Find Lawyers in Los Angeles, California for Bet-the-Company Litigation
Practice Area Overview
Bet-the-company cases create unique challenges. Counsel inside and outside the company must respond to several alarmed constituencies, including insiders (management, the board, employees, shareholders, investors); outsiders (customers, vendors, lenders, insurers), and regulatory authorities (to name only a few: SEC, FTC, FDA, EPA, and DOJ and their international counterparts). Counsel must conduct every aspect of the litigation with the needs and desires of these sometimes conflicting constituencies constantly in mind.
The company may face multiple investigations: congressional, criminal, regulatory, as well as special quasi-governmental commissions and internal investigations conducted by the company itself or by other parties. Counsel must deal with these investigations understanding that decisions made early on can have an enormous impact on the outcomes of investigations, subsequent litigation, and on the ultimate resolution.
Litigation may erupt in multiple jurisdictions (federal, state, international) and in multiple forms (criminal, civil, administrative, arbitral). The company may face multiple litigation adversaries, including the United States Department of Justice, State Attorneys General, regulatory counsel, and private counsel for adverse parties. Parties aligned with the company will have their own counsel, constituencies and agendas. The formal and informal coordination of all these proceedings and parties will impact the duration, cost and course of the litigation. The reputation of the company’s lead counsel – in part pre-existing and in part earned over the course of the litigation – will be critical in dealing with all these tribunals, parties, and attorneys.
Bet-the-company cases require an ability not only to navigate in these different environments, but also to see how the moving parts fit together. That in turn is the key to a more important ability: to work out, with the client, a plan – a plan that will be constantly adjusted – to get from the chaotic beginning to a satisfactory resolution.
It is best in bet-the-company cases to have a lead lawyer responsible for coordinating the varied teams of lawyers needed to handle, under a coherent plan, all these facets of the problem – teams with varying types of expertise, drawn from multiple firms, and often working in different locations. With leadership, cohesive teams can solve extraordinary problems.
Mark Holscher is a partner in the Firm's Los Angeles and San Francisco offices and is a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group. In the last five years, Mark has obtained plaintiffs verdicts and settlements of over $1.1 billion, with multiple nine figure recoveries. Mark has also successfully defended clients against multiple claims in excess of a billion dollars. Mark’s background as a former Assistant United States Attorney coupled with his successful civil trial record has...
John Hueston has been described by Chambers USA, which ranked him in Band 1 nationally, as “the best trial lawyer of his generation” with “a commanding reputation for trial advocacy.” He has been recognized twice as a “California Lawyer of the Year” by California Lawyer magazine, twice as “California Trial Lawyer of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation, and among the “Top Lawyers of the Decade” by the Daily Journal. Mr. Hueston won &ldq...
Mr. Hufstedler, Senior Of Counsel to Morrison & Foerster, has had an active business, trial and appellate practice for over 50 years. Mr. Hufstedler has represented a broad range of clients in complex business disputes in various state and federal courts, and he has argued numerous matters before California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Two of his cases, Lewis v. Anderson , 615 F.2d 778 (1979) and Gaines v. Haughton , 645 F.2d 76...
Few appellate specialists have successfully tried a jury case. Robin Meadow tried jury cases for over 20 years at a major commercial firm, while also handling appeals, in many fields of law. Over time, he realized that it’s nearly impossible to excel at both trials and appeals, because the skill sets and practice rhythms differ completely and often clash. Concluding that his greatest strengths lay in appellate work, Robin joined GMSR in 1994, handling his last trial late that year. Robi...
Kent Richland has been an appellate lawyer since he graduated from UCLA Law School in 1971. In 1983, Kent was one of the founding partners of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland, LLP. Kent has been lead appellate counsel in hundreds of appeals. He has argued in state and federal appellate courts across the country, including many high-profile cases in both the California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. He gained national prominence in 2006 for his United States Supreme Co...
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