2015: a year in review - Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim

2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW
New Additions
Victories
Accolades
Press Coverage
Publications
Community
Paul S. Chan Principal
We are pleased to share with you this inaugural
issue of Bird Marella’s Year in Review.
We had a very busy and successful year. Throughout 2015, we achieved more than our share
of major victories and obtained precedent-setting decisions for our clients, but we are equally
proud of our achievements in pro bono cases and our continued leadership in community
organizations. This Year in Review showcases some highlights of the firm in the past year.
2015 brought a few changes, too. We’ve grown and our attorneys are more diverse,
international, and multigenerational than ever before. Yet, our focus remains the same, as we
continue providing unsurpassed legal services and outstanding results for our clients.
We are gratified that Bird Marella continues to be ranked as one of the top litigation firms in
the nation. We welcome you to take a look back, as we look forward to a new year of exciting
accomplishments.
Paul S. Chan
Managing Principal
NEW ADDITIONS
KIMBERLEY M.
MILLER
Associate
A graduate of UCLA School of Law, Kimberley has extensive
experience defending individuals and corporations in connection
with white collar criminal matters, internal investigations and
complex commercial litigation.
HERNÁN D.
VERA
Principal
Hernán is a widely-recognized civil litigator with over twenty years of
broad experience in insurance defense, product liability, financial
services and intellectual property law. He is a graduate of UCLA
School of Law.
TIMOTHY B.
YOO
Principal
A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law,
Timothy is a seasoned litigator representing domestic and
multinational companies in matters involving patents, trademarks,
copyrights, and theft of trade secrets.
FANXI
WANG
Associate
Fanxi has represented U.S. and international companies in securities
and M&A litigation, product liability and false advertising, internal and
regulatory investigations, and information security. She is a graduate
of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
JULIAN C.
BURNS
Associate
A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Julian represents
individuals and corporations in connection with internal
investigations, intellectual property disputes, consumer class actions,
and complex commercial litigation.
ASHLEY D.
BOWMAN
Associate
Graduating from Stanford Law School with pro bono distinction,
Ashley focuses her practice in several areas of litigation, including
entertainment, labor and employment, First Amendment, and
intellectual property law.
ANDREW V.
MOSHIRNIA
Associate
Andrew has a wide-array of experience working within patent,
antitrust, and securities litigation groups. He is a cum laude graduate
of Harvard Law School.
OUR FOUNDERS
Joel E. Boxer, Vincent J. Marella, A. Howard Matz,
Dorothy Wolpert & Terry W. Bird
VICTORIES INTRO
VICTORIES
HIGHLIGHT
Won Rare and Complete
Dismissal of Criminal Trade
Secret Theft Charges Against
Chinese National
TERRY W. BIRD
GARY S. LINCENBERG
PETER J. SHAKOW
DAVID H. CHAO
Secured rare and complete dismissal of an indictment
filed in the Southern District of Iowa against Chinese
national, Dr. Mo Yun, alleging conspiracy to steal trade
secrets belonging to two agri-business giants. The
statute under which she was charged is a criminal
statute that has been utilized more often by
Government prosecutors in recent years, carrying steep
penalties, including up to ten years in federal prison.
Won Summary Judgment
of Consumer Class Action
Against Hyundai
EKWAN E. RHOW
HERNÁN D. VERA
DOUGLAS A. FRETTY
Prevailed on behalf of Hyundai Motor Company in a
motion for summary judgment ending a putative
nationwide consumer class action.
Obtained Final Approval of
Class Action Settlement on
Behalf of Herbalife
MARK T. DROOKS
A. HOWARD MATZ
GOPI K. PANCHAPAKESAN
Obtained final approval of a class action settlement on
behalf of Herbalife, in which plaintiffs alleged that Herbalife
operated an illegal pyramid scheme. In obtaining final
approval of the settlement, Bird Marella defeated objections
made collectively by several class members as well as a
motion for reconsideration brought by these same objectors.
