Allonn Levy is a litigator with Hopkins & Carley, Chair of the Appellate Practice, and Co‑chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. His practice focuses on complex business litigation, technology law, intellectual property, and appeals.
As one of a select few California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialists, Allonn has actively participated in numerous multi-million dollar trials as well as high-stakes, high-profile technology cases involving:
- Intellectual property
- Copyright infringement
- Digital rights management
- Cyber-jurisdiction
- Trade secrets
- Trademark / trade dress
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- Web-site takedown & domain name disputes
- Communications Decency Act issues
- Patent infringement
- Complex business disputes
- Licensing & technology
- Corporate management disputes and partnership dissolutions
- Shareholder derivative actions
- Fraud / fiduciary duty breaches / intentional interference claims
- Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations (RICO) claims
- Breach of contract & related disputes
- Unfair business practices claims / Landham Act claims
- Complex civil appeals
- State & federal appeals and writ petitions
- Petitions for review to the California Supreme Court
- Petitions for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court
- Amicus representations at all levels
- Appellate strategizing at trial (pre-appeal)
Allonn has handled numerous appeals and writ petitions before various State District Courts of Appeal, Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, the California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
He is frequently invited to lecture and comment on issues of technology, civil procedure, and intellectual property. Allonn is also an invited guest lecturer for Santa Clara University’s School of Law on issues of Civil Procedure, Trial, and Appellate Practice.
In 2016, Allonn Levy received Santa Clara University School of Law’s inaugural Diversity Award, for his projects seeking to engage traditionally underrepresented groups in the legal profession. He has also served as the Master of Ceremonies for the School’s Diversity Gala, an annual event that the firm regularly supports. He is a past recipient of California Lawyer’s prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” award and was twice acknowledged as one of the top 40 Silicon Valley lawyers under 40.
- After multi-week trial, secured a money judgment for more than six million dollars against a large property ownership group, together with declaratory relief securing real property rights for several family members in a multi-generational real property and fraud dispute. Concurrently obtained a fully defense judgment on all monetary and equitable cross-claims.
- Following Phase I of a multi-week trial involving complex business, shareholder, and trust issues, obtained a complete “defense” on a litany of substantive claims seeking over $400 million in damages then successfully precluded Phase II of the trial on various fraud theories based upon findings made in the Phase I trial. The combined findings of Phase I and Phase II of the trials resulted in a complete defense judgment in favor of seven individuals and one corporation.
- Obtained a stipulated judgment of dismissal of all claims related to a copyright action involving complex GPL “open-source” issues and novel unfair competition theories involving two multi-national competitors.
- Obtained a successful negotiated resolution of two related cases involving shareholder derivative and direct action claims of breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate mismanagement, trademark infringement, and conversion in a complex dispute involving a number of businesses, agricultural properties, and vineyards.
- Obtained a $5.4 million dollar judgment against multiple out-of-state defendants flowing out of a complex scheme of business fraud. Then prevailed on a short-cause court trial in Georgia domesticating that judgment to pursue the debtor there and defeating an array of counterclaims.
- Obtained partial summary judgment in favor of a regional software manufacturer on copyright and breach of contract claims brought in the Northern District Court of California. The same motion also successfully secured a judgment of complete dismissal of all counter-claims brought against the software manufacturer.
- Led successful $19 million claim objection trial before the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, involving complex issues of California Civil Procedure, indemnity, and business tort issues.
- Won $14.8 million verdict for client in a large, complex business fraud case in Napa County, one of the largest verdicts ever to come out of that Court.
- Won $5.8 million jury verdict for client including a finding of no liability on $12 million in cross-claims.
- Prevailed in a multi-million dollar court-ordered arbitration involving a complex business dispute relating to the dissolution of a business.
- Completed a 40 day, multi-million dollar, jury trial involving International Copyright claims, Trade Secrets and Business Torts.
- Involved in prosecuting and defending Copyright and DMCA claims relating to database copyright protection
- Successfully extracted client from a lengthy multi-party ITC investigation involving multiple claims of patent infringement while achieving a global resolution including the dismissal of pending patent infringement claims in the District Court of Texas.
- Retained by multiple U.S. and European groups and business leaders to file an amicus curiae brief before the United States Supreme Court in the precedent-setting patent case, Bilski v. Kappos.
- Worked on the very first trial to challenge the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in New York as well as two precedent-setting cases in California involving cyber-jurisdiction and the intersection of First Amendment and trade secret rights.
Publications
Allonn has been quoted in:
- Copyright World
- e‑Week
- Internet Daily
- Los Angeles Daily Journal
- Los Angeles Times
- National Law Journal
- New York Times
- PC World
- San Francisco Chronicle
- San Francisco Daily Journal
- San Jose Mercury News
- The Marker
- Washington Internet Daily
- Washington Post
Allonn has been published in:
- Copyright World
- San Francisco and Los Angeles Daily Journals
Speaking Engagements
Allonn has spoken at:
- RSA Security Conference
- LinuxWorld New York
- DVDPro
- 76th Annual Meeting of The California State Bar
Professional Activities
- Santa Clara County La Raza Lawyers Association
- Past President, Vice President, & Finance Chairperson, Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center
- Member Board of Directors, IPJustice
- State Bar of California (1996)
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- All California State Courts
- J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law
- B.A., Business in the Cross-Cultural Environment, California State University, Northridge