Miguel Loza, Jr. is a senior associate in Gibson Dunn’s Los Angeles office.  He specializes in complex litigation, with an emphasis on transnational litigation, and also has significant experience in cross-border investigations and international commercial arbitrations.

Mr. Loza has played a major role in several high-stakes business and commercial matters involving important transnational litigation and appellate issues, with particular expertise in issues arising from Latin America.  He has extensive experience dealing with issues that surround the conduct of foreign and U.S.-based litigation as part of a comprehensive global litigation defense strategy for the client.  These issues include, among other things, securing positive results in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously, and also guiding and managing transnational litigation to avoid vexatious litigation, inconsistent rulings, and waiver of defenses in subsequent jurisdictions.  Additionally, Mr. Loza has experience litigating cases that involve the recognition and enforcement of foreign country judgments, with a particular focus on developing legal strategies to prevent the recognition of suspect foreign judgments in U.S. courts.

Mr. Loza is fluent in Spanish and works extensively with foreign attorneys throughout Latin America and Europe, advising clients on the many multifaceted issues that characterize cross‑border litigation and formulating comprehensive strategy plans to manage and guide the cross‑border litigation to a successful resolution for the client.  He also has developed an expertise in selecting and working with foreign legal experts from various legal backgrounds to assist clients in addressing difficult and complex transnational litigation issues and to prepare and present expert testimony before U.S. courts and international tribunals.  Mr. Loza has an extensive background working with civil law jurisdictions and devising ways to appropriately and intelligently present civil law issues to a common law audience in U.S. courts.  Additionally, he has experience advising clients on transnational litigation media strategies that are key components of a well-developed transnational litigation plan.

Mr. Loza has also gained substantial experience working on international and cross-border white collar investigations in Latin America arising out of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues, including compliance monitorship work in Argentina and Mexico that involved substantial Spanish-language witness interviews.  More recently, Mr. Loza has gained experience in international commercial arbitrations, representing an individual in an ICC arbitration concerning the control of a billion dollar privately held company.  This arbitration called on Mr. Loza’s significant experience navigating civil law codes and jurisprudence in Latin America, as well as on his Spanish language fluency to work closely with local counsel in Latin America and review and analyze key case documents from foreign courts and the parties to the arbitration.

Representative transnational litigation matters include:

• Chevron Corp. v. Donziger. Fighting on a global scale to prevent the recognition and enforcement of an $18 billion Ecuadorian judgment and assisting with defense strategy in various Latin American jurisdictions.
• Tellez v. Dole Food Co. Obtaining dismissal with prejudice of U.S.-filed toxic tort claims alleging that DBCP caused reproductive harm to Nicaraguan plaintiffs.
• Osorio v. Dole Food Co. Blocking recognition and enforcement of a $97 million toxic tort judgment awarded by a Nicaraguan court without due process or evidence of causation).
• Hupan v. Alliance One. Representing client in six ongoing cross-border suits filed against more than a dozen multi-national defendants by Argentine citizens and involving complex choice of law and forum issues and securing forum non conveniens dismissal in principal suit.
• You v. Japan. Defending vehicle manufacturers against alien tort and RICO claims brought on behalf of a purported class of Korean citizens and securing dismissal based on failure to state a claim.
• Wang Hui v. F+A Architects. Defending Qatar-based client in California personal injury action and securing dismissal on lack of personal jurisdiction.
• Worldwide Directories S.A. de C.V. v. Yahoo! Inc. Defending against a cross-border RICO suit arising out of Mexico.

Mr. Loza has also played an important role in several high-profile appellate cases, both in federal and state courts.  Representative appellate matters include:

• Osorio v. Dole Food Co. Affirming district court decision denying recognition and enforcement of a $97 million toxic tort judgment awarded by a Nicaraguan court without due process or evidence of causation.
• Norwood v. Bourland. Vacating district court judgment that denied important First and Eighth Amendment civil rights claims)
• Dole Food Co., Inc. v. S.C.L.A. Securing a writ of error coram vobis to reopen an appealed jury verdict in a toxic tort case based on evidence of extrinsic fraud and due process violations.

Mr. Loza is deeply committed to the Firm’s diversity efforts, pro bono work, and community service.  He is actively involved in the firm’s local and national recruiting and diversity efforts, and serves on the Firm’s Diversity Committee.  Mr. Loza devotes significant time to pro bono matters, focusing particularly on immigration-related matters involving clients from Latin America.  In 2012, Mr. Loza received the Firm’s annual award for successfully litigating the Firm’s Most Challenging Pro Bono Matter, in connection with his work on Norwood v. Bourland, a civil rights appeal.  In 2014, Mr. Loza participated in the Los Angeles County Bar Trial Advocacy Program and worked at the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office as a Pro Bono Deputy City Attorney where he was first chair in two jury trials.  Since 2012, Mr. Loza has been a board member of the Mexican American Bar Foundation, an organization committed to diversity in the legal profession that awards more than $250,000 in scholarships every year to Latinos in Los Angeles-area law schools.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Mexican American Bar Association, and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Mr. Loza earned his law degree in 2008 from Cornell Law School, where he served as a Managing Editor of the Cornell International Law Journal, and was a student contributor to the Supreme Court Bulletin of the Cornell Legal Information Institute.  During law school, he was also selected to serve as an Honors Teaching Fellow for the Cornell Lawyering Program, and received the law school’s Kasowitz Prize for Excellence in Legal Writing and Oral Advocacy.  Mr. Loza served as the Academic Chair for the Latino Law Students Association at Cornell Law School.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005 from Stanford University, with a double major in History and Political Science.

Mr. Loza is a member of the California bar and is also admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.