John C. Hueston
John Hueston has been described by Chambers USA, which ranked him in Band 1 nationally, as “the best trial lawyer of his generation” with “a commanding reputation for trial advocacy.” He has been recognized twice as a “California Lawyer of the Year” by California Lawyer magazine, twice as “California Trial Lawyer of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, and among the “Top Lawyers of the Decade” by the Daily Journal.
Mr. Hueston won “the largest-ever U.S. trademark award” (Reuters) for Monster Energy Company against rival beverage company Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Following a two-week trial, an arbitrator awarded Monster and Orange Bang $175 million in damages, nearly $10 million in attorney’s fees and costs, and an extraordinary 5 percent royalty on all future sales of Bang Energy. (“Monster asks court to enforce $175 mln award against Bang Energy maker,” Reuters; “Monster, Orange Bang Win $175M Against Rival In Arbitration,” Law360).
In addition, he won a four-month trial and gave drug companies their only opioids trial victory to date in the more than 3,300 lawsuits filed nationally. In defense of Endo Pharmaceuticals, he demolished the plaintiff’s principal arguments in the nationwide $50 billion opioid litigation that pharmaceutical companies caused a nuisance through their marketing and sale of prescription opioid medications. (“How Hueston Hennigan Notched A Landmark Opioid Trial Win,” Law360; “Opioid Makers Win Major Victory in California Trial,” The New York Times; “Drug Makers Handed First Win Out of Thousands of National Opioid Crisis Lawsuits,” Newsweek).
The Endo win at trial and the Monster decision in arbitration are the bookends for Mr. Hueston’s extraordinary—and successful—run. Alongside these two widely reported victories in November 2021 and April 2022, respectively, Mr. Hueston ran up a series of other courtroom, trial, and arbitration wins second to none. In the $25 million intellectual property jury trial win against Samsung in the EDTX, Mr. Hueston had to take time off from the Endo trial in California to make arguments at trial in Marshall, Texas.
Over the years, Mr. Hueston’s high-profile practice and trial work have attracted worldwide attention, beginning with his celebrated role as lead prosecutor in the successful three-month “business trial of the century” (Mr. Hueston is featured in this year’s Wall Street Journal podcast: Bad Bets – Enron: Lies and Choices, discussing Enron against former CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay). He recovered $5.15 billion after trial in Tronox v. Anadarko, the nation’s largest environmental fraudulent transfer case. As chronicled in the bestseller The Billionaire’s Vinegar, Mr. Hueston won an eight-figure recovery after a three-week jury trial in New York on behalf of William Koch in his worldwide crusade against wine fraud. He also defeated the SEC’s contempt action against Elon Musk for alleged improper tweeting. The American Lawyer described it as “a clear win for Musk’s lawyer, John Hueston.” (“How Hueston Hennigan Steered Tesla’s Musk to Safety.”)
- The American Lawyer magazine has recognized Mr. Hueston as one of the nation's Top 50 Young Litigators. As a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Hueston is among less than 1% of active lawyers who have "mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked with the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality." Chambers & Partners recognizes Mr. Hueston as a "Leader in his Field" in both litigation and white-collar crime and government investigations. Benchmark Litigation and the National Trial Lawyers have cited him as a national "Top 100 Trial Lawyer"; Benchmark has annually recognized Mr. Hueston as a National Litigation Star. Lawdragon Magazine has repeatedly recognized Mr. Hueston as one of "The 500 Leading Lawyers in America." Best Lawyers in America has named Mr. Hueston a "Lawyer of the Year" and has recognized him annually since 2009. The Daily Journal has repeatedly named him as one of California’s 100 most influential lawyers; Superlawyers has named him a top 3 attorney in southern California. Mr. Hueston is a recipient of the Anti-Defamation League's Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award.
Los Angeles, California 90014
Newport Beach, California 92660
