Biography

Alex Reese helps individuals and companies of all sizes resolve disputes involving technology and issues of unfair competition. He has helped clients with pre-litigation counseling and alternative dispute resolution, and he has litigated cases through trial and appeal in matters involving trade secrets, antitrust and unfair competition, copyright infringement and liability relating to web scraping, employee mobility and non-competition agreements, patent infringement, consumer confusion, and more.

His notable engagements have included:

  • Winning a multimillion-dollar verdict after a six-week trade secrets trial in the Northern District of California. Alex was an integral member of the trial team and handled the direct and cross examinations of several key witnesses.
  • Obtaining the largest ever antitrust settlement in California state court history on behalf of a certified class of California companies in a case against healthcare giant Sutter Health for its anticompetitive conduct that has resulted in decades of hospital overcharges. Alex was instrumental in preparing the case and litigating it through discovery and summary judgment.
  • Representing more than a dozen clients involved in web scraping in a range of matters, including defending copyright infringement and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act lawsuits, counseling clients on scraping-related liability, and helping companies restructure to address scraping risks.
  • Reversing partial summary judgment on behalf of two creators of a role-playing game in a Ninth Circuit appeal involving claims of trademark and copyright infringement, breach of contract, and business torts.
  • Representing companies and employees in venture capital, agricultural, and other industries in pre-litigation dispute resolution and litigation on employee exits, enforceability of non-compete agreements, and duty of loyalty claims.
  • Winning a $29 million award, including attorneys’ fees, in an arbitration on behalf of a director of a venture capital firm in claims against the firm regarding the value of his ownership stake, the enforceability of non-compete agreements, and his right to vested carry.
  • Winning a complete victory at summary judgment on behalf of a leading e-commerce company in a suit involving breach of contract, antitrust violations, and defamation in the Western District of Washington.

Alex is a member of the Sedona Conference drafting committee on trade secrets issues. He publishes and speaks regularly on web scraping topics, including risks relating to copyright infringement and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claims. He is a past board member and president of several Bay Area legal services and non-profit organizations, and he served as an appointed member of the San Francisco MTA Advisory Committee. Alex chairs Farella’s Litigation Department and he currently serves as the firm’s hiring partner and is an active member of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s intellectual property and antitrust sections.

Distinctions

  • The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in the area of Commercial Litigation (2021)
  • Northern California Rising Stars by Super Lawyers (2021)