LEADING BUSINESSES TRUST NESS WITH THEIR MOST SIGNIFICANT LEGAL MATTERS.
Main Areas of Practice
Commercial Disputes
At Ness PLLC, we litigate, try, and arbitrate complex commercial disputes across industries and jurisdictions. Our experience includes disputes arising from services and supply agreements, mergers and acquisitions, failed business relationships, sale-of-goods transactions, and complex commercial real estate and construction matters.
We bring a deep command of contract law and extensive trial experience in cases involving sophisticated technologies and complex financial arrangements. Clients rely on us to handle their most consequential business disputes with precision, strategic judgment, and an unwavering focus on results
IP and Technology
We protect and enforce intellectual property for companies that have developed some of the world’s most valuable and innovative technologies. Our practice is built on the ability to distill complex technical concepts and present them clearly and persuasively to judges, juries, and arbitrators.
We have litigated cutting-edge issues involving patents, trade secrets, copyright, and privacy, including disputes relating to data collection and database architecture, machine learning and neural networks, AI-generated outputs, and digital and blockchain-based assets. We help companies and inventors safeguard their innovations and unlock the full value of their intellectual property.
Fiduciary & Internal Business Disputes
We regularly represent clients in high-stakes disputes involving the internal governance and control of businesses. Our experience includes conflicts among co-founders and former partners, disputes between shareholders and directors or officers, and claims arising from breaches of fiduciary duty by directors, controlling owners, managing members, or general partners.
We are highly experienced in pursuing both direct and derivative claims on behalf of companies and their stakeholders, as well as in defending fiduciaries where appropriate. Our focus is on resolving these disputes efficiently while protecting enterprise value and our clients’ long-term interests
Judgment Enforcement
Winning a judgment is often only the beginning. Many judgment debtors resist payment by concealing assets, using shell entities, or engaging in insider or fraudulent transfers designed to frustrate collection efforts.
We pursue judgment enforcement aggressively and strategically. Our work includes identifying and levying assets, piercing alter-ego structures, and unwinding fraudulent transfers to ensure judgments are satisfied. We are relentless in recovering value for our clients and act swiftly to secure assets before they disappear or are claimed by other creditors
“Eli Ness is relentless in pursuit of his clients’ interests.”
Eli’s clients consistently regard him as their most trusted advocate and regularly entrust him with their most complex and high-stakes legal matters. Over the course of his career, Eli has successfully prosecuted and defended claims involving billions of dollars across a wide range of industries and legal contexts. Together with a team of highly skilled attorneys, he is equipped to manage matters of any level of complexity through to successful resolution.
Beyond technical ability, Eli leads the firm with an unwavering commitment to integrity and sound judgment. These values guide both the firm’s representation of clients and the selection of attorneys permitted to practice under the Ness name. Only lawyers who share the firm’s commitment to excellence, diligence, and honesty are entrusted to represent Ness clients.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Defended group of real estate investors and developers in series of federal cases across the U.S. where they were exposed to $60 million in potential liability to a lender, employing aggressive counterstrategy to compel an extremely favorable settlement against all odds.
Represented renewable energy developer in bet-the-company litigation against former majority shareholder for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.
Represented creators of 3D video technology against the largest developer of virtual reality headsets in the world in a case involving trade secret misappropriation and breach of contract.
Represented AI innovator against former executive who misappropriated client’s core technology and started a competing business.
Defended pharmaceutical company against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world in fraud case related to a merger and acquisition.
Represented major real estate developer in dispute with major metropolitan area regarding breach of a multi-billion-dollar development agreement.
PRIOR ASSOCIATIONS
Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan LLP
Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann LLP
Perkins Coie LLP
Diamonds International, Head of Litigation
Chambers of Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
EDUCATION
JD, University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law
First-in-class awards for Civil Procedure, Civil Trial Practice and Copyright, Competition and Technology
Law & Technology Certificate, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology
Berkeley Technology Law Journal, Article Submissions
Co-President, Boalt Hall Jewish Students Association
BA, University of California, Berkeley
***Admitted to practice in state and federal courts of Florida, California and Texas and appearing pro hac vice across the U.S.***
Combining the best of human and artificial intelligence.
Ness PLLC is working to create and deploy litigation tools and processes that make our lawyers more effective and more efficient at every step. We believe that an integration of the best of human and artificial intelligence will deliver the most value to our clients in the long run. From case initiation through trial—we practice at the cutting edge of law and technology.