Cristina C. Arguedas

Arguedas helps executives and general counsels at major companies keep their legal problems from reaching the light of day. While many attorneys are trying to make headlines, Arguedas is often preventing them, making sure thorny legal issues are resolved before they enter the public sphere.

But she’s also ready to step into the ring and fight in the spotlight when the case calls for it, like the recent dismissal she earned for Backpage.com, which was charged by federal prosecutors with fostering prostitution.

Backpage operates a bulletin board similar to the one popularized by Craigslist Inc., including the sex pages its predecessor was once notoriously associated with.

“We got the case dismissed on the First Amendment grounds and [Communications] Decency Act grounds,” she said. “They’re just a bulletin board and they’re not responsible for the actions of the people posting on it.” People v. Ferrer, 16FE019224 (Sacramento Super. Ct., filed Oct. 6, 2016).

In some ways the case was very similar to the one Arguedas won for FedEx Corp. when federal prosecutors charged the company with knowingly shipping drugs to people without valid prescriptions.

Similar to the Backpage litigation, the case involved the federal government suddenly cracking down on business practices that previously had been tolerated. Most companies put their tail between their legs and settle in hopes of avoiding public embarrassment at the hands of the government but FedEx didn’t back down and neither did its attorney.

“If FedEx had loss that case the penalty was $1.6 billion,” she said. “The company looked at their situation, saw the risk and felt they were innocent.” Prosecutors refused to back down and suffered the ultimate embarrassment, dropping their case at the very last minute. U.S. v. FedEx Corp., 14-cr-3080 (N.D. Cal., filed July 17, 2014).

“The government myopia never got dislodged until after the trial had begun,” she said. The case spanned 12 years, but the outcome was gratifying and grabbed the attention of other corporate litigants facing federal prosecution.

“I think companies are realizing they can put up a resistance,” she said. “The companies that do realize that are more likely to call me.”

— Joshua Sebold