat in the waiting room for many hours and did not receive proper care. He was conscious when he arrived at the waiting room but was bleeding internally. After awhile, he passed out; the hospital staff started scrambling and panicking and eventually transferred him to another hospital, where he died. A Fresno Superior Court jury found that the young man had not been properly cared for prior to being transferred to another continued on back