Devin Oliver

Devin Oliver is a trial and appellate business litigation attorney focusing on complex business disputes. He has advised state agencies on constitutional and statutory interpretation, managed multijurisdictional cases, argued dispositive motions in both trial and appellate courts, and filed briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Nevada Supreme Court.

Before joining Rushing McCarl LLP, Mr. Oliver served as Deputy Solicitor General and Deputy Attorney General at the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, where he represented the State of Nevada in high-profile matters ranging from election litigation to multistate constitutional challenges against the federal government. Previously, he was a commercial litigator at a San Francisco–based firm and a federal judicial clerk for Chief Judge Miranda M. Du of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Mr. Oliver holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where he was a Dean’s Fellow and received scholarships for public service and diversity leadership. He was a member of Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic, where he represented a death-sentenced client in post-conviction proceedings.

Mr. Oliver’s experience includes defending and prosecuting business disputes at every stage of litigation. He approaches legal work in a rigorous yet collaborative way, combining sharp legal analysis with a commitment to emotional intelligence and compelling storytelling.

Along with his J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, Mr. Oliver holds dual master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin in Community & Regional Planning and Latin American Studies. He earned his B.A. with Honors in Geography from The Ohio State University. He is licensed in California and Alabama.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Oliver builds his vinyl collection and works as an amateur DJ who loves spinning disco and funk.

Notable Results (Firmwide)

Representing plaintiffs:

• Won a $17.8 million jury verdict in a breach-of-contract case involving a major cosmetics manufacturer (Virgin Scent, Inc. v. BT Supplies W., Inc.).
• Won a $9.9 million jury verdict in a partnership dispute involving the largest cannabis business in Kern County (Delis v. Thorn).*
• Won a $3.3 million jury verdict in a dispute involving a breach of a medical practice sale contract and nonsolicitation agreement (Leyster v. Tran).
• Won a California Labor Commissioner judgment exceeding $468,000 for an iHeartRadio DJ in a fraud case involving the Talent Agencies Act.
• Won a default judgment exceeding $500,000 in a cryptocurrency fraud case; the case was covered in Forbes, leading to an FBI investigation and indictment (Chavez v. Jordan-Jones).
• Won a Ninth Circuit reversal for a victim of an in-flight assault (Doe v. Compania Panamena de Aviacion).
• Named co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel in putative deceptive-advertising class action based on a manufacturer’s failure to disclose its use of lead in Stanley Tumbler drinkware (In re Stanley Tumbler Litigation).
• Won a favorable pretrial settlement of a malpractice and conversion case against an AmLaw 100 law firm (DSS Risk Consultants v. ArentFox).
• Represented the family estate of musician Leonard Cohen in malpractice litigation against his former law firm (Seibert v. Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP).

Representing defendants:

• Won a total victory (settlement with the plaintiff paying our client) for an employee who was sued in a trade-secrets case (T2 Modus, LLC v. Williams).
• Won a total victory (settlement paying the plaintiff nothing) for a shipping company that was sued in a secured-transactions case.**
• Won a jury verdict on four of five claims as trial counsel in a securities fraud case, defeating RICO allegations that sought eight-figure damages (Altaa v. Production Cap.).
• Favorably resolved trademark claims brought by Patagonia against Rushing McCarl clients within weeks of taking each case, resolving one matter for $0 and the other for a nominal sum ($1,860) (Patagonia v. Kranz).

Other:

• Wrote an amicus brief signed by 1,700 University of Michigan alumni, garnering national news coverage  (Harbaugh v. Big Ten Conf).
• Wrote an amicus brief for ClientEarth and The Shareholder Commons in a securities-regulation case, with the Fifth Circuit citing the brief in its ruling (Nat’l Ctr. for Pub. Pol’y Res. v. SEC).
• Wrote an amicus brief for 14 signatories in a case about state land-surveying regulations (Crownholm v. Moore).
• Wrote a pioneering amicus brief on workplace caste discrimination, leading to invitations to present to the Department of Justice and other federal agencies (California DFEH v. Cisco Sys., Inc.).

* After damages for civil-theft are automatically trebled under Cal. Pen. Code § 496(c).
** Agreement has been reached but written terms are still being finalized.

Media Coverage (Firmwide)

• Leonard Cohen’s estate sues artist’s ex-attorney, alleging malpractice, Los Angeles Times (Feb 17, 2025)
• A New Litigation Powerhouse, Daily Journal (Apr. 26, 2024)
• 2-year-old Santa Monica firm wins $17.8M in first jury trial, Daily Journal (Nov. 21, 2022)
• No product. no partnerships. no  customers: how a smooth-talking crypto founder bamboozled executives and investors, Forbes (Nov. 15, 2022)
• Hundreds of UM alums join legal fight to lift Jim Harbaugh’s suspension, Detroit News (Nov. 15, 2023)
• Pacific Market’s Trendy Stanley Cups Contain Lead, Suit Says, Law360 (Feb. 1, 2024)
• 1,700 UMich alums back Coach Harbaugh in suspension fight, Law360 (Nov. 15, 2023)
• Leonard Cohen’s Estate Sues Former Trustee for Malpractice, Daily Beast (Feb. 14, 2025)
• Admission about Stanley cups lead content sparks class actions, Top Class Actions (Feb. 28, 2024)
• Understanding Caste Discrimination: What Workplaces Should Know to Avoid Possible Lawsuits, Risk & Insurance (Apr. 29, 2022)

Education

J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
M.S., University of Texas at Austin
M.A., University of Texas at Austin
B.A., The Ohio State University

Licenses

California
Alabama

Affiliations

American Constitution Society
Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF)
Beverly Hills Bar Association