Lawrence K. Rockwell | Attorney

Lawrence K. Rockwell is a senior litigation and business partner of nearly 30 years experience. Without interruption in his practice of law, he has served in firm leadership positions of Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer since 1990.

His practice over the last twenty years has focused on commercial litigation and legal counseling in the areas of business and trade practices, intellectual property and commercial disputes. This followed almost a decade of legal experience focused on a traditional corporate and financing practice mixed with business litigation. His litigation practice has included being lead attorney in jury trials, non jury trials and arbitrations, in actions ranging from consumer, business and employment class action lawsuits to disputes of more modest size. Mr. Rockwell has and continues to represent and counsel the firm's institutional clients ranging from Autodesk, Inc., Albertson's, Inc., Symantec Corporation, and Unisys Corporation, Inc., to small Bay Area start-up businesses and high net worth individuals.

Mr. Rockwell's intellectual property practice includes leading litigation enforcing the copyright and trademark rights of numerous computer software and entertainment software companies, and representing the trade organizations of which they are members. This litigation frequently encompasses a range of activity in federal courts, including obtaining ex parte temporary restraining orders, seizure orders, preliminary injunctions and pursuit of the action to trial. Mr. Rockwell has supervised and actively participated in dozens of lawsuits securing injunctive relief to protect clients' intellectual property rights and obtained damages in U.S. District Courts in California, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Texas. Mr. Rockwell has also been a lead counsel in numerous lawsuits brought on behalf of non-software clients such as Grateful Dead Productions and Phish enforcing their trademark and other intellectual property rights in and outside of California.

Mr. Rockwell's business law practice has focused on representation in areas of business and trade practices, contract enforcement, licensing disputes, reseller and distribution relationship disputes, and UCC secured financing transactions and enforcement. His business practice also includes representing clients in major debt workouts, and related collection actions and UCC issues. His counseling to numerous start-up businesses has included assisting the many companies who have been admitted to Oakland (California) Communications Technology Cluster of which the firm was a founder and where Mr. Rockwell is the Chairman of the Advisory Board. The firm was a founding member of the Contra Costa County (California) Software Business Incubator on whose Advisory Board Mr. Rockwell also was a member. He has represented retailers in defending class action lawsuits alleging price fixing and combinations in restraint of trade and been a lead counsel in substantial litigation arising from product sales, leasing, distribution and service agreements, including class actions alleging price fixing and restraint of trade, false and deceptive advertising of product or service attributes, unfair and deceptive business practices, unfair competition and disputes regarding marketing and distribution agreements.

Mr. Rockwell's litigation experience also includes representing employers in class action suits dealing with employment policies, alleged discrimination, and unfair business practices, and counseling clients regarding the implementing of personnel policies. He has served as a lead defense attorney in suits filed on behalf of thousands of employees claiming racial and sexual discrimination, and has represented numerous employers in defense of wrongful termination and discrimination suits.

Mr. Rockwell joined Donahue Gallagher in 1976 and became a partner in the firm in 1982. He graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1976. He has both a B.A. degree in Economics with distinction and a B.S. degree in Business Administration with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1973. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of the American Bar Association (Business Law and Litigation Sections), State Bar of California (Litigation and Intellectual Property Law Sections), and Alameda County Bar Association. Along with several other members of the firm, Mr. Rockwell has been named a ""Super Lawyer"" by San Francisco Magazine, an honor bestowed on just 5% of the lawyers practicing in Northern California. Mr. Rockwell was listed as one of ""The Best Lawyers in the [San Francisco] Bay Area by Bay Area Lawyer Magazine in 2005."" He is active in the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Contra Costa Children's Chorus, a member of the Lafayette, California Gifted and Talented Education Committee, and as Chairperson of the Lafayette Arts & Science Foundation's Business Gifts Committee. His favorite recreation is time with his family of six children and annually managing Little League baseball and youth league softball teams.