Succeeded in Overturning
Twenty-Year Sentence
BENJAMIN N. GLUCK
MICHAEL G. FREEDMAN
Convinced the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the
trial judge had committed a sentencing error, resulting in
the Ninth Circuit reversing the sentence.
Obtained Denial of Class
Certification for Samsung
EKWAN E. RHOW
DAVID I. HURWITZ
Secured an order denying the plaintiffs’ motion for class
certification alleging six causes of action relating to an
alleged defect in Samsung’s first generation “Galaxy S”
smartphones.
Secured Dismissal with
Prejudice of Federal Lawsuit
Against International Law Firm
JOEL E. BOXER
MARK T. DROOKS
DOUGLAS A. FRETTY
Successfully moved a federal district court to dismiss the
complaint filed against an international law firm in a
putative class action.
VICTORIES
Obtained Denial of Class
Certification for Xerox
EKWAN E. RHOW
THOMAS V. REICHERT
Secured an order denying the plaintiffs’ motion for class
certification involving over 13 million individuals who
received parking tickets in the City of Los Angeles,
alleging that the process for contesting citations violated
their statutory and constitutional rights.
Prevailed at Trial in
Commercial Breach of
Contract Matter
PAUL S. CHAN
HERNÁN D. VERA
Prevailed at trial in a commercial breach of contract
lawsuit on behalf of a leading provider of tax credit
consulting services against an international food
conglomerate.
Won Multimillion Dollar
Award for CEO of Major Bank
EKWAN E. RHOW
Obtained full recovery of all amounts due plus interest
and recovery of all attorney’s fees expended by the CEO,
after a heavily contested litigation and multi-day
arbitration involving change-in-control agreements.
Obtained Order from
California Supreme Court
Requiring Review of Serious
Constitutional Questions
Regarding Propriety of Orange
County Indictment Process
BENJAMIN N. GLUCK
THOMAS R. FREEMAN
NICOLE R. VAN DYK
Won a stay and an order granting a petition for alternative
writ from the California Supreme Court regarding the
Orange County District Attorney’s grand jury practice that
raised serious questions concerning the denial of
defendants’ constitutional and statutory rights.
Secured Injunctive Relief
on Behalf of Real Estate
Development Companies
PAUL S. CHAN
APARNA S. MATHUR
Succeeded in obtaining injunctive relief on behalf of several
real estate development LLCs in a corporate governance
dispute concerning high-end residential properties.
Secured Affirmance of
Dismissal of all Claims
Against Client on Grounds
of Sovereign Immunity
MARK T. DROOKS
Secured affirmance of dismissal of all claims against
clients, two British Agencies that regulate the practice of
law in the United Kingdom, brought by two disbarred
British solicitors.
Ronald J. Nessim Principal
Gary S. Lincenberg Principal
ACCOLADES & PRESS COVERAGE
HIGHLIGHT
Top-Ranked in 2015
Chambers & Partners USA
FIRM Litigation: Specialist Firms in White Collar Crime & Government
Investigations (Band 1); Litigation: General Commercial (Recognized Practitioner)
GARY S. LINCENBERG California Litigation: White Collar Crime &
Government Investigations (Band 2)
TERRY W. BIRD Senior Statesman, Nationwide Litigation: Trial
Lawyers; Senior Statesman, California Litigation: White Collar Crime &
Government Investigations
VINCENT J. MARELLA Senior Statesman, California Litigation:
White Collar Crime & Government Investigations
Law360 Top Boutiques
Second Consecutive Year
FIRM
Top Ten Litigation Law Firms
by Law School Pedigree
FIRM
Benchmark Litigation 2015
FIRM Recommended Litigation Law Firm
GARY S. LINCENBERG California Litigation Star
RONALD J. NESSIM California Litigation Star
EKWAN E. RHOW California Litigation Star
2016 “Best Law Firms” by
U.S. News and Best Lawyers
FIRM
LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®
Top Ranked Law Firms
FIRM Top Ranked Law Firm
TERRY W. BIRD AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
