John is an experienced trial lawyer and litigator with significant jury trial experience. He serves as the Practice Group Leader of Hanson Bridgett’s Business Litigation Practice and Chair of the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Litigation Practice.  

John has experience litigating complex business matters and commercial disputes involving breach of contracts and/or business tort claims. His practice focuses primarily on defending financial institutions and insurance brokerage firms in consumer lawsuits and disputes involving consumer lending, loan workouts, commercial foreclosures, TCPA claims, premium financing, and retail banking. In addition, John has experience representing finance/mortgage companies in claims prosecuted by the CFPB.

John also manages civil and regulatory litigation for health care industry clients and providers of long-term care services. His clients include skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, independent living communities, continuing care retirement communities and intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled. John’s practice includes litigation related to federal deficiencies, citations, elder abuse, wrongful death, medical staff disputes, unfair business practices, false claims, contracts, business torts.

John also represents one of Northern California’s largest waste collection and resource recovery companies in various commercial litigation matters.

John has significant trial and litigation experience in state and federal courts throughout California as well as in arbitrations before JAMS and AAA. While his practice is focused in California, John has represented clients as lead or co-counsel in states across the country, including Nevada, Arizona, Ohio, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, and Florida.

In addition to litigation, John has also served as general counsel and trusted advisor to emerging companies in the software, telecommunications, mobile service, e-commerce and retail industries, as well as for the de Young Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts.

John is very active in the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. As former Chair of Hanson Bridgett’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, he oversaw the implementation and execution of firm-wide policies having an impact on diverse attorneys and partnered both within the firm and in the community in which he served, including pipe-line programs and mentoring and retention initiatives. John was selected as Hanson Bridgett’s Fellow in 2011 for the inaugural Fellows Program for the nationally recognized Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Within LCLD, John also assumes several other leadership roles in various initiatives.

Outside of the legal profession, John is very involved in the local SF/Bay Area community. He currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation AIISF. On behalf of Hanson Bridgett, John also serves on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, where he also serves as its General Counsel. Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Angel Island Immigration Station was routinely the first stop for immigrants crossing the Pacific Ocean. AIISF is the non-profit partner of the California State Parks and the National Park Service in the effort to educate the public about the complex story and rich cultural heritage of Pacific Coast immigrants and their descendants. In addition, John is also active in Ascend Leadership, the largest non-profit Pan-Asian organization for business professionals in North America. Established in 2005, Ascend has grown to serve professionals and corporations across various professions and across multiple industries.

Prior to joining Hanson Bridgett, John served as a deputy district attorney for Contra Costa County, where served as trial supervisor for the municipal trial team for the Western Criminal Division of Contra Costa County.

Bar Admissions

• California
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Education
J.D., University of San Diego School of Law (1999)
B.A., University of British Columbia

Professional Associations

• San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Board Member, Secretary, and General Counsel
• Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Fellows' Alumni Executive, Member
• American Bar Association, Member
• American Business Trial Lawyers Association, Member
• Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Member
• Defense Research Institute, Member
• Bar Association of San Francisco, Member
• Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area, Member
• Globalaw, Member

Professional Activities and Experience
Accolades

• Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Rick Palmore Alumni Award (2017)

"Minority Powerbrokers Q&A: Hanson Bridgett's John Cu," Law360 (October 2014)
"A Component Parts Manufacturer's Guide to Strict Product Liability Litigation in California," Emerging Issues in Motor Vehicle Products Liability Litigation, American Bar Association (March 2007)

Appellate Insight

Hanson Bridgett LLP

A Hanson Bridgett blog updating on current Appellate news/events.

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Hanson Bridgett LLP

Briefly is designed to provide readers with updates on the latest litigation developments in California. Our focus is on general litigation as well as issues surrounding class actions, products liability, discovery, privacy, cybersecurity, and the professional practice of law.