Tom Gorman’s practice focuses on complex civil litigation, including disputes involving intellectual property, fraud, breach of contract, and antitrust. Tom uses his ability to quickly understand complex and often technical issues to help his team rapidly devise winning solutions. He is particularly adept at mastering esoteric and technically complex subjects—ranging from large-language-model training data and LIDAR sensors for self-driving cars to health-insurance markets, location tracking, and video-codec technology—where early analytical clarity can determine the outcome of a case.
For example, Tom’s work uncovered massive trade secret theft, ultimately leading to a nine-figure settlement for one of his tech clients. In another case, his summary-judgment briefing helped simplify a complicated patent case and resulted in a complete defense victory for his client. Tom was also part of a trial team that won a “not guilty” defense judgment against the U.S. Department of Justice in a case in which the government sought nearly $1 billion in damages and penalties.
Before attending law school, Tom was a baseball writer and consultant specializing in sabermetric analysis. He later worked for Major League Baseball’s outside counsel during U.S. Sen. George Mitchell’s investigation of performance-enhancing drug use in baseball.
Cases of Note
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OpenAI Copyright Cases
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…
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Broadcom v. Netflix
We defended Netflix against a 12-patent case Broadcom filed in the Central District of California. After transferring the case to the Northern District of California, we successfully invalidated 9 patents…
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Google v. Anthony Levandowski, et. al.
We successfully represented Google in an arbitration against former employees Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron, obtaining a ruling that they breached their duties and employment agreements in connection with their…
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Concepcion et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball
We successfully defended a putative class action brought by minor league players to challenge Major League Baseball’s long-standing exemption from antitrust laws. We won a motion to dismiss the case,…
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Mickelson et al. v. PGA TOUR
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…
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McCoy v. Alphabet Inc. and Hammerling, et al. v. Google LLC
We represented Google in two putative class action lawsuits filed in the Northern District of California asserting privacy, contract, and consumer law claims regarding Google’s alleged data collection practices related…
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In re: Google Location History Litigation
We defended Google in consolidated cases on behalf of a worldwide putative class of mobile device users that are challenging Google’s location-data practices. We obtained a dismissal at the pleading…
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State of California v. Sutter Health
We negotiated a settlement for Sutter Health with the California Attorney General’s Office, in a suit that alleged Sutter exploited its size and reach to extract “illegally inflated prices” from…
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Wyckoff v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al.
At the pleading stage, we successfully defeated a putative class action filed against Major League Baseball, its current and former Commissioners, and all 30 Baseball Clubs. The plaintiffs, two former…
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Ziptronix v. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
We won summary judgment of non-infringement for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. and its subsidiary TSMC, North America in a long-running patent lawsuit brought by North Carolina semiconductor company, Ziptronix,…
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Miranda et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al.
We successfully defended Major League Baseball, its Commissioner and 30 Baseball Clubs from a putative class action. The plaintiffs, former minor league players, alleged that minor league baseball’s labor system…
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United States v. McKesson Corporation
We won a complete defense judgment in favor of McKesson after a month-long trial of a qui tam action alleging violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute. The…
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San Jose, et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball and Allan Huber “Bud” Selig
The city of San Jose sued our client, Major League Baseball, alleging antitrust violations and various state law claims related to the Oakland Athletics possible relocation to San Jose. The…
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Non-Practicing Entity v. Technology Manufacturers and Patent Aggregator
When a group of technology companies refused to settle a patent infringement suit on the terms plaintiff demanded, the plaintiff filed a second suit—this time against the defendants and their…
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Payne et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball et al.
Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Major League Baseball, the Commissioner, and the 30 Clubs demanding that our clients install protective netting from foul pole to foul pole at…
News & Events
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Keker Secures Ninth Circuit Win for Google in Privacy Class Action
Keker, Van Nest & Peters secured an important appellate victory for Google when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a published opinion affirming in full the district court’s approval of the …
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Baseball’s Antitrust Exemption Escapes High Court Review
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the appeal of a wage-fixing antitrust action filed by minor league players against Major League Baseball and its teams, Law360 reported. Keker, Van Nest & Peters attorn…
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First Circuit Tosses Puerto Rican Players’ MLB Antitrust Appeal
The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal in a wage-fixing antitrust action filed by minor league players against MLB and its teams. The court found that the players committed a critical e…
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Pro Bono Showcase: Keker Pursues Justice with Felony Murder Resentencing Project
In celebration of National Pro Bono Week, we highlight the firm’s Felony Murder Resentencing Project, which has helped at least six incarcerated individuals overturn their life sentences.
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Google Escapes Revised ‘LockBox’ Privacy Dispute For Good
A California federal judge has permanently tossed a proposed class action accusing Google of using a secret program called “Android Lockbox” to unlawfully collect data from non-Google apps on Android devices, f…
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Am Law Litigation Daily: Another Dose of Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs
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 u…
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Federal judge denies LIV golfers bid for PGA Tour postseason
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.
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Partner Tom Gorman Named to Bloomberg Law’s 40 Under 40
“They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40,” Bloomberg Law’s award recognizes the accomplishments of sterling young lawyers nationwide.
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Partner Tom Gorman Named to Law 360 Rising Stars
Thomas Gorman of Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP has litigated intellectual property, antitrust, fraud and breach of contract cases, including one that uncovered a massive trade secret theft leading to a $179 milli…
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Keker’s $127 Million Win for Google Among the Top Verdicts of 2019
In a major arbitration over self-driving vehicle technology, plaintiff Google LLC sought to hold former employees Anthony Levandowski and Lior Ron accountable for alleged breaches of contract and unfair competi…
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Keker, Van Nest & Peters Elects Four Attorneys to Partner
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.
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Fans Strike Out in Suit over MLB Stadium Safety Netting
Keker & Van Nest defeat a proposed class action accusing Major League Baseball of failing to protect spectators at ballparks with safety netting.
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MLB Gets Antitrust Claims Tossed In Scout Wage Suit
Wyckoff — a former scout for the Kansas City Royals — sued Major League Baseball and all 30 clubs in the Southern District of New York. On behalf of a purported class of scouts, Wyckoff alleged that the defen…
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Why Pediatricians Care So Much About the Supreme Court’s Birth Control Case
KVN submitted a brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which argued that the Supreme Court should not allow religious objectors to obstruct third parties from obtaining medi…
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San Jose Strikes Out In MLB Antitrust Immunity Challenge
John Keker, Adam Lauridsen and Tom Gorman score a win for Major League Baseball.
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MLB Antitrust Exemption Binds Minor Leaguers, Judge Rules
John Keker and Adam Lauridsen protect Major League Baseball from a putative class action.
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Keker & Van Nest Wins Summary Judgment for TSMC in Patent Dispute with Ziptronix
Ziptronix had asserted nine patents and more than 500 claims over TSMC’s manufacturing of semiconductors.
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Keker & Van Nest Wins Antitrust Victory for Major League Baseball
A federal judge struck out San Jose’s illegal-monopoly claims against Major League Baseball over a stalled Oakland A’s move.
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Keker Team Won a $1 Billion Bet for McKesson
Jeff Chanin and David Silbert overcame tough odds and high financial stakes to prove their client was innocent of kickback charges.
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Publications
“Fast-Track Sentencing Disparity: Rereading Congressional Intent to Resolve the Circuit Split,” 77 U. Chi. L. Rev. 479 (2010) (cited by United States v. Reyes-Hernandez, 624 F.3d 405, 412 (7th Cir. 2010) and United States v. Jimenez-Perez, 659 F.3d 704, 706 (8th Cir. 2011))