Aaron Chiu is an associate in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the firm's global Antitrust & Competition Practice and Litigation & Trial Department. Mr. Chiu represents companies in complex business litigation and government enforcement actions.
Mr. Chiu’s practice focuses on complex antitrust disputes and defense of government enforcement actions, with a particular focus on trial work and appeals. Mr. Chiu has substantive experience representing companies at trial and in arbitrations. He also routinely represents clients in subsequent appeals of victories below. Mr. Chiu further counsels clients on various aspects of litigation strategy and risk.
Mr. Chiu also has an active pro bono practice, and recently briefed and argued a criminal appeal on behalf of an indigent individual in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Chiu has served in a number of management roles at the firm, including the Training & Career Enhancement Committee, and currently serves on the Associates Committee.
Mr. Chiu previously served as a law clerk to the Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Chiu’s experience includes representing:
- Apple Inc. in numerous matters.
- RPX Corporation, a provider of defensive patent risk management solutions, in its successful defense of claims challenging its business model as amounting to a patent buyers’ cartel in violation of the antitrust laws. After securing judgment on the pleadings, the Latham team successfully defended the judgment on appeal before the Ninth Circuit.
- Toshiba Corporation, in defense of a putative class action challenging a standard essential patent pool as anticompetitive, and in a related international arbitration relating to the underlying patent license agreements.
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company, in a seven-week trial defending against federal criminal charges charging the Utility with violating federal pipeline safety regulations following a gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California. The case started with government allegations that could have resulted in a fine of US$1.14 billion, and ended with dismissal or acquittal on 22 of the 28 counts charged, and a total fine of US$3 million.
- A global media conglomerate in an ongoing government investigation into bid-rigging in the advertising industry.
- American Airlines Group, in a consumer antitrust suit brought against the airline challenging the multi-billion dollar merger between US Airways and American Airlines.
- Hann-Star Display Corporation in a Ninth Circuit appeal related to price-fixing lawsuits filed by opt-out plaintiffs alleging price-fixing in the TFT-LCD panels industry.
- Emerson Electric Co., in a Fourth Circuit appeal of a dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit alleging a boycott of specific safety technology. Following the Fourth Circuit Court’s decision affirming and reversing in part the initial dismissal on appeal, Latham negotiated a nuisance value settlement on behalf of Emerson.
- Guitar Center, Inc., in multidistrict antitrust litigation alleging a conspiracy among manufacturers to fix resale prices. After a securing a dismissal of the second amended complaint, the Latham team successfully defended the dismissal on appeal before the Ninth Circuit.