Bryan H. Heckenlively is a partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. He focuses his practice on complex civil litigation and trials, with a particular emphasis on privacy and data security issues.
Key Representations :
- University of California in:
- obtaining dismissal with prejudice of all claims in a $23 million lawsuit brought by a member of the public who was injured during violent protests against a conservative commentator at the University of California, Berkeley;
- obtaining dismissal of critical portions of a high-profile First Amendment lawsuit alleging unlawful discrimination against conservative speech at UC Berkeley; and
- persuading a federal court to abstain from interfering with sexual-harassment disciplinary proceedings against the former Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law.
- Morgan Stanley, as lead trial counsel, in obtaining a unanimous award requiring a former employee to repay an outstanding promissory note in full, plus interest and attorneys’ fees, and rejecting $9 million in counterclaims.
- A major international contractor in obtaining a complete defense victory against a certified class following a nearly-three month arbitration hearing. The Daily Journal recognized that result as a Top Verdict of 2015.
- A biotechnology company in obtaining a favorable settlement of a major dispute with a large biopharmaceutical company related to development and commercialization of an oncology drug.
In addition to his trial court results, Mr. Heckenlively counsels clients on privacy and data security issues and First Amendment obligations, and he speaks and writes regularly on those topics. He has spoken on privacy and data security litigation at the Practicing Law Institute’s Advanced Data Privacy conference and the Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel All-Hands Meeting. In 2018, he addressed First Amendment and campus unrest issues at the University of Texas System Legal Conference.
Mr. Heckenlively is committed to pro bono work and community organizations. Along with several organizations, he represents Native American students in a highly publicized case against the federal government seeking to obtain access to education. He has also represented public health organizations opposing a Florida law preventing physicians from discussing firearm safety with their patients.
In 2018, Mr. Heckenlively was named to the American Bar Association’s list of Top 40 Young Lawyers for exemplifying “a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership, and legal and community service.”
Mr. Heckenlively serves on the board of directors for the Bay Area Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, the Leadership Council for the Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the Advisory Board of the East Bay Community Law Center. He is involved with the trial advocacy program at Berkeley Law and has taught as a lecturer there.
Before joining Munger Tolles, Mr. Heckenlively served as a law clerk to Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and to Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Education:
- UC Berkeley School of Law (J.D., 2009) Order of the Coif; book reviews and essays editor, California Law Review
- Stanford University (B.A., with honors, 2006); College Mock Trial All-American Attorney
Bar Admissions :
- California
- New York
Cost
Rate : $$$