Diane M. Doolittle

As co-chair of the firm's national trial practice group, Doolittle has recently seen opposing counsel in two major cases withdraw. After she led a large Quinn Emanuel team in successfully defending Pfizer Inc. against allegations of theft of more than 150 valuable trade secrets related to the painkiller Bextra, her client was largely exonerated on liability issues. A Santa Clara County Superior Court jury found in Pfizer's favor on 155 of 162 trade secrets, following a six-week retrial of the case. Ischemia Research & Education Foundation v. Pfizer Inc., 1-04-CV026653 (Santa Clara Super. Ct., filed March 12, 2004).

Most recently, given the case's dwindling size, the plaintiff's longtime counsel withdrew after more than a decade of litigation. "There's no pot at the end of the rainbow anymore," Doolittle said. The plaintiff, a now-defunct educational and research foundation that originally sued on a $1 billion damages theory, has newly retained Girardi | Keese to handle the trial's second phase, forcing postponement of that proceeding until Oct. 24. "They have no idea what the case is about," Doolittle said. "It's a very complex case and the reality is that the punitives are gone, attorney fees are gone, and what's left is de minimis damages on seven trade secrets."

Pfizer retained Doolittle after a first trial in the case was handled by another firm and ended in defeat with a $39 million award against Pfizer. "We tried it very differently the second time," Doolittle said. "We told the story through live witnesses. At the first trial, the defense just hit the play button on the video of deposition testimony. Our approach was much more persuasive."

Doolittle was retained in March by prominent venture capitalist Michael Goguen, the former managing partner at Sequoia Capital, to represent him in his counterclaim that his former mistress broke a $40 million settlement agreement to keep his name out of the headlines. What looked to be an epic confrontation over an eyebrow-raising contract dispute may have fizzled now that Doolittle's high-powered opposing counsel and Top 100 honoree Patricia L. Glaser of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP has withdrawn from representing the woman, Amber Laurel Baptiste. Glaser cited irreconcilable differences with her client in moving to withdraw in July. Baptiste v. Goguen, CV537691 (San Mateo Super. Ct., filed March 8, 2016).

"Patti Glaser came out of the box with a bang with statements to the media," Doolittle said. "Now she's out, and Ms. Baptiste has not yet found a replacement. We have a May 2017 trial date, but I think her ship is listing."

— John Roemer