Bruce A. Wessel

Bruce Wessel advises individuals and private companies on legal matters.

He has more than thirty years of litigation experience, including dozens of trials in state and federal courts and before U.S. and international arbitration tribunals.

During his career, Bruce litigated free speech matters on behalf of owners of intellectual property and attorneys. Best Lawyers named him 2025 Lawyer of the Year in Los Angeles for First Amendment Law.

Bruce is a member of the Honorary Board of the Coro Foundation of Southern California and is a past member of the Board of Directors of Bet Tzedek Legal Services.

Experience

• Dove Audio v. Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman, 47 Cal. App. 4th 777 (1996)
• Cano v. Davis, 211 F. Supp. 1208 (C.D. Cal. 2002) aff’d 537 U.S. 1100 (2003)
• Globetrotter Software v. Elan Computer Group, 362 F.3d 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2004)
• Hollywood Screentest v. NBC Universal, 151 Cal. App. 4th 631 (2007)

News

Honors & Awards

• Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of commercial litigation, First Amendment law and media law every year since 2007 and named “Lawyer of the Year” in 2018, 2020 and 2025
• Rated Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent

Publications

• “The California Supreme Court Replaces Gingles Prong One,” Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum, Volume 2, Issue 2, co-author (March 2024)
• “Anonymous Charitable Giving and the Mark Ridley-Thomas Verdict,” Daily Journal (April 24, 2023)
• “Previewing Moore v. Harper,” Daily Journal (July 29, 2022)
• “The Role of Dictionaries in Last Term's High Court Decisions,” Law360 (July 12, 2019)
• “Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster” (Book Review), Los Angeles Lawyer (January 2019)
• “Preliminary Injunctions Enforcing Contractual Nondisparagement Clauses,” Communications Lawyer (Fall 2017)
• “Proposition 59: the Citizens United Initiative,” Daily Journal (October 5, 2016)