Jason A. Forge

Jason Forge is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s San Diego office. He specializes in complex investigations, litigation, and trials. As a federal prosecutor and private practitioner, Jason has conducted and supervised scores of jury and bench trials in federal and state courts, including the month-long trial of a defense contractor who conspired with Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham in the largest bribery scheme in congressional history. He recently obtained a $350 million settlement with Alphabet, Inc., which was made possible only by first winning a unanimous published appellate decision, reversing a district court order that had dismissed the entire case. This is the largest ever post-reversal securities fraud recovery in the Ninth Circuit.

In addition to Alphabet, Jason has secured nine-figure payouts from other corporate goliaths, including Wal-Mart ($160 million) and Pfizer ($400 million). City of Pontiac General Employees’ Retirement System v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was the first successful securities fraud case against Wal-Mart. And in the case against Pfizer, Jason led an investigation that uncovered key documents that Pfizer had not produced in discovery. Although fact discovery in the case had already closed, the district judge ruled that the documents had been improperly withheld and ordered that discovery be reopened, including reopening the depositions of Pfizer’s former CEO, CFO, and General Counsel. Less than six months after completing these depositions, Pfizer settled the case for $400 million.

Jason also was a key member of the Firm’s winning trial team in Hsu v. Puma Biotechnology, Inc. — one of only 13 securities fraud class action verdicts for investors in nearly 30 years.  After that trial victory, Jason joined a Robbins Geller litigation team that had defeated 12 motions for summary judgment against 40 defendants and was about to depose 17 experts in the home stretch to trial. Jason led the effort to use these depositions to disprove a truth-on-the-market argument that nine defense experts had embraced. After the last of these expert depositions, the defendants dropped their lead truth-on-the-market expert and the Robbins Geller team secured a $1.025 billion settlement from American Realty Capital Properties and other defendants that included a record $237 million contribution from individual defendants and represented more than twice the recovery rate obtained by several funds that had opted out of the class.

Jason was a key member of the litigation team that secured a historic recovery on behalf of Trump University students in two class actions, including a federal RICO charge, against President Donald J. Trump. The settlement returned over 90% of the money thousands of students paid to “enroll” in Trump University. He represented the class on a pro bono basis. Jason successfully prosecuted another federal RICO case against Scotts Miracle-Gro, resulting in full refunds (totaling over $40 million) for customers who purchased bird feed that Scotts had illegally treated with a pesticide known to be hazardous to birds. He was also a member of the litigation team that obtained a $125 million settlement in In re LendingClub Securities Litigation, a settlement that ranked among the top ten largest securities recoveries ever in the Northern District of California. 

While at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Central and Southern Districts of California and the Eastern District of Virginia, Jason was a key member of prosecution teams that led dozens of grand jury investigations and successfully prosecuted many ground-breaking cases in addition to the Cunningham bribery case, including the first search of an executive office at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, which was part of an investigation that led to the conviction and imprisonment of the CIA’s Executive Director (the highest-ranking federal law enforcement or intelligence officer ever imprisoned); the nation’s largest fraudulent mortgage origination scheme; and the nation’s largest baby-selling ring (led by a nationally renowned attorney). Jason has also taught trial practice techniques on local and national levels, and has written and argued many state and federal appeals, including an en banc argument in the Ninth Circuit. He has taught White Collar Crime at the University of San Diego School of Law and Mock Trial at the University of California at Davis.

• Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2023-2025
• Recommended Lawyer, The Legal 500, 2023-2024
• Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer, Lawdragon, 2019-2024
• Leading Lawyer in America, Lawdragon, 2022-2024
• Best Lawyer in America, Best Lawyers®, 2019-2023
• Southern California Best Lawyer, Best Lawyers®, 2019-2021
• Local Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2020
• Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazer, The National Law Journal, 2018
• Top 100 Lawyer, Daily Journal, 2017
• Top Plaintiff Lawyer, Daily Journal, 2017
• Litigator of the Year, Our City San Diego, 2017
• Two-time recipient of one of Department of Justice’s highest awards: Director’s Award for Superior Performance by Litigation Team
• Numerous commendations from Federal Bureau of Investigation (including commendation from FBI Director Robert Mueller III), Internal Revenue Service, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service

The University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1993, magna cum laude

• Order of the Coif
• Contributing Editor to Michigan Law Review

The University of Michigan Ross School of Business, B.B.A., 1990

• High Distinction

• California
• Michigan
• United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Ninth Circuits
• United States District Courts for the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of California
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Notable Cases

• Southern District of California U.S. District Court and Federal Bar Association Trial Practice Seminar: Presenter and Panelist, Closing Arguments
• Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development (Tirana, Albania) Public Corruption Seminar: Presenter and Panelist
• National Advocacy Center (Columbia, South Carolina) Trial Advocacy Seminar: Instructor
• National Advocacy Center (Columbia, South Carolina) RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) Seminar: Presenter