Joseph N. Montoya

Joseph N. Montoya is a litigation associate in Glaser Weil’s San Diego office, where he represents individuals and companies across a range of industries in complex commercial disputes, securities litigation, and white collar litigation and investigations. Joseph has extensive experience handling both small and large scale litigation, including “bet the company” cases with millions of dollars at stake, across a range of industries in both federal and state courts throughout the country. In addition, he has managed multiple sensitive government investigations, including investigations by federal agencies such as the FTC, SEC and DOJ.

Joseph is a strategic litigator that focuses on not only addressing the immediate problems facing his clients, but also on anticipating and addressing issues that may present themselves in the future both during and after any active litigation. Joseph has experience working on all phases of litigation, including initial pleadings and responses, trial, and appeals. His work includes managing discovery, drafting dispositive and other key motions, and assisting in trial strategy and preparation in complex, multi-party matters.

Joseph’s practice primarily focuses on:

• Commercial and business disputes
• Securities litigation
• White collar litigation and investigations

Joseph’s notable experience includes his representation of:

• An international corporate client in a multi-billion-dollar litigation in both federal and state court involving allegations relating to alleged breaches of loan agreements and related tort claims.*
• A publicly traded corporation in litigation in Delaware Chancery and California federal court involving fiduciary duty and securities claims relating to a proxy contest for control of the company. In the federal court litigation, the court granted the first preliminary injunction for claims stemming from Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act in decades.*
• A former partner of a Big Four accounting firm in an SEC investigation and related litigation before an SEC administrative law judge, as well as separate class action and derivative securities actions. Obtained a favorable settlement of class action and derivative actions, and dismissal of SEC litigation.*
• A retired U.S. Navy admiral in a federal criminal case involving bribery and conspiracy allegations. After years of litigation, the case proceeded to a multi-month long jury trial in the Southern District of California, eventually resulting in a deadlocked jury and the ultimate dismissal of all charges against the admiral. Of the 33 individuals the government pursued charges against relating to the scandal, this client was the only individual not convicted or who did not enter a plea with the government.*
• An oil and gas company in California state court in breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and related tort and fraud claims with control over the company and its resources at stake. The matter involved over ten different parties and several sets of claims and counterclaims against different parties, with multiple AmLaw firms representing different parties. The case eventually resolved with a favorable settlement.*
• An accounting firm and one of its partners in an SEC investigation and parallel federal and state actions, resulting in a favorable settlement of the investigation and federal court action and barring of the state court claims.*
• A major entertainment industry client in a high-profile federal court dispute involving labor, RICO, antitrust and business tort issues.*
• An educational day-trading company in an FTC investigation, resulting in a favorable settlement before litigation commenced.*
• Several executives in connection with constitutional challenges of the SEC's use of administrative law judges.*

* Denotes prior firm experience

Thought Leadership

Co-author, “How 2 High Court Cases Could Affect Gov't Admin Actions,” Law360, June 2022

Co-author, “The SEC Wants to Know Who's in your Clubhouse,” Daily Journal, March 2021

Co-author, “Scheme Liability in Securities Class Actions: The Uncertain Impact of Lorenzo v. Securities & Exchange Commission's Scope,” AmericanBar.com, 2022