Law360 Highlights Bold Choices that Drove $833 Million Trial Win
September 11, 2025
Publication: Law360
Lead trial counsel Michael Ng and Daniel Zaheer sat down with Law360’s Cara Salvatore to discuss the tactics deployed by Kobre & Kim’s team during the five-week jury trial that resulted in one of the largest trade secret judgments of all time for firm client Propel Fuels, Inc. Faced off against oil major Phillips 66 and a formidable array of opposing counsel, the Kobre & Kim lawyers tell how they executed a strategy that destroyed their adversary’s credibility and forcefully brought home the message of the wrong done to Propel.
The Law360 piece focuses on a key moment: the “curveball” decision to call Phillips 66’s central witness adversely, just after Propel’s main witnesses. That “risky proposition” was unusual but “lets the jury see the full picture at a relatively early phase,” said Mr. Ng in the story. The seemingly “affable” witness fell apart under cross-examination—and, as the article concludes, “The move appeared to pay off” when the jury returned a verdict of nearly $605 million, later augmented by an additional $195 million in exemplary damages plus interest awarded by the court.