Lawrence C. Locker

Lauded by clients for his courtroom presence and skillful advocacy, Larry looks for creative solutions in resolving complex litigation. Clients rely on his sure-footed advocacy for their high-stakes disputes. With decades of trial experience, Larry has represented clients in disputes involving:

• Corporate governance and control, including business break ups.
• Intellectual property, including misappropriation of trade secrets.
• Insurance coverage
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Licensing rights
• Environmental clean-up costs
• Unlawful spamming
• Director and officer defense
• Trust and estate litigation
• Antitrust claims
• Employment discrimination
• Fraud

He has also represented clients in mediation and alternative dispute resolution proceedings.

Clients.  Larry has represented a wide variety of clients including entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals, small- and medium-size businesses, a public research university, Department of Energy contractors, a boat manufacturer, an accounting audit firm, a real estate investment firm and technology companies of all sizes.

Credentials

Awards & Accolades

• Washington Super Lawyers, (2012 - present)
• Martindale-Hubbell:, AV Rated-Preeminent (2011 - present); peer review comments include:
  • "He is a lawyer of exceptional integrity and ability. He is a credit to the profession."
  • "Larry Locker is a first-class trial lawyer, with particular strength in handling witnesses in the courtroom."
  • "Larry is an excellent lawyer with good judgment."

• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Seattle Metropolitan magazine Top Lawyers
• Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
• Council on Litigation Management, Member

Memberships

• American Bar Association, Co-Chair, International Human Rights Committee, ABA Section of International Law (2020 - 2022)
• Washington State Bar Association
• King County Bar Association
• Federal Bar Association
• State Bar of California

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Publications:

• “Black Lives Matter Calls for Action Include the Creation of a U.S. Truth Commission,” ABA International Human Rights Committee Newsletter (Summer 2020, revised edition, vol. 3)
• "Minority Report: The Future of Legal Services and AI," Chambers and Partners, eDiscovery & Disclosure 2019, Trends and Developments (January 2019)
• “Admissibility of Scientific and Other Expert Testimony in Federal and Washington Courts,” National Business Institute (2008 and 2009)
• “New Horizons — The False Claims Act Outside of the Departments of Health and Human Services,” American Bar Association, National Institute on the Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement (2000)
•  “Report to the Truth Commission for El Salvador,” Co-Author, article setting forth the findings and recommendations of the legal delegation that traveled to El Salvador and investigated civilian deaths resulting from an airstrike on a village (1992)

Speaking Engagements:

• “El Salvador Truth Commission: Lessons and Reflections,” Washington State Bar Association, World Peace Through Law Section (2020)
• “Evidence and Expert Testimony Best Practices,” National Business Institute (December 2009 and November 2008)
• “Intellectual Property Protection Strategy,” CFO Roundtable (October 2007)
• “Contracts and Negotiations: The Litigation Angle in Drafting Commercial Agreements,” Washington State Bar Association (October 2006)

Representative Matters

• Obtained judgment following a month-long trial for a Russian citizen (and former owner of intellectual property rights to the computer game Tetris) for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty against former employees and agents, residents of Seattle. The judgment included removal of defendants as officers and directors of the company, return of valuable technology licensing rights, return of real estate worth more than $1 million, a $3.1 million money judgment, and an award of attorneys’ fees of $900,000. Defendants were awarded nothing on their $5 million counterclaim.
• Represented a software licensor to recover royalties due under a license agreement; the case settled favorably.
• Served as counsel for a manufacturing corporation in multi-ten-million-dollar case seeking reimbursement for environmental cleanup costs under insurance policies issued to the corporation; the case settled favorably.
• Served as counsel for a small business owner in an action against an insurance company to establish defense and indemnity coverage for environmental cleanup costs and to recover damages for bad faith insurance practices; the case settled favorably.
• Obtained for a corporation client an order granting a preliminary injunction against a former chief executive officer and majority shareholder, prohibiting him from representing to the corporation’s customers and others that he holds ownership rights in the company’s patented intellectual property; the case settled favorably as a result of the order.
• Represented a software development company and obtained more than $40 million in the negotiated settlement of a dispute over a software development contract.
• Recovered a foreign company’s entire $2 million investment in a local technology startup company, in a case alleging that through fraud and accounting artifice, the investment money had been diverted by the startup’s parent company and officers.
• Successfully defended a corporation in a multimillion-dollar claim alleging unlawful spamming and unauthorized access to an Internet service provider’s servers.
• Defended a corporate officer and director in a lawsuit by an investor seeking more than $1 million; the case settled for a small fraction of the claim.
• Served as counsel for the defendant estate in an action brought by a plaintiff claiming a one-half interest in the defendant’s real property; the case settled during trial for a small fraction of the claim.
• Represented the plaintiff in an arbitration proceeding involving claims of misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of software license claims; obtained a favorable settlement, including recovery of attorney’s fees.
• Represented a polymer plastics manufacturing corporation in prosecution of two patent infringement cases with antitrust counterclaims; obtained favorable stipulated judgments on the patents, and dismissal of both counterclaims.
• Served as member of the plaintiff’s legal team in a large antitrust case (Caldera, Inc. v. Microsoft, Inc.); the case involved complex intellectual property and software licensing issues, and resulted in a multi-hundred-million-dollar settlement.

News