Kevin Fong

Kevin M. Fong, Pillsbury’s Appellate practice leader, has helped shape the law by establishing important precedent in numerous fields, including environmental law and banking law. A former president of the prestigious California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Kevin has appeared in 125 published decisions in California and federal appellate courts, won five of six California Supreme Court arguments, and handled several groundbreaking matters.

He authored briefs for the lead petitioner in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case and “the most cited case in modern public law.”

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE :

• Convinced the Ninth Circuit that Union Pacific Railroad’s emission of diesel particulate matter does not constitute “disposal” of solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
• Achieved precedent-setting win for the Chehalis Tribe, with the Ninth Circuit holding that state and local governments may not tax permanent improvements on land held by the U.S. in trust for an Indian tribe.
• Obtained a California Supreme Court reversal of a $6 million libel judgment against a newspaper that published articles asserting misconduct in conviction of a Chinatown gang murderer.
• Authored cert. petition and briefs on merits in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 465 U.S. 837 (1984), a landmark administrative law case on deference to statutory interpretation by an agency.
• Represented Union Pacific in Association of American Railroads v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, 622 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2010), which held that Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA) preempts local rules on emissions from idling trains.
• Served as lead appellate counsel in Mwangi v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 764 F.3d 1168 (9th Cir. 2014), upholding dismissal of a class action challenging a bank’s policies on account funds following bankruptcy by an account holder.
• Argued leading California Supreme Court case, Dreyfuss v. Union Bank of California, 24 Cal.4th 400 (2003), confirming creditor’s right to proceed against multiple items of collateral in non-judicial foreclosures.
• Served as lead appellate counsel in Apusento Garden (Guam) v. Superior Court, 94 F.3d 1346 (9th Cir. 1996), which reinstated $5.7 million arbitration award in favor of owner of apartment complex in Guam in construction defect dispute.
• Served as lead appellate counsel in Ponderosa Telephone Co. v. Public Utilities Commission, 197 Cal.App.4th 48 (2011), which held that decision of California Public Utilities Commission violated the retroactive ratemaking doctrine.

EDUCATION :

• J.D., Harvard Law School, 1979
• A.B., Harvard College, 1976

ADMISSIONS : California

CLERKSHIPS : Clerk to Chief Judge Constance Baker Motley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.