Overview

Nathan Morales is an experienced trial and appellate attorney. In his career, Nathan has navigated a variety of complex business disputes on behalf of clients, focusing primarily on privacy and data security, class-action defense, and policyholder-side insurance litigation. As an appellate attorney, Nathan successfully has briefed and argued in the Oregon Court of Appeals, Oregon Supreme Court, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

As a member of both the firm’s global Privacy and Data Security practice and Litigation group, Nathan counsels and advises a wide range of clients on an array of privacy-related matters, including compliance with GDPR, CalCPA, and other federal and state regulatory regimes, assessment and management of third-party risk, and development of internal programs, policies, and procedures. He regularly advises and represents clients in connection with data breach and security incident planning; preparation and response, including internal investigations, notifications, and public announcements; and regulatory reporting. And he represents businesses and individuals in privacy and data security disputes and litigation, particularly in putative class actions.

Because of his non-traditional pathway to law, Nathan is uniquely suited to understand and assist his client’s needs. As a former professional television and stage actor, Nathan fully understands the importance of an audience and tailoring a message to that audience—a skill he regularly uses in his trial practice. Before law school, Nathan also worked in the apparel and construction-design industries, including ownership and management of a successful apparel company with accounts in small boutiques and national retailers. Those experiences have provided Nathan with the ability to effortlessly strategize and employ a legal solution that also meets the business needs of his clients.

Education

Lewis & Clark Law School, J.D., 2014, cum laude; Certificate in Natural Resources Law

University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., Political Science, 2010, magna cum laude

Admissions

Oregon

United States District Court for the District of Oregon

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Languages

  • Spanish

Experience

Information Privacy and Security

  • Counsels businesses regarding compliance with GDPR, CalCPA, VPPA, COPPA, and other applicable federal and state privacy laws.
  • Negotiation and drafting of settlement agreements under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act on behalf of various lead-generating companies.
  • Collaborates with businesses on the preparation and implementation of privacy and data security programs, policies, and procedures.
  • Counsels and represents businesses regarding data breaches, ransomware and other malware attacks, incident response, forensic audits, breach notification, regulatory reporting requirements, and government investigations.
  • Advises clients regarding insurance coverage and development of sound cybersecurity and information privacy plans.
  • Successfully defended clients in multiple privacy-related lawsuits, alleging violations of privacy and consumer-protection statutes, as well as breaches of privacy policies and terms & conditions.

Business Litigation and Class Actions

  • Defend local entertainment and hospitality company in putative class actions related to a purported data breach and unauthorized access to employee records.
  • Served as trial counsel for a life sciences company in Oregon state court pursuing negligence and fraud claims against an insurance broker related to its procurement of directors’ and officers’ liability coverage.
  • Served as arbitration counsel for a life sciences company in a weeklong arbitration pursuing breach of contract claims against a former executive.
  • Successfully dismissed putative class claims against one of Oregon’s state universities in a lawsuit alleging that the client had breached its contract with its students by not providing additional refunds after shifting to remote modality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Successfully compelled class members into individual arbitrations and served as arbitration counsel in seven bellwether arbitrations on behalf of a private educational institution in a lawsuit under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act; obtained a successful verdict in over half of those arbitrations, which quickly resulted in a favorable settlement for the client.
  • Successfully defeated class certification on behalf of a private educational institution in a lawsuit brought under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act, which quickly resulted in a favorable settlement for the client.

Appellate

  • Obtained a full reversal after arguing and briefing before the Oregon Court of Appeals on behalf of client attempting to gain access to handwritten notes of a city councilor, under Oregon’s Public Records Disclosure Law.
  • Obtained a favorable opinion after arguing and briefing before the Oregon Supreme Court on behalf of a client whose appeal was summarily dismissed by the Oregon Court of Appeals for the alleged untimely filing of their notice of appeal.
  • Obtained a favorable opinion after arguing and briefing before the Oregon Court of Appeals on behalf of a private property owner challenging state approval of their neighborhood as a federal historic district.
  • Obtained a quick and favorable settlement on behalf of client who received an adverse ruling before the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries, after filing only the opening brief.
  • Assistance with argument briefing and preparation, which ultimately was upheld by the Oregon Supreme Court, for a major environmental insurance-coverage dispute.

Insurance Recovery

  • Served as defense counsel in multiple negotiated settlements involving payments by various insurance carriers.
  • Successfully negotiated substantial payment to a public employee benefits trust from its stop-loss carrier after a complete denial of coverage.
  • Representation of major guitar manufacturer in federal court pursuing breach of contract, bad faith, and misappropriation of trade secret claims against insurance carrier that denied coverage for underlying litigation against the client.
  • Representation of various policyholder businesses in different state and federal courts in insurance-coverage litigation involving directors’ and officers’ liability coverage.
  • Advised clients on the scope of various business-interruption insurance policies after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Insights

Insights & Presentations

  • “Industry Experts Explain How Chevron Doctrine Reversal Might Impact Clean Energy Sector” (quoted), New Project Media, July 2024
  • “SCOTUS Speaks: Agency Deference is Out, Judicial Independence is In” (co-author), Stoel Rives Environmental Law blog, July 2024
  • “Navigating Data Privacy and Cybersecurity in Law Practice,” WSBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section Midyear Meeting, June 2024
  • “The Confidentiality (Or Not) of Cyber-Forensics in a Data Breach,” Global Privacy & Security Blog, Stoel Rives LLP, January 2024
  • “Executives Personally Sued for Data Privacy Incidents,” Global Privacy & Security Blog, Stoel Rives LLP, December 2023
  • “Anatomy of a Cyber Breach,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, November 2023
  • “How the FBI Fits Into the Cybersecurity Ecosystem,” International Legal Technology Association, March 2023
  • “Data Privacy in Employment and Consumer Products,” Data Privacy Forum, Lewis & Clark Law School Data Privacy Group, March 2023
  • “Cyber-Insurance: The Fundamentals and a Few Advanced Topics,” California Lawyers Association webinar, January 2023
  • “Cyber Security Update,” Portland CFO Leadership Council, May 2022
  • “Viral Litigation: How COVID-19 has Impacted Litigation Trends Across Various Industries,” Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference, March 2022
  • “Harmless Error: Five Points to Obtaining Reversal on Appeal,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, January 2018
  • “Billing Practices,” Oregon State Bar Opportunities for Law in Oregon, August 2017
  • “Community Service as a Lawyer,” Oregon State Bar Opportunities for Law in Oregon, August 2017
  • “Traditions that Appertain: Clarifying the Differences Between Appurtenant and T & C Water Rights in Hawai’i,” Hastings Environmental Law Journal, Winter 2016

Recognition

  • Included in Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch in America (Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law), 2021–present
  • Listed among Rising Stars (Business Litigation, Appellate, Administrative Law), Oregon Super Lawyers®, 2020–present
  • Portland Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award, Recipient, 2018

Affiliations

Professional

  • Oregon State Bar, Appellate Practice Section, Executive Committee, Member, 2018–present
  • Lewis & Clark Law School, Negotiation Intensive Course, Adjunct Professor, 2019–present
  • Owen Panner Inn of Court, Member, 2016–present
  • Hispanic National Bar Association, Member, 2018–present
  • Oregon Hispanic Bar Association, Member, 2013–present
  • Oregon Minority Lawyers Association, Member, 2018–present

Civic

  • Advantis Credit Union, Board of Directors, 2022–present
  • Catholic Charities of Oregon, former Board of Directors
  • El Programa Hispano Catolico, Board of Directors, former Member, former Chair
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