Nicholas Goldberg

OpenAI tapped Keker as lead trial counsel in a series of copyright lawsuits that will establish the boundaries of copyright fair use as applied to generative AI. The cases include claims brought by newspapers, authors, and other media outlets alleging that the training of Open AI's large language models infringe their works.

We represented Oregon State University in a lawsuit against the Pac-12 Conference to determine control of the Pac-12, in the wake of the announced departures of 10 conference members. We achieved a temporary restraining order that prevented the 10 departing conference members from wrongfully seizing control of the Pac-12 and ultimately negotiated a settlement.

We represented the PGA TOUR in an antitrust lawsuit filed by 11 professional golfers who left the PGA TOUR and joined LIV Golf. We defeated plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to force the PGA TOUR to allow them to play in the FedExCup Playoffs. We also won a motion to compel subpoena compliance from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, overcoming their assertion of sovereign immunity—a groundbreaking victory with far-reaching implications for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In response, LIV dismissed the case to pursue a merger.

We defended LinkedIn against a nationwide putative class action alleging fraud, unfair competition, false advertising, and other claims arising from allegedly invalid activity on LinkedIn’s ad platform. We won a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, where the court found that the plaintiffs had failed to plead any viable theory.

We represented Commercial Real Estate Exchange, Inc. (CREXi), a fast-growing online commercial real estate marketplace, in competitor litigation against industry giant CoStar. After CoStar filed a complaint against CREXi alleging copyright violations, we asserted antitrust counterclaims–—supported on appeal by the FTC—alleging that CoStar is an unlawful monopolist. We convinced the Ninth Circuit to reverse its dismissal of our antitrust claims in a unanimous, published opinion.

We represent Par Pharmaceutical in an antitrust case alleging an anti-competitive reverse payment arising out of a patent litigation settlement concerning the narcolepsy medication Xyrem® (sodium oxybate).

We represented a senior executive of a national bank in an investigation involving three United States Attorneys’ Offices, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as parallel civil litigation. No criminal or SEC charges were lodged against our client, we secured a dismissal of the civil case against our client, and we reached a favorable settlement with the OCC.

We defended the former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods in a five-week jury trial in the Northern District of California against charges that he conspired to fix prices of canned tuna sold in the United States.

We represented the CEO of an information security company against a co-founder and investor who were trying to push the CEO out of the company he founded. We devised a successful pre-litigation resolution that allowed the CEO to remain in control of his company.

Representing the County of Santa Clara, we won a nationwide injunction against President Trump’s 2017 executive order that attempted to defund state and local governments deemed to be “sanctuary jurisdictions.” We argued that the executive order violated the Constitution’s separation of powers, the Tenth Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. In granting the motion for a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick determined that the County was likely to succeed on all four of its constitutional claims, and that the County was suffering immediate and irreparable harm. The Ninth Circuit affirmed.

Following a week-long arbitration, we secured a complete defense verdict for our law firm client in a malpractice action arising from a $30 million unsuccessful real estate deal involving a large vineyard development and a sustainable community west of Sacramento. We defeated all of the plaintiffs’ asserted claims and the client was awarded $210,000 in unpaid attorney’s fees on its counterclaim.

For more than a decade, we have represented the San Diego County Water Authority in litigation against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the regional water wholesaler for most of Southern California. We have led them through three separate trials, and represented them in three separate appeals, resulting in more than $100 million in recovered damages, interest and attorneys’ fees, plus legal victories that have provided more than $1 billion in long-term benefit to the Water Authority.