R. Benjamin Nelson

R. Benjamin Nelson’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, consumer class actions, and criminal defense. His clients benefit from his substantial trial experience and history of litigating cases from the initial discovery phase through trial.

Previously, Ben worked at a prominent international law firm where he represented major corporations and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial disputes, consumer class actions, and patent litigation.  His matters included:

– Defense of consumer class action cases brought against major financial, technology, and food companies, including allegations of unfair and deceptive practices.

– A complex contract dispute for a professional basketball team

– The defense of a small pesticide manufacturer against a lawsuit brought by its former investment bank

– A series of patent infringement disputes for a Silicon Valley software company

Ben has also worked on employment class actions, defended constitutional challenges to labor union policies, and challenged and defended environmental regulations.

Ben is also a former federal prosecutor, having served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of California.  There, he prosecuted cases involving stolen government property, possession of controlled substances, burglary, and federal environmental regulations, among others.  Ben also handled his own appeals and received trial and appellate advocacy training at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center.

Ben has also maintained an active pro bono practice, including litigation related to the disproportionate suspension and expulsion of African American students and students with disabilities, appeals of removal orders before the Ninth Circuit and Board of Immigration Appeals, and obtaining a restraining order against a client’s abusive husband.

After law school, Ben served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Michael H. Simon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

Ben earned his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School, graduating as a James Kent Scholar and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He served as a Notes Editor on the Columbia Journal of Race and Law and Submissions Editor on the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law.  Before that, Ben earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Georgetown University, graduating magna cum laude.

Public Service

• Law Clerk to the Honorable Michael H. Simon, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
• Special Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of California, 2015-16 Criminal Division

Admissions

• California
• All U.S. District Courts in California: Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit