Marco Pulido

Biography

Marco has litigated appeals in California and beyond for nearly a decade. He has handled a broad range of appeals—including appeals involving public entities; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims; employment matters; tort claims; and business disputes.  He also regularly teams up with trial counsel to strategize and prepare key trial court motions and postjudgment filings.

Marco is a former chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Appellate Law Section, and both Southern California Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America have recognized him for his appellate practice.

Examples of prior appeals Marco has handled include:

• Representing a public entity in an appeal from a multimillion-dollar judgment stemming from a fatal bus-pedestrian collision.

• Representing property developers in securing a Court of Appeal affirmance of a judgment rejecting fraud and misrepresentation claims against them, stemming from a $30+ million sale of commercial property.

• Representing a public entity in securing a Court of Appeal reversal of a combined $5.3 million judgment and attorney fee award stemming from a seven-week jury trial on an employee’s whistleblower-retaliation claims.

• Representing a property manager in securing a Court of Appeal affirmance of a summary judgment order rejecting a tenant’s premises-liability claims.

• Representing LLC members in an appeal centering on a settlement agreement resolving a business dispute, and securing a Court of Appeal affirmance of an order denying prejudgment interest under Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6.

• Representing a crypto finance lender in securing California Supreme Court review of a Court of Appeal decision refusing to enforce a forum selection clause.

• Representing a crypto finance lender in securing a Court of Appeal affirmance of an order staying a duplicative action on claim‐splitting grounds.

• Representing a Fortune 500 company to win a full dismissal of a citation and its associated penalty and injunctive-relief requirements, in an appeal to the Cal/OSHA Appeals Board.

• Representing a public entity in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and securing summary affirmances of two separate trial court judgments rejecting a plaintiff’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims.

• Representing a California city in securing affirmance of an order denying a preliminary injunction on Fair Housing Act claims, in an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

• Representing a textile recycling company and winning affirmance of a summary judgment order dismissing a plaintiff’s breach of contract and trademark claims, in an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Before joining GMSR, Marco worked at a large, international law firm where he successfully litigated cases in both trial and appellate courts.  Before that, he served for two years as a federal judicial law clerk to the Hon. Bruce J. McGiverin and externed for Justice Richard M. Aronson on the California Court of Appeal.

Over the years, Marco has devoted hundreds of hours to pro bono cases and amicus briefs filed in state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.