Manuel F. Cachán

Mr. Cachán is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation only fellowship of lawyers “who have demonstrated the very highest standards of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, professionalism, and collegiality.” He also is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which is granted by invitation only and limited to 500 active trial lawyers from the United States. In recognition of his work, Mr. Cachán has been honored by several leading industry outlets and organizations, including:

• Benchmark Litigation as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in the United States, the 2024 Product Liability Litigator of the Year, a National Practice Area Star, a California Litigation Star and a Local Litigation Star
• The American Lawyer as Litigator of the Week and Litigator of the Week Runner-Up (multiple times)
• Chambers USA in its Product Liability & Mass Torts category
• the Los Angeles Daily Journal, which listed two of his jury wins as a Top Defense Verdict of the year
• Forbes as one of America’s Top 200 Lawyers
• the Los Angeles Business Journal as a Top 100 Lawyer and a Leader of Influence: Top Litigator and Trial Lawyer
• the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, which has named him to its annual list of Rainmakers
• Lawdragon, which named him to its list of 500 Leading Litigators in America

Mr. Cachán has represented Fortune 500 companies before federal and state courts in jury trials across the nation in breach-of-contract litigations, banking actions, product liability lawsuits and professional malpractice cases. His representations (including those prior to joining Skadden) have included:

• Monsanto Company in securing a unanimous defense verdict (reached after three hours of deliberations) following a seven-week jury trial in Cook County, Illinois, against claims brought by four plaintiffs who alleged that they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after being exposed to Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer and fire-retardant additives known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) made by the company. The American Lawyer recognized Mr. Cachán for his victory as a Litigator of the Week Runner-Up
• Monsanto in a jury trial in Sonoma County, California, that was anticipated to be a lengthy trial in which the plaintiffs alleged that Monsanto’s product Roundup had caused cancer. After opening statements and testimony from two witnesses, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their case with prejudice. Mr. Cachán again was recognized by The American Lawyer as a Litigator of the Week Runner-Up and this case was selected by the Daily Journal as one of its Top Defense Verdicts of 2024
• Monsanto in state courts in Riverside, California, and St. Louis, Missouri, (verdict reached after three hours of deliberations) on claims that the company’s herbicide Roundup caused the plaintiffs to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Similar claims had previously resulted in verdicts from $80 million to over $2 billion. The jury rejected the claims in their entirety in both trials. The Riverside verdict was selected by the Daily Journal as one of its Top Defense Verdicts of 2022. The Missouri verdict was ranked second on the list of the Top 10 Most Impressive Defense Verdicts of 2022 by the online trial-viewing network Courtroom View Network (CVN). Mr. Cachán was recognized by The American Lawyer as a Litigator of the Week Runner-Up for both verdicts
• Monsanto in a product liability lawsuit in St. Louis, Missouri, involving its Roundup product. Before the jury was empaneled, but following the argument of motions to exclude the plaintiffs’ key expert witnesses, the plaintiffs voluntarily and unilaterally dismissed their lawsuit
• Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in multiple trials regarding its talc-based products, including:
  • in St. Louis, where the jury returned a complete defense verdict on all claims and awarded no damages. The verdict was ranked second on CVN’s list of the Top 10 Most Impressive Defense Verdicts of 2017, and The American Lawyer recognized Mr. Cachán as a Litigator of the Week
  • the first-ever California trial relating to J&J’s talc-based Baby Powder and Shower-to-Shower products and their alleged link to ovarian cancer. After trial, the court entered judgment notwithstanding the verdict for the J&J defendants and, in the alternative, granted J&J’s motion for a new trial
• Brius Management Co., California’s largest operator of skilled nursing facilities, in a jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court involving breach of contract claims brought by a former investor. Following a mistrial caused by an outbreak of COVID-19, and prior to a retrial, the case resolved on terms favorable to Mr. Cachán’s client
• NBCUniversal:
  • and KNBC-TV in a one-month jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court involving claims of age discrimination brought by a journalist formerly employed by the station
  • in connection with claims by actor Gabrielle Union over workplace issues on the competition talent show “America’s Got Talent”
  • in an arbitration involving profits from a series of popular made-for-television movies
• Dick Clark Productions in a bench trial in federal court alleging breach of a production agreement, brought by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association over rights to the Golden Globes awards show
• Rysher Entertainment in a two-week jury trial in a suit brought by the actor Don Johnson, involving his alleged share of profits from a popular television show
• Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company in a jury trial against the city of Los Angeles for damages sustained as a result of the unplanned shut-off of a refining tank

Mr. Cachán is active in the legal community. He is a board member of Public Counsel, the largest provider of pro bono legal services in the United States. He also is an honorary trustee of the Mexican-American Bar Foundation, which provides scholarship assistance to Latino law students. Mr. Cachán previously served as a member of the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California, which evaluates all candidates under consideration for a judicial appointment by the governor. He is past president of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers in Los Angeles. Mr. Cachán is the son of Cuban exiles and is fluent in Spanish.