Biography
Bambo Obaro is a partner in Weil’s Complex Commercial Litigation practice. Bambo has over a decade of experience litigating a wide array of commercial issues and disputes in state and federal courts, as well as arbitration proceedings. He has extensive experience at the trial and appellate levels in matters involving consumer class actions, alleged violations of state deceptive trade practice acts, product liability, breach of contract, employment disputes, and securities fraud.
In 2023, Chambers USA recognized Bambo as a leading lawyer for General Commercial Litigation in California, which said that he is “noted for his broad base of expertise in commercial litigation and arbitration encompassing contract, intellectual property, antitrust and product liability related disputes.” In 2021 and 2022, Bambo was named by Benchmark Litigation to its “40 & Under Hot List,” which recognizes the nation’s “top emerging talent” in the U.S. In 2020, Bambo was selected as one of the Daily Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 in recognition of his expertise in high-stakes litigation and leadership in the legal community. He is also recognized as a Next Generation lawyer for Trade Secrets and a Recommended Lawyer for Product Liability by Legal 500.
Bambo also focuses much of his practice on employee mobility and trade secrets related issues, including advising clients on non-compete agreements, developing programs for protecting trade secrets and managing risks, and litigating trade secret disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country. Bambo also has significant experience obtaining and defending against emergency remedies such as temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions to address trade secret misappropriation.
Bambo is actively engaged in professional, community, and bar organizations, boards, and committees in and out of the Firm. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Lawyer Representatives to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council. Bambo is also actively involved in the ABA and serves as co-chair of the Litigation Management Subcommittee of the ABA Section of Litigation Corporate Counsel Committee and as co-chair of the ABA’s 2020 Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar. Bambo also serves on the Board of Governors for The University of San Francisco School of Law, from which he received his J.D. in 2009, and on the Board of Larkin Street Youth Services, which is a nonprofit serving homeless youth in the San Francisco Bay Area.
At Weil, he also is a member of the Firm’s Professional Development Committee, and dedicates a significant portion of his practice to the Firm’s pro bono efforts, including serving as a member of the Silicon Valley Office’s Pro Bono Committee.
Some of Bambo’s representative experience includes:
- Successfully representing a major e-commerce company in a contract dispute relating to a multi-year operating agreement with a former business partner. Following a five-day evidentiary trial and post-trial briefing, secured a complete victory and significant damages for the client.
- Winning the dismissal with prejudice of all claims brought against a leading coffee company in a consumer class action alleging violation of New York General Business Law sections 349 and 350 relating to alleged false representations and false advertising.
- Prevailing on motions to dismiss two separate consumer class action complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against a leading public technology company, one alleging a defect in its top-selling device and the other regarding a Wi-Fi feature in its operating system.
- Successfully representing one of the largest distributors and marketers of consumer goods in North America in two federal court actions involving claims for violation of the Lanham Act and the Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act. Secured a favorable settlement a few weeks before trial was scheduled to begin.
- Prevailing on behalf of Dr. Shinya Yamanaka in a slander and defamation lawsuit brought by a Chinese biologist and his IP holding company relating to stem cell research that won our client the Nobel Prize. Convinced the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to grant Dr. Yamanaka’s motion to dismiss based on the anti-SLAPP doctrine, and to award our client his attorneys’ fees.
- Defending an insurance company in a multi-jurisdictional litigation involving claims of trade secret misappropriation, unfair business practices, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Secured summary judgment voiding non-compete provisions in employment contracts, following which the parties ultimately settled.
- Representing a leading Health solution provider in a multi-jurisdictional litigation involving claims of trade secret misappropriation, unfair business practices, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Weil obtained a temporary injunction and preliminary injunction in Texas and a sweeping sanctions order for spoliation of evidence, which included adverse jury instructions and an award of attorneys’ fees.
- Defending an operator of a nationwide drugstore chain in several proposed consumer class actions in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of California and District of Arizona involving allegations of fraud and material misrepresentations regarding the accuracy of certain blood tests administered by the drugstore chain.
- Defending three leading banks in a $429 million securities fraud action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After four years of litigation and a complete dismissal in the district court, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss its appeal without any payment from the banks.