Brian M. French

Brian has a broad practice focusing on high-stakes commercial disputes – including securities, M&A, antitrust and more. He has extensive experience in trial and appellate courts across the US, as well as in regulatory investigations in the US, Europe and Asia. He has litigated multibillion-dollar disputes for some of the largest companies and financial institutions in the world.

Brian’s recent representations include:

• Representing Freshworks and current officers and directors in a securities class action in the US District Court for the Northern District of California arising from Freshworks’ initial public offering
• Representing Qualcomm and current and former officers and directors in a shareholder class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Representing Katapult and current and former officers and directors in a securities fraud class action in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) arising from Katapult’s deSPAC transaction with FinServ Acquisition Corp.
• Representing former officers and directors of FinServ Acquisition Corp. in a shareholder class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising from FinServ Acquisition Corp.’s deSPAC transaction with Katapult
• Representing former officers of MabVax Therapeutics in multiple fraud actions in New York and California courts
• Represented a premier electric car company, its CEO, and its current and former directors in a securities fraud class action in the Northern District of California arising from a potential going-private transaction
• Represented Meredith and four current and former officers and directors in a securities fraud class action in the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa and the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit arising from Meredith’s acquisition of Time Inc.
• Represented current and former officers and directors of Qualcomm in a derivative action in the US District Court for the District of Delaware
• Represented NVIDIA in a Section 220 books and records action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented Qualcomm in a Section 220 books and records action in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented a former Mindbody director and Institutional Venture Partners in a shareholder class action in the Delaware Court of Chancery arising from Vista Equity Partners’ acquisition of Mindbody
• Represented a former Mindbody director in a securities fraud class action in the SDNY arising from Vista Equity Partners’ acquisition of Mindbody
• Represented Rappi in contract and tort litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Represented a former Barclays gold trader in antitrust litigation in the SDNY arising from participation in the London Gold Fix
• Represented former directors of a biopharmaceutical company in a securities class action in the SDNY arising from acquisition by a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
• Represented homeowners in constitutional litigation against the Town of Palm Beach, Florida
• Represented a major private equity firm in connection with potential contract and business tort litigation
• Represented a creditors’ committee in an investigation of a debtor’s transactions with insiders
• Represented Qualcomm in numerous high-stakes disputes and investigations around the world relating to the company’s patent licensing and modem chipset businesses, including:
• Representing Qualcomm in US federal and state courts and before the US International Trade Commission
• Representing Qualcomm before regulatory agencies in the US, Europe, Korea and Taiwan
• Advising Qualcomm on litigations in the UK, Germany, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan*
• Represented Credit Suisse in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) litigations in state and federal courts nationwide*
• Represented JPMorgan Chase & Co. in RMBS litigation in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington*
• Represented one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies in connection with the US Food and Drug Administration’s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) process and potential related litigation*
• Represented one of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies in connection with potential contract litigation*
• Represented a major French ecommerce company in connection with potential business tort litigation*
• Represented the founder of a well-known hair salon and hair product businesses in connection with potential contract and business tort litigation*

* Representation handled prior to joining Cooley

Brian received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated magna cum laude, was elected to the Order of the Coif and was an articles editor for the Georgetown Law Journal. While at Georgetown, he also interned in the Appellate Staff of the US Department of Justice Civil Division.

Following graduation, Brian served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Mary Beck Briscoe of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Brian joined Cooley from Cravath, Swaine & Moore.