Jo W. Golub

Jo Golub handles white collar criminal defense cases, complex civil litigation, and enforcement actions brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Golub has been an active member of multiple trial teams and has represented clients in both federal and state courts.

In her criminal practice, Ms. Golub defends individuals--including business owners, executives, and principals--from accusations of conspiracy, fraud, antitrust violations, and commercial bribery. She represents clients during formal prosecutions as well as during pre-indictment investigations. Ms. Golub's recent civil cases have involved claims of patent infiringement, breach of contract claims related to the mortgage industry, and the defense of a corporation against claims of employment discrimination.

Ms. Golub also has an active pro bono practice. She second-chaired a Section 1983 prisoner civil rights suit in federal court, and has experience in asylum proceedings, post-conviction investigations and habeas corpus petitions.

Cases of Note

United States v. Executive: We represented an investment fund executive charged with criminal tax fraud related to a tax-shelter transaction that the fund designed and implemented. We resolved the matter by negotiating a plea to reduced charges.

Mortgage Fraud Cases: We represent a national lender in various state and federal court litigations regarding mortgage fraud-related claims, both as plaintiff and as defendant. We have obtained numerous favorable rulings for the lender regarding cutting-edge, mortgage fraud-related issues, including favorable rulings on the scope of federal lending statutes such as RESPA, TILA, and federal preemption of state causes of action.

Former Employee v. Internet Search Engine: We defended a leading high-tech company from an age and disability discrimination suit brought by a former executive. We were able to help our client reach a successful settlement.

Capital Management Firm v. Investment Manager: We represented the former investment manager of a London-based hedge fund in securities fraud litigation. The case, which involved the 2007 bond market crash that resulted in the liquidation of the hedge fund, was settled on confidential terms early in the discovery process.

Televisa v. Univision Communications: We represented Univision, the country's leading Spanish language television network, in a breach of contract jury trial. Televisa, a Mexican multimedia conglomerate which supplied Univision with its most popular Spanish language programs, attempted to terminate a long-term exclusive licensing agreement and sought more than $100 million in damages. The case was settled during trial on favorable terms. We also represented Univision in a bench trial which sought declaratory judgment to prevent Televisa from broadcasting over the Internet the same highly popular programs that it exclusively licensed to Univision. We won a complete victory at trial.

Prisoner v. Correctional Officers: We represented a California state prisoner in a civil rights suit against the correctional officers who denied his grievance claims in prison. After the plaintiff's case survived summary judgment, the federal court asked us to step in and represent the plaintiff at trial, thus allowing our client to have his day in court.

U.S. Immigration v. Illegal Immigrant: We represented an illegal immigrant in an evidentiary hearing before an Immigration Judge after our client was arrested following a car accident. Based on her history of incest and abuse in her former country, we successfully won her asylum.

In re Ronald W. Ross: In this pro bono habeas corpus case we won freedom for Ronald Ross, an innocent man who had been wrongfully convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2006. Over the course of a four-year investigation, we, along with our co-counsel at the Northern California Innocence Project, uncovered trial-witness recantations and other newly discovered evidence that conclusively established Mr. Ross’s innocence. We presented this evidence at a three-day evidentiary hearing in Alameda County Superior Court, and we eventually convinced the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to join in our request that Mr. Ross’s conviction be vacated. The Court granted Mr. Ross’s habeas petition and the District Attorney dismissed the underlying charges. After spending almost seven years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Mr. Ross was freed. We now represent Mr. Ross in post-habeas proceedings seeking compensation from the State of California for his wrongful conviction and incarcertation.