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Breck Weigel
Partner
Throughout his career, Breck Weigel has served as a trusted advisor to scores of companies, their corporate CEOs, boards, executives and in-house counsel in a wide variety of significant and sensitive legal matters ranging from litigation, to investigations, to crisis management and regulatory compliance. He is service oriented and his approach ensures that the client’s objectives are his own.
Breck brings unique experience to the firm, having spent more than 35 years in high-profile legal positions both in private practice and public company service. After building a national litigation practice that involved trying cases in multiple state and federal courts, including substantial appellate experience, Breck joins the firm after serving for 11 years in key legal roles for one of the world’s largest public companies. These roles included chief global litigation and investigations counsel, international general counsel (based in London), general counsel for a multibillion-dollar defense division and, most recently, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.
These myriad positions drive Breck’s pragmatic and strategic approach to risk assessment, dispute resolution and crisis management. The nature of Breck’s diverse practice has provided substantial exposure to multiparty disputes across many industries involving contracts, intellectual property, trade secrets, cybersecurity, privacy, products liability, construction, fraud, real estate and the False Claims Act. Breck has also led hundreds of internal investigations, including those involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Breck has been recognized for his legal abilities by The Best Lawyers in America, Ohio Super Lawyers and other professional organizations. He is a past president of the Cincinnati Bar Association and Chairman of the Judicial Selection Committee for Hamilton County, Ohio. Breck also is the founder, president and board chair of Pro Bono Partnership of Ohio, which provides free legal services to non-profit social service organizations serving the disadvantaged or enhancing the quality of life in their communities and is a past recipient of the volunteer of the year award by the Ohio Non-Profit Association.
- Served as lead counsel at the trial and appellate court levels in successfully defending two of the nation’s largest banks against several consumer class actions arising out of the theft of customer credit and debit card information from large retailers resulting in precedent setting decisions in numerous courts, including the First and Third U.S. Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
- Led a multiyear internal FCPA investigation into the sale of equipment to a foreign country, taking a central role in making voluntary disclosures, conducting interviews, interacting with SEC and DOJ and successfully advocating against prosecution.
- Oversaw the defense of multi-plaintiff product liability action arising from the crash of a helicopter killing several firefighters, developing and implementing a resolution strategy after an adverse jury verdict resulting in significant reduction in the final award.
- Successfully defended a US$300+ million litigation brought by DOD asserting non-compliance with cost accounting standards ultimately resulting in a favorable settlement for the client.
- Participated in the oversight of internal investigations and coordination with law enforcement into activities of foreign actors to misappropriate trade secrets.
- Defended a government contractor against numerous criminal and civil claims under the False Claims Act arising out of manufacturing activities at multiple sites domestically and globally resulting in no indictments or penalties, while managing and otherwise favorably resolving all qui tam whistleblower claims and litigation arising out of these same activities.
- Successfully defended a large DOE contractor in several multi-plaintiff employment discrimination cases arising out of reductions in force with summary judgment entered in each case.
- Represented an inventor in a patent/contract matter relating to the origin of the design of one of the world’s most popular juvenile products resulting in a multimillion-dollar arbitration award. Post award, also served as co-counsel in a federal court jury trial challenging the validity of the patent at issue.
- Obtained a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against a bank on behalf of a hotel ownership group arising out of lender liability claims.
- Successfully defended Hamilton County, Ohio, on eminent domain claims brought by an arena owner as a result of the construction of adjacent sports stadiums. Separately, successfully defended cost overrun claims brought by a steel fabricator related to the construction of a Major League Baseball stadium.
- Obtained a defense verdict for an employer in the first ADA case tried in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
- Successfully pursued claims at trial for payment to a greenhouse contractor for amounts due related to the construction of the US Botanical Gardens.
- Obtained a significant jury verdict against the developer in a case involving claims of fraud related to the purchase of real estate for the construction of a large retail facility.
- Won a multimillion-dollar arbitration award for an equipment manufacturer arising out of the wrongful termination of a distribution agreement.
- Obtained multiple temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in trade secret, non-compete and contract termination cases.
- Successfully argued multiple appeals in The Supreme Court of Ohio in attorney discipline cases as grievance counsel for the Cincinnati Bar Association.
- Obtained significant jury verdicts in eminent domain cases for landowners whose property was taken for bike path construction.
Education
- University of Cincinnati, J.D., Dean's List, 1985
- University of Colorado at Boulder, B.A., Political Science, 1982
Admissions
- Ohio, 1985
Courts
- U.S. Dist. Ct., S. Dist. of Ohio
- U.S. Ct. of App., Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Ct. of App., Third Circuit
- U.S. Ct. of App., First Circuit