Seth M. Gerber
Partner
Seth Gerber’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and protection of intellectual property assets. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in a broad-range of claims in state and federal court, including fraud, unfair competition, false advertising, breach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, undue influence, copyright and trademark infringement, and misappropriation of trade secrets. Seth also practices in the areas of healthcare, real estate and international litigation and has extensive experience prosecuting claims against foreign governments under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
The Daily Journal named Seth Gerber one of the top 20 lawyers in California under the age of 40 in 2011. He has been recognized multiple times as a Southern California “Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles magazine. Seth is the recipient of the State Bar of California’s Wiley M. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services and the Anti-Defamation League’s Daniel R. Ginsberg Leadership Award.
- Obtained a judgment against the Russian Federation ordering it to return for Chabad a large collection of irreplaceable, sacred religious books and manuscripts that were looted during the Bolshevik Revolution and the Second World War. The court has now found Russia in contempt and imposed sanctions of $50,000 per day.
- Obtained an arbitration award rescinding nearly $25 million in fraudulently acquired securities
- Obtained a jury trial verdict against a distributor of fashion accessories for copyright infringement
- Defended one of California’s largest independent physician associations in a jury trial for alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract. The jury found that the client did not engage in any willful or malicious misconduct.
- Represented the University of Southern California in a lawsuit against a Tenet Healthcare subsidiary that resulted in USC acquiring University Hospital and Norris Cancer Center from Tenet
- Represented Washington Mutual in defense of individual and class actions challenging the sale of financial products
- Represented a major manufacturer of consumer products in defense of a class action concerning the use of the chemical Bisphenol-A in manufacturing plastic bottles
- Speaker, Remnants of Genocide: Reclaiming Art and Other Heirlooms Lost in Atrocities, Symposium Program, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Calif. (March 11, 2011)
- Speaker, Litigating Genocide: When, Where and How, Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review and Loyola’s Center for the Study of Law & Genocide, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Calif. (Feb. 27, 2009)
- Frequent speaker on civil rights issues for the Anti-Defamation League
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Co-author, “Higbee May Escalate Unfair Competition Claims in California,” Law360 (March 26, 2013)
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Co-author, “California Law Criminalizing False Statements about the Financial Condition of Commercial Banks is Unconstitutional,” The Banking Law Journal (September 2012)
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Co-author, “Litigating the Pillage of Cultural Property in American Courts: Chabad v. Russian Federation and Lessons Learned,” Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review, 32:45-82 (Winter 2010)
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Co-author, “Chabad v. Russian Federation: A Case Study in the Use of American Courts to Recover Looted Cultural Property,” International Journal of Cultural Property, 17:361-386 (2010)
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Co-author, Trade Secret Litigation and Protection in California Injunctions chapter (IP Section of the State Bar of California)
- American Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Community Service
- Chair, Board of Directors, Pacific Southwest Region, Anti-Defamation League
- Member of the National Commission, the National Legal Affairs Committee, and the National Civil Rights Committee, Anti-Defamation League
- Former Member, Board of Directors, Los Angeles County Bar Foundation
- Former Member, Associates Board of Directors, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
- Top 20 California Lawyers Under 40, Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal (2011)
- Super Lawyers, Southern California Super Lawyer (business litigation) (2011–2013)
- Super Lawyers, Southern California Rising Star (2005–2010)
- State Bar of California’s Wiley M. Manuel Award
- Anti-Defamation League’s Daniel R. Ginsberg Leadership Award