Luis Li

LOS ANGELES - After prosecuting numerous cases, as both former assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the criminal branch of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Luis Li has built a successful career across a wide range of complex, high-profile matters ranging from large-scale racketeering to organized crime matters.

This experience has allowed him to build a skill set that has transferred well to private practice. "Probably the most important thing is, you get trial skills -- you get the opportunity to try cases, be responsible for all aspects of the case, and make the tough judgment calls," Li explained in an interview with the Daily Journal last September. "It was helpful in constructing larger-scaled cases."

From handling complex business litigation to corporate crisis management, internal investigations and white-collar criminal defense, Li is regarded as one of the nation's foremost trial lawyers.

His diverse practice has allowed him to build success while representing clients such as Vanessa Bryant in a highly publicized civil rights lawsuit and trial against Los Angeles County, the owner of Santa Anita Park in a trial against a Hall of Fame horse trainer and UCLA in the "Varsity Blues" admission scandal.

In a recent nationally covered jury trial, Li secured a complete victory on federal civil rights claims for Vanessa Bryant against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Vanessa Bryant v. County of Los Angeles, 2:20-cv-09582 (C.D., Cal., filed Oct. 19, 2020).

Vanessa Bryant alleged emotional distress caused by Los Angeles County employees who took and shared photos of the victims of a fatal helicopter crash site that killed nine people, including her husband Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter.

Li and his team secured a $15 million jury award for Bryant after a three-week trial in August 2022.

Li and his team continued to represent Vanessa Bryant in multiple lawsuits related to the helicopter crash. The matters have since settled.

"We look at every case as if we were going to trial. We try to think about whatever issues there are in a thematic way so that we can explain complicated things to a jury or a judge in a way that explains why we should win," Li said in response to what helps drive his success. "That helps drive the overall strategy from the beginning of a case, which can define how best to do discovery."