Andrew Esbenshade
esbenshade@caldwell-leslie.com

Andy Esbenshade's focus on creatively and efficiently navigating the litigation waters has allowed his clients to achieve their desired result, whether they are defendants or plaintiffs. Mr. Esbenshade has extensive jury trial experience contributing significantly to two successful verdicts for Shell Oil Company in lengthy and complicated trials. He was also asked by San Francisco's Keker & Van Nest to serve the same role during four months of trial in a massive biotech intellectual property trial. Mr. Esbenshade has also been instrumental in the firm's white-collar criminal defense practice, with experience in negotiating pleas, filing of dispositive motions, conducting internal investigations, and the representation of witnesses in grand jury proceedings.

Mr. Esbenshade has worked extensively on appellate matters and has argued cases before the California Court of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Esbenshade also oversees the firm's pro bono practice.

Mr. Esbenshade joined Caldwell Leslie after clerking for the Hon. Mariana R. Pfaelzer on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Representative Cases

 Mr. Esbenshade obtained summary judgment for Warner Bros. and all individual defendants in a copyright infringement and contract case in which the plaintiffs claimed damages of $40 million. Plaintiffs alleged that the Warner Bros. film We Are Marshall infringed the copyright in their documentary and that they had reached a contract with the producers of the film for credit and compensation. United States District Judge Gary A. Feess granted Caldwell Leslie's motion on all claims as to all defendants, finding that the parties did not reach an enforceable agreement and that there was no copyright infringement.

 Mr. Esbenshade handled a class action on behalf of investors who lost money in a complex Ponzi scheme. Caldwell Leslie obtained for the class more than seventeen million dollars in settlements with two major financial institutions and an accounting firm that were alleged to have aided the operators of the fraudulent scheme.

 Mr. Esbenshade and Chris Caldwell twice defeated the claims of a former radio station general manager after his employment at the client’s station ended. The firm obtained summary judgment for the client and its related entities that were named as defendants in the lawsuit, and had that judgment affirmed by the California Court of Appeals. The former general manager then filed a subsequent lawsuit claiming that he had reached an oral settlement agreement of the first lawsuit prior to the grant of summary judgment. Caldwell Leslie again prevailed, this time on a demurrer that was sustained without leave to amend and Mr. Esbenshade successfully defended the trial court’s ruling before the Court of Appeal.

 Mr. Esbenshade and Michael Proctor obtained a dismissal of all criminal charges for the client after serving the United States Attorney’s Office with a motion to dismiss for outrageous government conduct, which demonstrated that the investigating agents (with the assistance of the United States Attorney's Office) improperly and vindictively targeted our client. After reviewing and investigating our motion, the United States Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss the case.

 Mr. Esbenshade has worked on a number of criminal matters, including a case involving extensive negotiations with the U.S. Attorney's office in a multi-million dollar tax fraud case in which our client received probation despite admitting to having had a key role in the fraud. Mr. Esbenshade has also represented targets of criminal and administrative investigations, helping avoid further prosecution of the matters.

 Mr. Esbenshade represented a number of employees and former employees of a Fortune 100 company by defending depositions in a civil action and preparing Caldwell Leslie's clients for grand jury appearances in the related criminal proceeding.

 Mr. Esbenshade prepared a pro bono amicus brief to the Montana Supreme Court in support of an appeal challenging the University of Montana's policies discriminating against same-sex couples. The Court ruled in the appellant's favor, becoming the first state supreme court to order a public university to provide health benefits to partners of all employees, regardless of sexual orientation, on an equal basis.

Education and Honors

J.D. University of California at Berkeley, 1998
Order of the Coif
Member, California Law Review

B.A. Williams College, 1994
cum laude

Clerkship

Law Clerk to the Honorable Mariana R. Pfaelzer, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 1998-99

Professional Achievements

Member, California State Bar; U.S. District Court, Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Member, American Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice

Lecturer, “Nuts and Bolts of Settling a Class Action” at the Bridgeport Continuing Education Class Action and UCL Conference