Steven M. Strauss

SAN DIEGO - Steven M. Strauss is a first-chair litigator who can boast that he has never lost a jury trial in his long career. Naturally, he tends to handle complex cases.

"I like complex cases because I think you have to be creative," he said. "That's why I still enjoy it 40 years later."

At the end of August, Strauss finally wrapped up three years of intense work representing Chicago Title in litigation that grew out of what has been described as the largest Ponzi scheme in American history perpetrated by a woman. The litigation encompassed 11 actions in state court and three more in federal court, including one brought by a court-appointed receiver.

The woman was Gina Champion- Cain, a now-imprisoned San Diego real estate developer who set up a company that offered bridge loans to people seeking to buy liquor licenses. The loans were funded by investors to whom she promised high returns, with the funds escrowed with Strauss' client, Chicago Title.

"It was all a lie. There was never one legitimate transaction," he said. "She took in $400 million over seven years and lost about half of it." When the SEC shut her company down three years ago, investors sued Chicago Title.

"It's been a fascinating case," Strauss said, involving the receivership and challenging interplay between the state and federal lawsuits. He won an important victory in March when the federal court lifted a stay to allow Chicago Title to sue the woman's company.

But mostly his client has been slowly settling claims. The last settled on Aug. 31. Although the litigation was expensive, "I think it was a good result for the company," he said.

Strauss' complicated cases included many for Qualcomm, which he has represented for 20 years in antitrust, patent securities and other matters. In February, he finally defeated an attempt by investors to sue Qualcomm over a failed acquisition by Broadcom. The plaintiffs claimed Qualcomm had scotched the deal by asking a special federal panel to investigate it. Mistry v. Qualcomm Inc., 20-56178 (9th Cir., dec'd Feb. 8, 2022).

In October, he won a $50 million arbitration award and ownership of patents for a cold-brew coffee extract maker that sued its one-time founder for stealing trade secrets.