Last week the Lewis & Llewellyn team gathered in San Francisco for our annual holiday party, and we were reminded once again how fortunate we are to work with such an incredible group of people. We are grateful to have had so many opportunities to spend time together in 2022, and we look forward to many more in 2023. We wish you all a very happy holiday season and a joyous new year! 
Category: Announcements
Last month, Paul Llewellyn and Ryan Erickson attended Crisp’s Game Changers Summit in Atlanta, Georgia—the world’s largest conference for law firm owners. In addition to networking with some of the most successful lawyers in the country, Paul and Ryan also had the privilege of meeting renowned leaders including David Goggins, Camille Vasquez, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The Daily Journal recently named Paul Llewellyn to its annual list of the Top 100 Lawyers in California. This list honors the most highly regarded attorneys in the state who execute cutting edge legal work and make an impact on their clients, the industry, and society at large. Paul was recognized not only for his success handling complex business litigation matters, but also for his commitment to representing sexual abuse survivors and obtaining justice on their behalf. A copy of The Daily Journal’s profile on Paul can be found here.
Lewis & Llewellyn is pleased to announce that partners Marc Lewis, Paul Llewellyn, Ryan Erickson, and Becca Furman have been selected by The National Law Journal (“NLJ”) to its 2022 list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers. The NLJ selected just 50 plaintiffs’ attorneys across the United States who it characterized as “truly agents of change.” In selecting the firm for this honor, the NLJ recognized the firm’s groundbreaking work bringing civil lawsuits on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse. Lewis & Llewellyn is unique among litigation boutiques in that it splits its practice approximately 50-50 on the plaintiff and defense side. By applying the same aggressive advocacy it deploys on behalf of its business litigation clients, the firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and has driven institutional change to help prevent future instances of abuse. A copy of the NLJ’s profile of the firm can be found here.
At Lewis & Llewellyn, we are committed to providing a space for high-achieving young adults to explore their interest in the law. We are particularly committed to enabling individuals from groups under-represented in the legal profession to gain access to mentorship, professional development, and hands-on exposure and training to fast track their future legal careers.
This summer, we are proud to launch an annual summer fellowship geared towards undergraduate students who want to see behind the scenes and gain valuable experience at California’s fastest growing litigation boutique. This individual will be working as a critical member of our team, assisting attorneys and staff with investigations, legal briefing, analyzing evidence, and much more across a wide variety of substantive legal areas in commercial litigation. The program will also offer opportunities to see the life cycle of a litigation, observe hearings and depositions, and receive one-on-one mentorship with our attorneys.
This fellowship is a paid opportunity.
Please send a resume and a short personal statement (250 words maximum) to careers@lewisllewellyn.com if you are interested in applying.
We are pleased to report another landmark win for a Lewis & Llewellyn client. As reported in Law360 and the Daily Journal, following a two week arbitration and years of litigation, Lewis & Llewellyn client EDAG Engineering was awarded $30 million against electric vehicle startup Byton, after a payment dispute arose from their combined efforts to build an all-electric luxury SUV called the M-Byte. In reaching this decision, the JAMS sole arbitrator, former San Francisco County Superior Court Judge William J. Cahill, found that Byton had breached its contract with EDAG. Judge Cahill also rejected Byton’s $31 million counterclaim against EDAG. Judge Chen of the Northern District of California confirmed the award, which included $28,635,392.42, plus over $1.5M in costs and interests.
When interviewed by Law360, partner Evangeline Burbidge said, “This is absolutely the right outcome. Our client did their job, providing world-class service in the face of novel engineering challenges. We were please to help them receive every penny they had earned, with interest.” A copy of the article is available here.
The Lewis & Llewellyn team consisted of lead counsel Burbidge, supported by Brad Estes, Marc Lewis, Ken Walczak, and Kristin Orrantia.
At Lewis & Llewellyn, we continue to lead the fight for justice on behalf of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Recently, a team led by Paul Llewellyn and Nathalie Fayad filed a high-profile lawsuit against The Branson School, an elite private school located in Marin County, California. According to the lawsuit, the school failed to protect a generation of young girls from a known sexual predator who was employed by the school. The complaint alleges that the school’s Director of Athletics and soccer coach subjected the firm’s client, and others, to years of sexual abuse in the late 1970s, when they were children under the care of Branson.
The lawsuit attracted nationwide press coverage; including an in-depth profile in the San Francisco Chronicle by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Matthias Gafni. Further details are also available in a press release about the case.
Partner Evangeline (“Evan”) Burbidge was recently selected for recognition by Best Lawyers as one of the top attorneys in California. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review, and its methodology is designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
As part of our continued growth, Lewis & Llewellyn is pleased to welcome Daniel Jordan to the firm as an Associate. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Daniel practiced at the San Francisco office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, representing many leading technology, startup, and Fortune 500 companies in state and federal court. He has broad experience in numerous areas of complex litigation, including breach of contract, trade secret, trademark, copyright, false advertising, and unfair competition disputes.
Lewis & Llewellyn is delighted to welcome Becca Furman to the partnership.
A proud graduate of the University of California system, having attended both UC Santa Barbara and UC Hastings, Becca joined the firm in 2015 after practicing at Winston & Strawn LLP. Becca’s practice focuses on complex breach of contract, trade secret, and privacy disputes.
Since joining the firm, Becca has spent over 15 weeks in state and federal jury trials. In one, a five-week federal jury trial, Becca represented a software consulting company, and helped achieve a complete defense jury verdict on the plaintiff’s CFAA and CDAFA claims. In the same trial, the jury awarded the firm’s client over $4 million on its contract-related claims. While Becca always develops an aggressive trial strategy, she also understands the importance of pragmatic, business-focused solutions.
Becca also regularly represents survivors of sexual abuse in civil lawsuits against individuals and institutions. Her representation has led to numerous successful results, including a $2.75 million settlement.
Within the local community, Becca serves on the Bar Association of San Francisco Barristers Board of Directors.
