Jesse Gessin

PRACTICE AREAS

• White Collar Criminal Defense
• Complex Commercial Litigation
• Appellate Litigation

EXPERIENCE

Jesse Gessin is an outstanding trial lawyer. He has tried close to 30 jury trials to verdict as lead or co-lead counsel, teaches trial advocacy at UC Irvine School of Law, and lectures on trial strategy and techniques throughout the United States.

After joining Keller/Anderle, Jesse immediately became an integral member of the trial team that won a rare defense class action jury verdict in downtown Los Angeles for KA’s client MassMutual Life Insurance Co.  The case is recognized as one of the Top Defense Verdicts in California for 2018 by California’s leading legal publication (The Daily Journal) and one of the Top 10 Defense Verdicts in the Country by the only national courtroom television network (Courtroom View Network). In October 2018 Jesse jumped in as lead counsel just a few months before trial on a complex trusts and estates case representing a 93-year-old client; after a five-week jury trial, Jesse won an extraordinary multi-million dollar constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice verdict against the man’s lawyers. The verdict is one of the most sizeable legal malpractice jury verdicts in California in the past five years. Jesse’s appellate expertise is almost as impressive as his skill in trial. He has drafted fifteen briefs and argued the underlying cases in the Court of Appeals, with excellent results. Two of his victories resulted in opinions that have been heavily cited by other courts.  Jesse has been recognized in Benchmark Litigation and is a certified specialist in criminal law by the California State Bar.

Jesse is a prolific writer who has recently written articles for The Nevada Law Review, Orange County Bar Association, and other legal publications.

Jesse focuses on trials of all types. Before joining Keller/Anderle, he was an attorney in two different federal public defender offices, most recently in the Central District of California.  Before that, he practiced civil litigation, was an extern for the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division, and during college served an internship in The White House.

In his spare time, Jesse enjoys surfing and snowboarding.

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Associate Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (by invitation only, limited to top ½ of 1 percent of lawyers nationally)
• Listed in The Best Lawyers In America®, S. Naifeh & G. Smith (2020), White Collar Criminal Defense
• Los Angeles Magazine, “Southern California Super Lawyers, Business Litigation” (2020)
• Life Member, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum Benchmark Litigation “Future Star” (2019)
• The Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, “Top Defense Verdicts” (2018) TopVerdict, Top 100 Plaintiff’s Verdict in California (2018)
• Certified by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization in Criminal Law
• 10/10 Avvo Rating (2019)

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Lead counsel in successful defense of engineering company in trade secrets lawsuit filed by publicly traded semiconductor company with market capitalization of over five billion dollars.  Case voluntarily dismissed on favorable terms.
• Lead counsel in constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice jury trial that resulted in multi-million dollar verdict.
• Represented mutual insurance company in successful defense of a class action jury trial.
• Obtained a rare immediate release order for client serving a federal mandatory minimum life sentence based on successful post-conviction proceedings.
• Secured jury acquittal for client charged with federal bribery.
• Obtained reversal of conviction and judgment of acquittal in federal court for client charged with bank fraud.
• Defended tax preparation company owner in largest federal tax fraud scheme of its kind in United States history.
• Obtained judgement of acquittal on all charges for pilot charged in federal court with alien smuggling.
• Designed legal strategy to declare the government’s continued prosecution of medical cannabis businesses illegal under an appropriations law.  The legal strategy has since been used by attorneys in high-profile cases, and featured in the New York Times and other national media.
• Obtained reversal of conviction by federal court of appeals based on novel prosecutorial misconduct argument.
• Obtained dismissal with prejudice of all charges for client charged with federal large-scale narcotics offenses.

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

• Lecturer, Criminal Trial Advocacy, University of California, Irvine School of Law, Designed and instructed a trial advocacy course centering on advanced trial practice strategies and techniques from the greatest trial lawyers of the last 200 years. (Spring 2015-Spring 2018)
• Federal Defenders, Middle District of Alabama, CJA Training Seminar, Presented on issues that arise in gang cases and how to handle gang members as clients (12/10/2014)
• Senior Learning Skills Counselor, Externship Clinic, University of California, Irvine, School of Law, Created reflective essay and online forum prompts for judicial externs. Reviewed reflective essay and online forum submissions. Discussed reviews with judicial externs (Summer 2014-Summer 2015)
• Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop, Facilitated group discussion centering on sentencing advocacy theory and strategies, Long Beach, California (3/6-8/2014)
• Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop, Instructed participants from across the United States on sentencing advocacy techniques, San Francisco, California (2/14-16/2013)
• Defender Services of Eastern District of Washington and Idaho. Thrills and Skills Workshop XVII, Presented on the government’s use of law enforcement witnesses in complex criminal trials, Spokane, Washington (11/4/2011)
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Winning Strategies Criminal Defense Seminar, Lectured about recurring issues with gangs. RICO and dealing with co-defendants, San Antonio, Texas (2/10-12/2011)
• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Multi-Track Federal Criminal Defense Seminar, Strategies for Defending Complex Cases, Presented on the intricacies of mega-cases filed against members of street gangs under federal racketeering statutes, Miami Beach, Florida (8/12-14/2010)

PUBLICATIONS

• “‘Were They Lying? Questions: A Practitioner’s Look at the California Rule versus the Federal Rule,” Jesse Gessin, (Orange County Lawyer, December 2019)
• Ban the Billable Hour: Alternate Fee Arrangements in Business Disputes,” Jesse Gessin, (Orange County Business Journal, November 19, 2018)
• “Using a Centuries Old Trial Attorney Technique to Create Extraordinary Efficiencies in the Discovery Process for Business Disputes,” Jesse Gessin, (Orange County Business Journal, October 22, 2018)
• “Bit by Bit: Breaking Down the Ninth Circuit’s Frameworks for Jury Misconduct in the Digital Age,” Jesse Gessin, (Nevada Law Journal, 2018)
• “Is Uncle Sam Judgment-Proofing Your Qui Tam?,” Jesse Gessin, (Orange County Lawyer, December 2017)
• “Why You Should Hire a Trial Attorney for a Case That Will Never Go to Trial,” Jennifer Keller and Jesse Gessin, (Orange County Business Journal, November 20, 2017)
• “The Waning Days of Su