JOEL E. BOXER AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
MARK T. DROOKS AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
THOMAS R. FREEMAN AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
GARY S. LINCENBERG AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
VINCENT J. MARELLA AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
RONALD J. NESSIM AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
JOHN K. RUBINER AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
DOROTHY WOLPERT AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating
ACCOLADES & PRESS COVERAGE
Featured in Daily Journal’s
Verdicts & Settlements
FIRM
U.S. News Best Lawyers in
America 2016
TERRY W. BIRD Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense: White Collar
JOEL E. BOXER Litigation: Trusts and Estates
PAUL S. CHAN Commercial Litigation
MARK T. DROOKS Commercial Litigation
GARY S. LINCENBERG Criminal Defense: White Collar; Qui Tam Law
VINCENT J. MARELLA Criminal Defense: White Collar
JEREMY D. MATZ Criminal Defense: White Collar
BONITA D. MOORE Commercial Litigation
RONALD J. NESSIM Criminal Defense: White Collar
DOROTHY WOLPERT Commercial Litigation; Environmental Law
2015 Southern California
Super Lawyers List
TERRY W. BIRD Criminal Defense: White Collar
JOEL E. BOXER Business Litigation
PAUL S. CHAN Business Litigation
MARK T. DROOKS Business Litigation
THOMAS R. FREEMAN Appellate
BENJAMIN N. GLUCK Criminal Defense: White Collar
GARY S. LINCENBERG Criminal Defense: White Collar (Top 100)
VINCENT J. MARELLA Criminal Defense: White Collar
JEREMY D. MATZ Criminal Defense: White Collar
BONITA D. MOORE Business Litigation
RONALD J. NESSIM Criminal Defense: White Collar
EKWAN E. RHOW Business Litigation
JOHN K. RUBINER Employee Litigation: Defense
PETER J. SHAKOW Criminal Defense: White Collar
ACCOLADES & PRESS COVERAGE
2015 Super Lawyers
Rising Stars
ARIEL A. NEUMAN
DAVID H. CHAO
Los Angeles Business Journal
Most Influential Lawyers in
White Collar & Cyber Crimes Law
BENJAMIN N. GLUCK
GARY S. LINCENBERG
Constitutional Rights
Foundation Mock Trial
Attorney of the Year
DOROTHY WOLPERT Private Sector
Public Counsel Pro Bono
Award Honorees
THOMAS R. FREEMAN
DAVID H. CHAO
Featured in Financier Worldwide
2015 Litigation & ADR Handbook
PAUL S. CHAN
Featured in Law360’s Minority
Powerbrokers Q&A
EKWAN E. RHOW
Televison Interview with
Fox Sports regarding FIFA Scandal
GARY S. LINCENBERG
Participant in Panel Discussion on Testing
the Bounds of the Actual Innocence
Requirement in Criminal Legal Malpractice,
presented by The Legal Malpractice Risk &
Management Conference
TERRY W. BIRD
ACCOLADES & PRESS COVERAGE
Featured in Los Angeles Times
regarding L.A. County Sheriff
Department’s Civilian Oversight
Commission
HERNÁN D. VERA
Moderator of Panel Discussion on
Court Appearances presented by
the Southwestern Law School
Chapter of Federal Bar Association
BENJAMIN N. GLUCK
Participant in Panel Discussion on
Arbitration Provisions in
Entertainment Contracts presented
by the California Society of
Entertainment Lawyers
RONALD J. NESSIM
Speaker at 26th Annual
California Minority Corporate
Counsel Business Conference
PAUL S. CHAN
Radio Interview Discussing
Prosecutors Seeking Death Penalty
in Fatal LAX Shooting
ARIEL A. NEUMAN
Speaker at 2015 National
Asian Pacific American Bar
Association Annual Convention
PAUL S. CHAN
Moderator of Panel Discussion on
Prosecuting and Defending White-Collar
Cases Before and During Trial, presented
by the American Bar Association
MICHAEL G. FREEDMAN
Visiting Faculty at Harvard Law School,
Trial Advocacy Workshop
GARY S. LINCENBERG
ARIEL A. NEUMAN
Mark T. Drooks Principal
Sharon Ben-Shahar Mayer Principal
PUBLICATIONS
“Liable Labels,”
published by Los Angeles
Lawyer Magazine
PAUL S. CHAN
Addresses the recent rise of food manufacturers facing class action
lawsuits alleging false or misleading food labeling, in addition to
heightened scrutiny from government regulators.
