Daniel Bergeson

Daniel brings more than 35 years of business trial experience to bear in the most contentious and prominent business litigation disputes and investigations. His clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups facing bet-the-company threats. In addition, he has protected the rights of several Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and executives in state and federal courts throughout the nation as well as in state and federal regulatory and investigative matters. He represents companies, founders, C-level executives, directors, and special committees in high-stakes litigation and investigations. He has achieved favorable settlements and trial outcomes in sophisticated disputes related to a range of claims, including, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate governance, defamation, fraud, government, investigations, mergers + acquisitions, patent infringement, shareholder actions, and trade secrets. In 2025, Daniel received national attention by being named by the Daily Journal as one of the nation’s Leading Commercial Litigators for handling "bet the company" cases. He was named the "2020 San Jose Lawyer of the Year for Litigation – Securities" by Best Lawyers due to his extensive experience defending companies, directors, and officers in securities claims and actions, including SEC investigations, class action lawsuits, and trials and appeals. Additionally, he has been honored as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation each year from 2019 to the present. In 2023, he was named Attorney of the Year in California by the Top 100 Registry and consistently receives recognition from Best Lawyers in America, Northern California Super Lawyers, Elite Lawyer, and America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators®. And the American Institute of Trial Lawyers named Daniel Litigator of the Year in 2023. As 2019 President of the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (ABTL), Northern California Chapter, Daniel helped increase constructive dialogue between the bench and bar and advance the profession. Mr. Bergeson is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF) and serves on the Northern District Court Historical Society Board of Directors Daniel founded Bergeson, LLP in 1990, following early career experience in large law firms. Daniel also co-founded two venture capital firms, Ascolta Ventures, LLC and Al Shugart International. He serves on the board of advisors of DOOR, a nonprofit focused on housing affordability, and is an active alumnus of the University of Michigan Law School.