Nick Goldberg specializes in high-stakes complex civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense. His clients include established companies, start-ups, government entities, and executives across a broad range of industries, including software, financial services, internet security, pharmaceuticals, professional sports, and venture capital.
Nick has litigated a wide variety of complex civil cases in federal and state courts, at both the trial and appellate levels, and in arbitration proceedings. He has handled disputes involving intellectual property, contract, fraud, professional liability, antitrust, securities, and corporate law. Nick also has extensive experience helping guide venture-backed companies, founders, executives, and investors through disputes involving trade secrets, employee mobility, fiduciary duties, confidentiality agreements, and other contract issues.
In his criminal practice, Nick represents companies and executives in internal and government investigations, including those by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, California Attorney General, and other government agencies. He has experience in matters involving allegations of securities fraud, insider trading, anticompetitive conduct, and campaign finance offenses.
Nick maintains an active pro bono practice representing clients in high-impact litigation. He was awarded the 2018 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) award by the Daily Journal for his representation of the County of Santa Clara in successfully challenging President Donald J. Trump’s January 2017 Executive Order attempting to defund “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
Oregon State University v. The Pac-12 Conference
We represent 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 prevents the 10 departing Conference members from wrongfully seizing control of the Pac-12.
Mickelson et al. v. PGA TOUR
We represent 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 recently won a motion to compel subpoena compliance from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and its Governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan.
TopDevz v. LinkedIn
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.
CoStar v. CREXi
We are defending Commercial Real Estate Exchange, Inc. (CREXi), a fast-growing commercial real estate marketplace, against a copyright and unfair competition lawsuit brought by industry giant CoStar.
In re: Xyrem Antitrust Litigation
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).
United States v. Executive
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 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.
United States v. Christopher Lischewski
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.
CEO v. Co-Founder and Investor
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.
County of Santa Clara v. Trump et al.
Representing the County of Santa Clara, Keker, Van Nest & Peters won a nationwide injunction against President Donald J. Trump’s January 2017 executive order that attempted to defund state and local governments deemed to be “sanctuary jurisdictions.” KVP 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 is suffering immediate and irreparable harm.
Plaintiff v. Law Firm
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.
San Diego County Water Authority v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
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.
10/11/2024
Keker partner Nicholas Goldberg presented CREXi’s appeal to a 9th Circuit panel of judges, arguing that a lower court misapplied the legal standard for a motion to dismiss, and that CREXi’s antitrust counterclaims include questions of fact and evidence that need to be weighed by a jury. Read more
04/04/2024
Keker Van Nest & Peters partner Eric MacMichael was interviewed by Law360 for a Q&A on representing Oregon State University in litigation and ultimately settlement after 10 schools announced their departures from the Pac-12. Read more
September 15, 2023
The Am Law Litigation Daily has named a team from Keker, Van Nest & Peters among its Litigators of the Week Runners-Up for winning a temporary restraining order that blocks the Pac-12 Conference from holding an unauthorized September 13 board meeting. Read more
September 15, 2023
Representing Oregon State University, a Keker, Van Nest & Peters team secured a temporary restraining order blocking the Pac-12 Conference from holding an unauthorized September 13 board meeting. Read more
08/12/2022
Litigators at Keker, Van Nest & Peters land runners-up honors in the case they’re handling for the PGA Tour involving antitrust claims brought by suspended golfers who have joined the professional golf tour’s upstart rivals at the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Read more
08/09/2022
A federal judge in California ruled Tuesday that three golfers who joined Saudi-backed LIV Golf will not be able to compete in the PGA Tour’s postseason. Read more
January 02, 2019
Keker, Van Nest & Peters is pleased to announce that the firm has elected associates Nicholas Goldberg, Thomas Gorman, Elizabeth McCloskey, and Erin Meyer to its partnership effective January 1, 2019. Read more
March 21, 2018
Keker Attorneys Help Get Key Victory in a Fight Over Immigration, Federal Funding Read more
November 21, 2017
A California federal judge on Monday permanently blocked the enforcement of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January that calls for withholding federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities, saying it violates various provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Read more
November 20, 2017
In a historic ruling issued today, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick declared unconstitutional the key provision of the Trump Administration’s Executive Order targeting “sanctuary jurisdictions,” and permanently enjoined its enforcement nationwide. Read more
July 24, 2017
A U.S. District Court has denied the federal government’s request to reconsider a preliminary injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s Executive Order defunding “sanctuary jurisdictions.” Read more
04/26/2017
The nationwide injunction to block Trump's executive order defunding sanctuary cities was a win for lawyers for Santa Clara County and their pro bono counsel at Keker Van
Nest & Peters. Read more
April 26, 2017
Keker, Van Nest & Peter's win blocking President Trump's Executive Order to defund "sanctuary jurisdictions" was featured in the Daily Journal Read more
4/25/2017
In a historic ruling issued today, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick granted the County of Santa Clara’s request to temporarily enjoin President Trump and his administration from enforcing an Executive Order provision that would withdraw all federal funding from the County and jurisdictions across the country deemed “sanctuary jurisdictions.” Read more
04/26/2017
Keker, Van Nest & Peter's win blocking Pres. Trump's Executive Order to defund "sanctuary jurisdictions" was featured in Alison Frankel's On The Case column for Reuters. Read more
04/14/2017
During a recent hearing in which Keker, Van Nest & Peters represented Santa Clara County, Bloomberg news reported that Trump’s Executive Order Targeting Sanctuary Jurisdictions was met with skepticism from a federal judge. Read more
February 09, 2017
In conjunction with the County of Santa Clara, KVP attorneys have sued the Trump Administration over the President’s Executive Order threatening to deny “sanctuary jurisdictions” federal funds. Read more
05/20/2016
Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst, was sentenced in a military court for leaking about half a million classified documents to the secret-spilling WikiLeaks site. Read more
02/26/2016
The awards recognize California litigation practices that delivered exceptional results on their clients' most critical and challenging matters. Read more
02/16/2016
John Keker and his team brought in nearly $235 million for the San Diego County Water Authority. The big win was a key installment in California's ongoing water wars, made increasingly urgent by four dry years. Read more
10/13/2015
John Keker, Dan Purcell and their team secured another victory for the San Diego County Water Authority. Read more
07/17/2015
John Keker and his team win a major victory for the San Diego region. Read more
04/27/2014
Keker & Van Nest helped the San Diego County Water Authority triumph in its long-standing battle with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California over millions in water transportation fees. Read more
- Reviewing 2019's White Collar Cases And Controversies, Law360, 2020, co-authored with Brook Dooley, Eric MacMichael, and Cecily Harris.
- "White Collar Crime and Securities Enforcement: 2017 in Review," Bloomberg BNA White Collar Crime Report, 2018, co-authored with Brook Dooley, Eric MacMichael, and Cecily Harris
- "The Road to Hell: The Case Against Solitary Confinement," NACDL's The Champion, March 2017, co-authored with Dan Jackson
- "White Collar Crime and Securities Enforcement: 2016 in Review," Bloomberg BNA White Collar Crime Report, 2017, co-authored with Brook Dooley and Eric MacMichael
- "White Collar Crime and Securities Enforcement: 2015 in Review," Bloomberg BNA White Collar Crime Report, 2016, co-authored with Brook Dooley and Eric MacMichael