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Joanna Rosen Forster

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Areas of Focus

Overview

From startups to publicly traded companies, clients trust Joanna Forster with their most complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters across global jurisdictions. Joanna is a go-to “bet-the-company” litigator with a proven record representing companies in high-stakes litigation, class actions, and government investigations. She counsels clients in a broad array of matters, including technology, digital assets, e-commerce, and AI. She views her role as both a conflict manager, dispensing advice to avoid adversarial action; and a tech and business litigator, resolving disputes with her clients’ business goals in mind.

Joanna’s multifaceted background spans both government and in-house roles, offering her a 360-degree view of the matters she handles for clients. As general counsel and compliance officer for a publicly traded e-commerce platform, Joanna represented both plaintiffs and defendants, gaining a valuable in-house perspective on business decisions. Prior to this role, Joanna served as deputy attorney general in the Corporate Fraud Section of the California Department of Justice. She leverages this experience as a member of Crowell & Moring’s State Attorneys General Practice, advising clients facing government and regulatory investigations by state attorneys general.

Joanna litigates domestic and cross-border complex commercial disputes and advises cryptocurrency and blockchain, technology, and e-commerce companies on a wide range of matters concerning intellectual property, securities, antitrust, corporate governance, and contract disputes. She regularly advises clients on compliance with—and disputes relating to—internet platforms, AI products, product launches, market campaigns, and new vertical lines of business, as well as foreign and domestic laws that regulate online content and intermediary liability. Joanna also regularly advises and counsels clients on California’s Proposition 65, from prevention and compliance to remediation.

Joanna is widely recognized as a thought leader in the legal industry. A recipient of the 2025 Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing, she frequently speaks and publishes on issues integral to her practice. The Daily Journal named Joanna a "Leading Commercial Litigator" and a "Top Women Lawyer" for 2026.

Career & Education

    • California

      Deputy Attorney General, Corporate Fraud Section, California Department of Justice, 2015–2021

    • California

      Deputy Attorney General, Corporate Fraud Section, California Department of Justice, 2015–2021

    • General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, ContextLogic, Inc.
    • General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, ContextLogic, Inc.

    • University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D., 2006
    • University of California, Berkeley, B.A., political science, 2000
    • University of California, Berkeley School of Law, J.D., 2006
    • University of California, Berkeley, B.A., political science, 2000

    • California
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
    • California
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
    • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

    • Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, 2009
    • Extern, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Honorable Audrey B. Collins, 2004
    • Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, 2009
    • Extern, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Honorable Audrey B. Collins, 2004

  • Professional Activities and Memberships

    • Jewish Community Center of San Francisco: Board Member
    • Family House Inc.: Member, Family Services Committee

    Professional Activities and Memberships

    • Jewish Community Center of San Francisco: Board Member
    • Family House Inc.: Member, Family Services Committee

    • English
    • Spanish
    • English
    • Spanish

Joanna's Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

The Pipe, Not the Posts: Part Deux

In our previous client alert, we addressed how algorithms and platform features that rely on user generated speech might not receive Section 230 protections because those features may not be considered platform user content.  In these instances, the platform might not carry user generated water through the pipe, but adds its own to the mixture.  At the same time, if it is true that there is less Section 230 protection, these same elements should then imbue the content with First Amendment protections as the expressive content of the platform....

View All Insights

Representative Matters

  • Lead counsel representing a San Francisco-based blockchain in various litigation and arbitration matters relating to corporate governance and disputes with former advisor and founder.
  • Representing prominent AI enterprise company alleging misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract by a former customer.
  • Representing major retail platform facing class action allegations regarding deceptive and unfair pricing practices and misleading disclosures online.
  • Represent nationwide e-tailer facing allegations and claims of deceptive pricing and illegal processing of personal data.
  • Served as external general counsel and chief compliance officer for ContextLogic Inc., a publicly traded company operating in over 60 countries. In this capacity, Joanna advised on all aspects of the business and public company functions and provided counsel to the board of directors.
  • Served as a member of the litigation team that secured over $1 billion in recovery for CalPERS and CalSTRs in connection with the rating, due diligence, and underwriting of residential mortgage-backed securities following the financial crisis of 2008–2010, which received the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in 2019.

Joanna's Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

The Pipe, Not the Posts: Part Deux

In our previous client alert, we addressed how algorithms and platform features that rely on user generated speech might not receive Section 230 protections because those features may not be considered platform user content.  In these instances, the platform might not carry user generated water through the pipe, but adds its own to the mixture.  At the same time, if it is true that there is less Section 230 protection, these same elements should then imbue the content with First Amendment protections as the expressive content of the platform....

View All Insights

Recognition

  • Daily Journal: Leading Commercial Litigators; Top Women Lawyers List, 2026
  • The Burton Awards: Distinguished Legal Writing, 2025

Joanna's Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

The Pipe, Not the Posts: Part Deux

In our previous client alert, we addressed how algorithms and platform features that rely on user generated speech might not receive Section 230 protections because those features may not be considered platform user content.  In these instances, the platform might not carry user generated water through the pipe, but adds its own to the mixture.  At the same time, if it is true that there is less Section 230 protection, these same elements should then imbue the content with First Amendment protections as the expressive content of the platform....

View All Insights

Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

The Pipe, Not the Posts: Part Deux

Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.21.26

FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy Statement on Personalized Pricing: What Businesses Need to Know

Publication | 08.19.26

The Next Saga In The End-to-End Encryption Debate: When the Cure Becomes the Crisis

Client Alert | 3 min read | 08.03.26

New Jersey Takes Aim at Algorithmic and Surveillance Pricing: What Landlords and Retailers Need to Know About the FAIR Act and the Fair Price Protection Act

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Practices

Industries

Joanna's Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.26.26

The Pipe, Not the Posts: Part Deux

In our previous client alert, we addressed how algorithms and platform features that rely on user generated speech might not receive Section 230 protections because those features may not be considered platform user content.  In these instances, the platform might not carry user generated water through the pipe, but adds its own to the mixture.  At the same time, if it is true that there is less Section 230 protection, these same elements should then imbue the content with First Amendment protections as the expressive content of the platform....

View All Insights