Antitrust Litigator Robert Vizas Joins Arnold & Porter
San Francisco, June 6, 2005 - Arnold & Porter LLP announced today that antitrust litigator Robert J. Vizas has joined the firm as counsel. Mr. Vizas, who has a broad range of expertise in complex litigation matters, with a concentration on antitrust litigation, is basing his practice in San Francisco. Mr. Vizas has joined as a result of the expansion of the firm's long-standing relationship with Visa U.S.A. Inc., particularly in the areas of antitrust litigation and counseling.
"Bob is a first-rate lawyer with significant antitrust jury trial experience," said Arnold & Porter Chairman Mike Sohn. "He has been a trusted legal advisor to key national clients, and he is highly respected in the San Francisco business and legal communities."
"I am delighted to join a powerhouse law firm with a deep bench of talent in antitrust and litigation," said Mr. Vizas. "I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues at Arnold & Porter, several of whom I have known for years and with whom I worked side by side on prior cases."
Mr. Vizas has a substantial background as a litigator, including federal court litigation experience, and has served as a trial lawyer in many complex civil cases that have been tried to juries, including antitrust, intellectual property, and commercial disputes. He served as counsel at Legal Strategies Group, in Emeryville, Ca., during which time he tried major antitrust and patent cases in the federal court in Los Angeles, including a case in which he won a $48 million verdict for one of his clients. He has served as General Counsel and member of the Executive Committee for Raychem Corp, a $2 billion publicly traded company based in Menlo Park, Ca.
From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Vizas served as Executive Vice President, CEO, and Vice Chairman of the San Diego Padres baseball team and was involved in completing a $1 billion dollar downtown ballpark and redevelopment project. Mr. Vizas has a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A from the University of Michigan.
The addition of Mr. Vizas follows several related expansions for the firm this year. On January 18, a group of six securities enforcement lawyers, led by Michael D. Trager, joined the firm. On January 24, Arnold & Porter announced a significant expansion of its New York office with the addition of eight partners: a group of litigators and transactional lawyers with diverse fields of specialization, including a new hedge funds practice. On April 11, the firm further boosted its securities litigation and enforcement practice with the addition of Richard Swanson and Veronica Rendon to the New York office.
Last year, John D. Hawke, former U. S. Comptroller of the Currency, returned to the firm's financial institutions practice, and securities and commercial litigator H. Peter Haveles, Jr., joined the New York office.
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Contact Information for Bob Vizas