Lupe Laguna

Senior Counsel

Lupe Laguna is a seasoned litigator dedicated to representing clients in high-stakes, complex litigation across various issues. His practice includes consumer class actions, contract disputes, trade secret misappropriation, unfair business practices, fraud, and antitrust cases. Lupe has successfully represented clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration.

Lupe previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable John J. Tharp Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He also brings a unique perspective to his practice, having served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps, where he deployed to Iraq twice with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division.

During his tenure at an international law firm in Los Angeles, Lupe served, pro bono, as a prosecutor for the City of Redondo Beach, where he tried criminal cases to verdict.

Representative Experience

Commercial Litigation

  • Represented a chemical manufacturer in multidistrict litigation regarding environmental contamination claims.*
  • Advocated for an angel investor in a fraud case against a company and its management, securing terminating sanctions against all defendants.*
  • Served as lead counsel for a financial services institution in a financing dispute with a commercial borrower, achieving a mandatory temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that compelled the borrower to disclose the location of pledged collateral, culminating in a $1.4 million judgment.*
  • Defended a telecommunications provider in one of California’s largest False Claims Act cases, examining over a dozen key witnesses during depositions.*
  • Acted as trial counsel for a solar company in a two-week jury trial concerning trade secret and employment issues.*
  • Represented an autonomous vehicle developer in an international trade secret misappropriation case involving complex spoliation and e-discovery challenges.*
  • Advocated for a partner of an international financial services firm accused of billing fraud, drafting a successful summary judgment motion that dismissed all claims.*
  • Served as counsel for an independent Special Litigation Committee of a California corporation facing derivative claims against board members.*
  • Represented insured parties in a dental malpractice Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding, drafting a successful motion that prevented plaintiffs from consolidating multiple bellwether trials.*

 

Consumer Class Action Defense

  • Defended a national bank in various consumer class actions challenging the implementation of the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, successfully resolving all complaints at the pleading stage.*
  • Represented a national bank in a groundbreaking consumer class action alleging violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, drafting a winning motion to dismiss that led to full dismissal of all class claims with prejudice.*
  • Advocated for a global distribution company in a consumer class action regarding violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.*
  • Assisted an international cosmetics company in settling consumer class action claims related to state consumer protection law violations.*

White-Collar Criminal Defense/Internal Investigations

  • Represented global automakers in federal grand jury and NHTSA investigations, resulting in no criminal charges.*
  • Advocated for a packaged seafood company during a federal criminal antitrust investigation and concurrent civil proceedings.*
  • Represented a fintech lender in a state attorney general investigation concerning lending practices.*
  • Defended an international apparel company in a state attorney general investigation.*

*Matters handled prior to joining Foley.

Affiliations

  • 2022 Fellow, Lawyers for Civil Injustice

Presentations and Publications

  • Co-author, “The Defend Trade Secrets Act and Extraterritoriality,” American Bar Association, Business Torts & Unfair Competition Section (January 1, 2021)