In an interview with Law.com centered on his distinguished judicial career and upcoming retirement, U.S. District Senior Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California singled out Keker, Van Nest & Peters partner Bob Van Nest as providing the “best moments of lawyering” he has ever seen.
That specific moment happened when Van Nest cross-examined a key expert witness in the Oracle v. Google trial over software copyrights.
Alsup said it was about as perfect a cross-examination as he has ever seen. Van Nest asked whether the expert did a certain kind of study as part of his report without editorializing, the article said.
“Many lawyers would be tempted to work in some adjectives, like, ‘You didn't do the XYZ study, which is the normal thing to do, did you, Mr. Expert?’ Well, that gives the expert an out [to argue] that's not the normal thing to do,“ Alsup said. “Most lawyers can't help themselves. Van Nest asked short questions [that] he knew read right into the impeachment material, and he picked out the top 10 things that he needed to establish. He established those things and let the witness go. It was a brilliant, brilliant cross-examination.”
Alsup plans to retire from the federal bench at the end of the year. A graduate from Harvard Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice William Douglas, served in the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, and was a partner at Morrison & Foerster before being confirmed to the federal bench in 1999.
Read the Law.com article here. (subscription required)
Reprinted with permission from the December 17, 2025, issue of Law.com © 2026 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com.
