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Gregory Ward
Email
gward@mcmanislaw.com
Phone
408.279.8700
Focus
Litigation, Appellate

Gregory Ward

Consultant

Phone
408.279.8700

Greg’s breadth of experience – both as a civil and criminal trial lawyer and a Superior Court Judge – gives him an invaluable perspective on virtually every aspect of the law.

While on the Superior Court, he presided over more than 1,000 trials, including civil, criminal, family and probate cases, and resolved thousands of pretrial motions, applications and petitions. Prominent civil trials involved disputes over trade secret theft, the infliction of serious personal injury, breach of contract, wrongful termination of employment and government seizure of private property. A civil trial lawyer before his appointment to the bench, Greg focused on business and intellectual property litigation. As a federal prosecutor, he was a member of the prestigious Department of Justice Strike Force.

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  • Credentials

    Admissions

    • State Bar of California
    • State Bar of Pennsylvania
    • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Wisconsin, District of Puerto Rico
    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh and Ninth Circuits
    • U.S. Supreme Court

    Education

    • J.D., Harvard Law School, 1972
    • B.A., University of California at Santa Cruz, 1969
  • Experience
    • Obtained a jury verdict in excess of $3 million in favor of real estate brokers who were denied compensation for their marketing of plaintiff’s commercial/industrial property in South San Jose.
    • Convinced the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on petition for rehearing, to reverse its ruling upholding an award of $4,300,000 for attorney’s fees and costs by the U.S. District Court.
    • In Santa Clara County Superior Court, obtained a jury verdict in favor of an employer accused of wrongfully discharging an employee because of her race and ethnicity.
    • In U.S. District Court, obtained a jury verdict rejecting animal rights activists’ claims that defendant used violence and threats of violence to interfere with plaintiffs’ efforts to videotape circus animals at events in San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento.
    • Successfully argued at trial for directed verdict and nonsuit in favor of the defendant in a class action lawsuit challenging the legality of a tip pool that required cardroom dealers to contribute portions of tips received from players.
    • Successfully argued in the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Supreme Court precedent requiring a federal court to stay its proceedings in deference to a previously filed state court action.
    • Convinced the Sixth District Court of Appeal to reverse a Superior Court award of $1,800,000 for attorney’s fees and costs.
    • Achieved a $900,000 jury verdict in favor of a defendant/cross-complainant in an action arising out of an agreement for the purchase of a business jet.
    • Obtained a jury verdict for $300,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages for breach of fiduciary duties in the break-up of a joint venture.
  • Publications, Articles & Blogs

    Publications

    • California Objections. (2003, rev. 2017). James Publishing

    Articles

    Blogs

  • Speaking Engagements
    • Presenter/Panelist -  “Evidence Revisited,” California Judges Association Midyear Conference, March 2017
  • Professional & Community Contributions
    • Member, Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation, 2013 – 2015
    • Presenter/Panelist
      • “How We Decide: Cognitive Bias and the Art of Persuasion,” MCLE, October 2012
      • “On the Record: Taking Expert Depositions,” MCLE, June 2011
      • “Presenting Expert Testimony at Trial: A Judge’s View,” Appraisal Institute Conference, May 2009
      • A Trial Judge’s Perspective on Condemnation Trials and the Use of Expert Witnesses,” CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, December 2008
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