Overview
Joseph Leventhal is a partner and the head of litigation in Glaser Weil’s San Diego office. Joe is an accomplished trial attorney with extensive experience in complex commercial litigation, class actions, and real estate, employment and intellectual property disputes. He has led jury trial teams in both state and federal courts and achieved successful outcomes through appeal. Joe’s clients range from business executives to Fortune 250 companies.
In addition to litigation, Joe provides pre-litigation counsel, helping clients navigate potential legal challenges and avoid associated costs. His proactive approach extends to advising clients before lawsuits are filed.
Joe is sought after for his counsel on:
- Complex commercial disputes and class actions
- Intellectual property litigation, with a particular emphasis on:
- Copyright and trademark disputes
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) litigation
- Trade secret litigation
- Real estate litigation
Prior to joining Glaser Weil, Joe was the San Diego office managing partner of an AmLaw 200 firm that he had merged his own firm into in 2015, establishing its first California office.
Joe’s experience is complemented by his leadership in the legal and broader community. He serves on the Southern District of California’s Standing Committee on Discipline, on the national board of directors of the Federal Bar Association and as vice president of the San Diego Federal Bar Foundation. Past roles include chairing merit selection panels for U.S. magistrate judges and leadership positions within the Federal Bar Association, such as Ninth Circuit vice president and San Diego chapter president. Joe serves on the board of St. Vincent de Paul’s Village and contributes to national and local organizations such as Just the Beginning and the Rancho Bernardo Rotary. He also previously served as commissioner of the City of San Diego Ethics Commission.
Joe earned his law degree with honors from Georgetown University Law Center while working on Capitol Hill and interning for the Office of the Vice President. He later served as an attorney in the White House, eventually becoming, at the age of 25, the youngest deputy assistant to the vice president. Joe managed complex policy and political issues, serving as the final substantive control point before information reached the vice president. His responsibilities included representing the vice president’s interests in all policy matters within the administration, and he held top secret or sensitive compartmented information (TS/SCI) clearances, handling classified documents related to foreign and national security policies.
Results
Joe’s notable experience includes his representation of:
- Milacron LLC and Milacron Marketing Company LLC in an eight-day federal jury trial, successfully defeating a $23 million breach of contract lawsuit and securing Milacron an award of nearly $600,000 in counterclaims.
- A global logistics company in a trademark infringement matter that resulted in the overturning of significant sanctions against the company after an appeal to the Ninth Circuit and a favorable settlement in the company’s favor.
- A real estate developer, the owners’ association and related entities in litigation brought by a parcel owner alleging fraud, breach of contract, RICO and other claims that resulted in a judgment against the parcel owner for all association assessments owed and attorney’s fees.
- A cybersecurity company and its founding member in a multiyear, multijurisdictional dispute with the minority member over misappropriation of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duties and company ownership that resulted in the minority member no longer having any interest in the company and the signing of a multiyear noncompetition agreement.
- A deep-ocean lighting and imaging company in a jury trial against a former employee who stole the company’s design drawings and other trade secrets to compete with the company that resulted in a jury verdict and punitive damages.
Additional significant experience includes Joe’s representation of:
Commercial disputes
- A national debt collection company in numerous lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) and related state laws.
- A national retail jeweler in a lawsuit alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act that resulted in a judgment in favor of the retailer following a successful motion for summary judgment.
- A global e-commerce company in multiple lawsuits alleging violations of the federal CAN-SPAM Act and California’s related statute.
- An aerospace, defense and technology company in a lawsuit for an alleged violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act based on purported inaccessibility of the company’s website to visually impaired individuals that resulted in a favorable settlement and dismissal.
- A lead generation company in multiple breach-of-contract matters that all resulted in favorable outcomes.
- A residential real estate company in a lawsuit alleging violations of RICO, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, which resulted in a favorable settlement for the company.
- A craft brewery in an arbitration against its distributor for breach of contract, which resulted in a favorable award and judgment for all compensatory damages and attorney’s fees and costs.
- A medical transportation company in a lawsuit alleging negligence that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- A restaurant in a lawsuit filed under the Unruh Civil Rights Act alleging reverse discrimination based on the restaurant hosting a third-party event that allegedly violated the statute. After filing a motion for summary judgment, the plaintiffs dismissed the action, with the restaurant becoming the prevailing party.
- A national insurance broker in litigation against its former independent contract for breach of contract, tortious interference and unfair competition, which resulted in a favorable settlement for the broker.
- An internet media company through a successful appeal in defeating a complaint for defamation and obtaining a dismissal under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
- A former MMA professional in defeating a complaint for defamation and obtaining a dismissal under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
- A former employee of an investment company by successfully overturning the trial court on appeal for failure to serve the employee within three years of filing the lawsuit as required under California law.
- A medical device manufacturer in a successful enforcement of a release agreement following a products liability lawsuit.
