Mark Labaton

Partner

Mark Labaton, a former federal prosecutor, manages the firm's whistle-blower, securities and corporate governance practices and also handles a variety of other cases.

Mark has both prosecuted and defended many high-profile cases. As a plaintiffs' counsel, he handled cases that resulted in recoveries of several hundred million dollars for clients he represented including:

• Kline Hawkes et al. v. Gross et al. (settlement $138 million);
• In Re Heritage Bond Litigation (settlement $28 million);
• Federal Reserve v. Shoaib (judgment $26 million);
• Wingard v. Lowe's/Home Depot (settlement $4 million);
• U.S. ex rel Baylor v. Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (settlement $2.6 million),
• and United States v. Lange et al. (settlement $1.8 million), among others.

In addition, Mark has forced companies – including the media company that owned Myspace – to make important corporate reforms.

Cases he litigated have also resulted in reported court decisions of significant precedential value in securities law, corporate law and False Claims Act/whistle-blower law. Recently, for example, Mark won a significant victory when the First Circuit held in U.S. ex rel. Rost v. Pfizer that the False Claims Act's public disclosure bar did not apply to statements made privately to government officials.

Mark is an elected member of The American Law Institute, an influential organization of judges, law professors and lawyers who prepare the restatements of law, model codes and other proposals that clarify and help shape the law. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and is an active member of the Los Angeles Bar Association, Taxpayers Against Fraud and the National Association of Securities and Consumer Attorneys. He has been recognized repeatedly in Los Angeles and Law & Politics magazines as a "Southern California Super Lawyer." He is quoted regularly and has been a featured speaker and panelist at many law conferences. Recently, he appeared on the cover of Los Angeles Lawyer magazine.

Mark's legal publications and commentaries – many of which are on this website – include:

• "Swap Meet," Los Angeles Lawyer (magazine), pp. 24-30, October 2009;
• "Ratings (Fool's) Gold," p. 6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 27, 2009;
• "Insisting on Reform," p. 6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 24, 2009;
• "Cutting Class," p. 6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 17, 2008;
• "Rewarding the Head of the Class," p. 4, Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 19, 2008;
• "Lessons Learned?" p. 6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 10, 2008;
• "Opting Out," p. 4, Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 1, 2008;
• "From "Rats' to Riches: Whistle-blowers Deserve Increased Protection," p. 6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 7, 2008;
• "Word To The Wise: Language Is A Lawyer's Strongest Tool," p.6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 17, 2008;
• "Watching Waste," p. 6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 19, 2007;
• "Bursting the Pay Bubble," p. 6, Los Angles Daily Journal, September 25, 2007;
• "Fraud-Busting Sarbanes-Oxley Act Is Too Important To Discontinue," p.6, Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 30, 2007;
• "On Being A Plaintiffs' Lawyer," pp. 16-17, Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 30, 2007;
• "Gatekeeper Liability," Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 7, May 8, 2007;
• "Trying To Fix What Isn't Broken In Securities Law," Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, March 16, 2007;
• "Twenty Years Later, False Claims Amendments Keep Working," Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, October 20, 2006;
• "Whistle Shop: A Split Among Federal Courts Means That Chief Justice Roberts May Have An Opportunity To Revisit His 2004 Decision Limiting Whistle-Blower Suits," Los Angeles Lawyer (magazine), pp. 25-31, July/August 2006;
• "The Federal False Claims Act: A Primer For Lawyers Pursuing Actions On Behalf of Whistle Blowers," The Advocate Magazine, pp. 54-58, March 2006;
• "The Heightened Pleading Standard of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 After Silicon Graphics, Press, Advanta, and Comshare," 1151 Practicing Law Institute 825, pp. 9-59, 1999 (co-author);
• "Bankers Must Protect Themselves Against Costly Civil Money Penalties," Banking Law Review, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 22-25, 1990;
• "Discovery Reform for Informational Property: More Protection for Unwilling Non-party Experts," Legal Times, Vol. XII, No. 39, pp. 26-27, 1990;
• "Making Crime Pay — For the S & L Bailout," Legal Times, Vol. XII, No. 20, pp. 23-24, 1989;
• "Discovery and Testimony of Un-retained Experts: Creating a Clear and Equitable Standard to Govern Compliance with Subpoenas," 1987 Duke Law Journal 140, pp. 140-56.

Earlier in his career, Mark served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Central District of California, where he handled white-collar fraud cases against officers, directors and other senior executives of federally-insured financial institutions, and later False Claims Act actions against healthcare providers, defense contractors and other government contractors who defrauded the United States. He has received awards and commendations from a United States Attorney General, several United States Attorneys, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and its Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Small Business Administration.

Mark served as legal counsel on a D.C. mayoral transition team, and has written non-legal commentary, features and news articles for daily, national and local newspapers and for regional magazines. He also received funding from a Ford Foundation grant to write a series of articles for numerous leading European newspapers about human-rights issues. In addition, inspired by a dare, he performed stand-up comedy in several L.A. nightclubs including the Comedy Store and the Ice House. Despite signs of modest success and despite being related to a world-famous comedian, he never intended to quit his day job.

Mark is a graduate of Duke University Law School (class of 1988), where he served from 1986-1988 as a staff member and later an editorial board editor of the Duke Law Journal. At graduation, he was awarded the "Hervey M. Johnson Writing Prize" for the best law review article. This article led to an amendment to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adopted by the United States Supreme Court. The article also is cited in court opinions, legal treatises, law review articles, and the advisory notes of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Mark earned a master's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree in history from Oberlin College. Before college, he attended public schools in Brooklyn and in Nassau County, both in New York.