Raphael M. Goldman
Partner Raphael (“Raphe”) Goldman earned the 2017 California Lawyer of the Year award for “extraordinary achievement in white collar criminal defense,” and is recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer. Recognized throughout Northern California as a gifted and passionate advocate, Raphe has won numerous court cases at both the trial and appellate level, helped many clients avoid prosecution in the first place, and successfully represented business executives in internal investigations of alleged wrong-doing of fraud and corruption, including foreign corruption.
Raphe has a diverse practice in both the federal and California state courts and has defended clients against some of the Bay Area’s highest-profile prosecutions. He is a seasoned litigator, with experience defending cases involving alleged bribery, insider trading, securities fraud, mail and wire fraud, antitrust violations, sexual misconduct, obstruction of justice, robbery, arson, drug sales, assault, and more. Raphe is also experienced in representing witnesses from whom testimony is sought in criminal and civil investigations, and in conducting internal investigations of businesses facing allegations of potential wrongdoing by executives or employees.
One of Raphe’s focuses is legal advocacy—he specializes in writing and arguing successful legal motions. Those motions have earned outright dismissals of cases in both state and federal court, including drug conspiracy, political corruption, medical marijuana, and sexual assault cases. Often, even when an outright dismissal is not obtainable, Raphe’s legal arguments serve to narrow or reduce the prosecution’s case against ACHG’s clients, thereby encouraging favorable settlements or improving the prospects for a good result at trial or sentencing. Cris Arguedas knows that “Raphe’s intelligence and analytical ability have been crucial to many of our biggest wins.”
Raphe also has an active and successful appellate practice; he litigates direct appeals and collateral challenges to convictions (such as petitions for a writ of habeas corpus) in all levels of the federal and state court systems. While clerking for United States District Court Judge William W Schwarzer—who sat on appellate panels in federal courts around the country—Raphe learned by experience the types of arguments judges find convincing, and he puts that knowledge to use in advocating on behalf of his clients.
Raphe served as co-lead counsel and successfully represented Liang Chen in the trial of United States v. Liang Chen, et al., N.D. Cal. No. 17-cr-603 (BLF). In late 2017, Dr. Chen and three other men were charged federal court with conspiring to steal trade secrets from a large Silicon Valley corporation. After a month-long jury trial in the summer of 2021, the court entered a judgment of acquittal on all counts against Dr. Chen.
Raphe graduated in 2003 from the University of Michigan with both a J.D. and a Masters of Public Policy, having received an Order of the Coif and served as an Associate Editor on the Michigan Law Review. After law school, Raphe clerked for Judge Schwarzer and then worked for the law firm of Topel & Goodman in San Francisco. Raphe served for a number of years as the co-editor for the Forum, the quarterly periodical of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the nation’s largest statewide organization of criminal defense lawyers and allied professionals.
Notable cases
Representative Cases
- Raphe served as co-lead counsel and successfully represented Liang Chen in the trial of United States v. Liang Chen, et al., N.D. Cal. No. 17-cr-603 (BLF). In late 2017, Dr. Chen and three other men were charged federal court with conspiring to steal trade secrets from a large Silicon Valley corporation. After a month-long jury trial in the summer of 2021, the court entered a judgment of acquittal on all counts against Dr. Chen.
- Raphe was co-lead counsel in the firm’s five-year representation of FedEx Corporation and two of its subsidiaries in United States v. FedEx Corp. et al, No. 14-cr-380 (CRB) (N.D. Cal.). Raphe crafted a motion that resulted in the pretrial dismissal of many of the charges against two of the defendants. He developed the defense theories, led witness investigations and preparations, and co-authored the lengthy opening statement that resulted in the United States Attorney’s Office dismissing the entire eighteen-count indictment after a week of trial. At the conclusion of the case, the trial judge expressly found that, based upon the evidence adduced at trial, FedEx was “factually innocent” of the charged crimes.
- In People v. McDaniel, Raphe represented on appeal a defendant who had been convicted of nine commercial robberies and sentenced to serve 150 years to life in prison. Raphe convinced the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District to overturn Mr. McDaniel’s conviction. See People v. McDaniel, 38 Cal. App. 5th 986 (2019).
- In a federal prosecution of a Silicon Valley executive potentially facing more than ten years imprisonment, Raphe persuaded the judge—over the objection of the prosecution—to issue a sentence of just twelve months and one day in prison.
- Raphe represented a public defender accused of witness tampering in the Solano County Superior Court. After litigating the preliminary examination, Raphe filed a motion that convinced the trial court to dismiss all of the charges.
- After a senior-living facility in Vallejo suffered a tragic and deadly fire, Raphe and ACHG defended the owner of the facility against charges of manslaughter and elder abuse. After almost two years of litigation, the prosecution dropped all charges against the owner.
- Raphe has represented numerous companies, entities and individuals in connection with federal and state criminal investigations that resulted in the ultimate success: no charges were filed and the investigations remain non-public.
- Raphe has represented witnesses in high-profile criminal and civil investigations, including the recent investigations of Theranos, Inc., Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani.
- Raphe is experienced in conducting internal investigations of businesses facing allegations of potential wrongdoing by executives or employees