Class actions
- A national egg producer in a putative class action alleging price gouging following the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a complete dismissal of the client.
- An ophthalmology and ophthalmic equipment and supply company in a class action alleging violations of the TCPA that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- A national retailer of wireless phones and services in defense of a putative class action alleging violations of California’s Song-Beverly Credit Card Act that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- An online job search company in a putative class action alleging violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the Unfair Competition Law and related claims related to the company’s resume services features that resulted in a favorable settlement for the company.
- An online flower delivery company in a consumer class action alleging that the website’s rewards program deceptively enrolled consumers, which resulted in a favorable settlement.
Intellectual property litigation
- A multinational consumer goods corporation in defeating an antitrust and patent infringement complaint based on improper service.
- The former drummer and founder of a Celtic punk band in a copyright infringement action after the band members continued to infringe on the drummer’s intellectual property rights following his exit from the band that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- A music studio owner in copyright litigation against a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter who was repeatedly submitting false DMCA notices that resulted in a favorable license agreement.
- A multinational footwear and apparel company in a design patent infringement lawsuit that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- An online automotive e-commerce company in a trademark infringement lawsuit, which resulted in the ongoing protection of the company’s intellectual property rights.
- A national energy drink company in a trademark and trade dress complaint that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- An online consumer research company in defending a patent infringement action that resulted in the invalidity of the patent under Section 101 of the Patent Act and an award of attorney’s fees in the company’s favor.
- An online advertising company in a copyright infringement action alleging the unlicensed use of copyrighted photographs, which resulted in a favorable settlement.
- A multinational e-commerce company in numerous copyright infringement lawsuits under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and allegations that the company failed to comply with takedown notices. The actions all resulted in favorable settlements.
- A memorabilia company in a lawsuit under the DMCA and allegations that the company failed to comply with a takedown notice that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- A web hosting company in a lawsuit under the DMCA and allegations that the company failed to comply with a takedown notice that resulted in a favorable settlement.
- A patent trust that owned numerous patents in the video compression space against numerous infringers that resulted in favorable licensing agreements.
Real estate litigation
- An investment advisory firm in an arbitration over a real estate dispute related to the purchase of a commercial building. The arbitration resulted in a total win for the client, including an award of attorney’s fees and costs.
- A real estate development company in successfully defending an arbitration claim alleging fraud based on the purchase of a residential home. The arbitration resulted in a judgment in favor of the development company and included all of the company’s attorney’s fees and costs.
- A real estate developer in avoiding a sister-state judgment under the Sister-State Money Judgment Act by filing a motion to vacate after the clerk erroneously entered the judgment.
Investigations, white collar and government litigation
- A manufacturer of sustainable packaging products in an investigation by California district attorneys’ offices into business practices alleged to have violated the California Public Resources Code and Business and Professions Code, which resulted in a closing of the inquiry without taking further action.
- An individual co-founder of a nonprofit in a multiweek white collar jury trial that resulted in a minimal sentence for the defendant’s conduct.
- A manufacturing company in a California Public Records Act (CPRA) lawsuit against a public university for failure to comply with the production of documents under the act that resulted in a favorable outcome.
- A real estate developer in a CPRA lawsuit against a city for the public entity’s failure to comply with the production of documents under the act that resulted in a favorable outcome.
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Insights
News
Awards and Recognition
Awards and Recognition
500 Leading Litigators in America, Lawdragon, 2025
San Diego Metro
- Top Attorneys in San Diego, 2022, 2024
- 2024 Men of Influence recognition
- 40 Under 40, Class of 2017
California Super Lawyers®, 2014 - Present
Top Lawyers, San Diego Magazine, 2016 - 2023
Top Attorneys in San Diego, American Lawyer Media, 2013 - 2015
Top Attorney in the category of Corporate Litigation (a ranking of San Diego County’s best lawyers), San Diego Daily Transcript, 2015
Wiley W. Manual Pro Bono Award, multiple years
Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell
Federal Bar Association’s Elaine R. “Boots” Fisher Award for community, public and charitable service, 2021
Related links
Leadership and Community
National board of directors, Federal Bar Association
Member, American Bar Association
Member, San Diego County Bar Association
Member, Rancho Bernardo Rotary
Member, Southern District of California’s Standing Committee on Discipline
Vice president, San Diego Federal Bar Foundation
Past director, North San Diego Business Chamber
Board of directors, St. Vincent de Paul’s Village
Board of directors, Ride Across California (nonprofit)
Past advisory board member, North County Food Bank
National board of directors and San Diego Steering Committee, Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization
Past commissioner, City of San Diego Ethics Commission
Past co-chair, Lawyer Representatives to the Southern District of California
Past director, Kids Included Together
Past chair, Committee on the 50th Anniversary of the Southern District of California
Services
Industries
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude
University of California, San Diego, B.A., political science
Admissions
- California