Mr. Chan explains that the reason for the rise in food label lawsuits
can be linked to the lack of regulation from the FDA, particularly of
foods that are genetically modified, as well as the allowance of food
companies to sue competitors for food mislabeling in certain
situations. Mr. Chan also provides the most effective methods for
food companies to defend food label lawsuits.
HIGHLIGHT
“Mandatory Arbitration
Provisions Involving
Talent and Studios and
Proposed Areas for
Improvement,” published
by the UCLA Entertainment
Law Review
RONALD J. NESSIM
SCOTT L. GOLDMAN
Examines the many issues and evolving trends relating to the
major television studios’ insistence that their new contracts with
talent include a mandatory arbitration provision, and that one
particular arbitration provider (JAMS) be the sole forum to
arbitrate all disputes.
“United States: White-Collar
Criminal Defence,”
published by The
Investigations Review of
the Americas
GARY S. LINCENBERG
ARIEL A. NEUMAN
Reviews recent trends and developments in the white collar arena,
covering both substantive areas of the law, as well as personnel and
policy changes that will impact the practice, and lead to more time in
the courtroom for white collar attorneys in the coming years.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
HIGHLIGHT
Verbum Dei
High School
Corporate Work
Study Program
Participant in the Verbum Dei High School Corporate Work Study
Program (CWSP). The CWSP is an award-winning successful
partnership among corporations, educators, and the young
gentlemen of Verbum Dei High School in Watts, California.
Public Counsel
Run for Justice
Participant in the 2015 Public Counsel Run for Justice. The event is a
charitable 5K walk/run in which all money raised assists Public
Counsel in providing life-changing legal and social services to the
most vulnerable members of the community: abused and
abandoned children, families living in abject poverty, homeless
veterans, senior citizens and weary refugees.
Los Angeles
Regional Food Bank
Food from the Bar
Campaign
Participant in the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank’s 7th Annual Food
from the Bar Campaign to mobilize resources and fight hunger in the
community. The non-profit organization distributes over 1 million
pounds of food a week to families, children, and the elderly in need.
Constitutional
Rights Foundation
(CRF)
Expanding Horizons
Internship
Participant in the CRF Expanding Horizons Internship Program,
which provides an opportunity for high school students to work in
professional environments. The goals of the program are to prepare
students for higher education, expose them to professional careers,
and empower them to make positive change in their communities.
Greater Los Angeles
Association of Legal
Administrators
(GLA ALA)
Justice Jog
Sponsor and participant in the 2015 GLA ALA Justice Jog, a charitable
5K walk/run that brings together the legal community, local
businesses, community leaders, Court Appointed Special Advocates
(CASA), advocates and supporters, and friends and family. All
proceeds benefit CASA of Los Angeles and its work to improve the
lives of foster children with trained volunteer advocates.
Bird Marella invested 1,800 pro bono hours (over $600,000 in time value) in 30 different matters.
Bird Marella litigates complex civil and white
collar criminal matters in state and federal
courts across the United States. For more than
30 years, we have built our reputation on the
quality of our lawyers and the outstanding
results we achieve for our clients.
1875 Century Park East
23rd Floor
Los Angeles, California 90067-2561
Telephone 310.201.2100
Facsimile 310.201.2110
www.BirdMarella.com
Attorney Advertising. Endorsements in this communication do not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
©2016 Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks, Lincenberg & Rhow, P.C. All rights reserved.