Damion takes the cases worth fighting—the ones where the result is the only thing that matters. He represents founders, executives, investors, and consumers in disputes that decide whether a company survives, an executive walks away with what she earned, or tens of thousands of people get back what was taken from them.
He came to plaintiff-side litigation through the defense bar. After clerking for the Honorable David O. Carter in the Central District of California, he joined Sullivan & Cromwell in Los Angeles, defending publicly traded companies and financial institutions through the financial crisis—including claims exceeding $20 billion in exposure. He learned how the largest firms in the country work up high-stakes cases.
Damion has since helped clients recover more than $200 million. He has won multiple appeals, including Geragos v. Abelyan, now cited in Witkin, the Rutter Group, and California Jurisprudence. Other firms bring him in to turn around complex cases, multi-proceeding and multi-jurisdictional disputes, and bet-the-company matters when the strategy has to hold.
One opposing counsel summed it up: “Mr. Robinson’s modus operandi is to cause litigation pain.”
Damion’s practice spans corporate disputes, trade-secret litigation, employment, and consumer class actions. He has acted as outside corporate counsel to startups on equity, capital raising, and IP, and he represents lawyers and law firms in disputes with clients, adversaries, and former employers.
He prefers cases that demand a strategic plan from filing and reward sustained partner attention through resolution. Most involve sophisticated counsel and well-resourced defendants. The firm’s small-team model—two to four people, partner-led—is the answer to that asymmetry.
Co-lead counsel for a certified class of approximately 33,000 California renters against one of the largest institutional landlords in Southern California. Plaintiffs alleged systematic misappropriation of security deposits in violation of Civil Code § 1950.5. Class certification was obtained over opposition from more than twenty defendants. Settlement included $10 million in cash and $2.5 million in debt relief, representing approximately 135% of class damages.
Obtained dismissal of extortion and related claims against an attorney, including by securing exclusion of an illegal surreptitious recording. The published opinion has been cited in Witkin, the Rutter Group, and California Jurisprudence.
Eight-figure confidential settlement on behalf of an ousted startup company founder following a major M&A transaction.
Counsel for a government executive forced to resign by severe racial harassment. Four-week jury trial and successful motion for fees and costs.
Complex insurance dispute over coverage following international M&A transaction. Damion served as second-chair at a week-long arbitration involving extensive expert testimony. After a favorable award, the case settled on a confidential basis for full recovery.
Represented an investor in a series of complex real-estate financings in the Middle East. After defeating summary judgment, the case settled on confidential terms for the full amount of the investment.
Represented a high-level security officer at a publicly traded defense firm fired after reporting that his employer had transported live munitions in carry-on luggage on a commercial commuter flight and was potentially mishandling Top Secret defense information. After extensive litigation over privileges and the handling of Top Secret information, with direct involvement of government agencies, the case settled on confidential terms.
Counsel for a plaintiff whose mobile phone account was compromised through a SIM-swap attack used to bypass dual-factor authentication, allowing hackers to steal more than $1 million in cryptocurrency. The case raised novel questions about carrier liability for account-takeover attacks.
Damion has built a substantial pro bono practice. The ACLU recognized him with its Equal Justice in Advocacy Award.
The cases I take are the ones I want to try, for people I want to sit next to at trial. If that’s the kind of attention your matter needs, I’d like to hear about it.