Overview
Commercial litigator Adam Trigg represents directors, officers, and founders in complex securities litigation, shareholder disputes, business divorces, and other intracompany controversies. His Silicon Valley-based clients include executives and leaders of venture capital, life sciences, biotechnology, and high-tech companies.
Securities Litigation and SEC Investigations
Adam has defended numerous officers, directors, and companies in securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, and SEC investigations and enforcement actions. He focuses on early resolution when possible, successfully moving to dismiss or settle many lawsuits at the pleadings stage. Adam maintains cooperative relationships with regulatory agencies as part of his advocacy for clients under investigation by the SEC, U.S. Department of Justice, and other regulators.
Tech Company and Founder Disputes
Resolving founder disputes—from struggles over corporate control to allegations of fraud and misuse of corporate funds, equity interest conflicts, breach of contract, and other claims—is a significant area of Adam’s practice.
Adam brings in-depth forensic resources to address the sophisticated accounting issues entailed in valuations and damage assessment during company leadership breakups. He digs deep into entangled financial details to clarify and identify the relevant facts underlying disputes to position clients well for litigation.
He manages all phases of complex litigation: pre-litigation counseling, fact investigation, discovery, motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, and trial preparation.
Adam was recognized as a “Rising Star,” top-rated securities litigation attorney in San Jose, CA by Super Lawyers. In addition to his litigation practice, Adam was chair of the Leadership Development Committee of the Northern California Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL). He is a contributing editor to The Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide, Civil Procedure Before Trial, Claims and Defenses, Breach of Fiduciary Duty. Out of the office, Adam is a foster parent and dedicates time to strengthening the foster care community, including serving as a pro bono attorney for foster parents through Advokids, a legal advocacy non-profit which protects the rights of foster children in California.
Representative Cases
INTRA-CORPORATE DISPUTES
- The Firm represents two venture funds in a case alleging breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty arising out of a company’s financing rounds.
Publications
Author: “Issues and Strategies for Representing Individual Defendants in Securities Class Actions” American Bar Association’s Securities Litigation Journal (May 2020).
The Rutter Group’s California Practice Guide, Civil Procedure Before Trial, Claims and Defenses, Breach of Fiduciary Duty – Contributing Editor, 2018-19.
Professional Involvement
- ABTL – Northern California Chapter, Leadership Development Committee, Chair, 2019.
- American Bar Association – Member.
- State Bar of California – Member.
- Santa Clara County Bar Association – Member.