Gary Lincenberg was named California’s White Collar Attorney of the Year by Benchmark Litigation. Chambers USA has also ranked Mr. Lincenberg as a Band One top white collar litigator for 19 consecutive years.
Mr. Lincenberg defends freedom. Executives and businesses facing a loss of liberty from government investigations or consequential disputes need an attorney who is savvy in the courtroom with a proven record of winning; has deep experience in dealing with a wide range of strategic, procedural, and factual issues; and offers sound judgment. In these areas, Mr. Lincenberg excels. That is why judges and his peers consistently rank him among the very best trial attorneys in the country. Mr. Lincenberg has handled a wide variety of cases, including securities, intellectual property, real estate, False Claims Act, FCPA, securities, investment, tax, real estate, banking, money laundering, money remitting, government contractor, economic espionage, export, health care, environmental, public corruption, program fraud, election law, first amendment, entertainment, and defamation cases. Prior to joining Bird Marella, he served as a supervisory Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California.
Mr. Lincenberg is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as the National Co-Chairman of the ABA’s White Collar Crime Committee; Co-Chair of the CJS ABA Liaison Committee to the Department of Justice; Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference; President of the Los Angeles County Chapter of the Federal Bar Association; and Chairman of the ABA Southern California Regional White Collar Crime Committee. Furthermore, Mr. Lincenberg is an instructor at Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Class. He regularly participates in professional activities integral to his success – presenting lectures, writing, and volunteering in the community – along with continually improving his skills in counseling, negotiating and arguing in court.
Mr. Lincenberg is regularly recognized among the top white collar defense attorneys in all of the leading legal publications. Chambers USA ranks Mr. Lincenberg in the selective Band 1 group – describing him as “marvelous,” and “quick to adapt to changing circumstances in the courtroom.” The Daily Journal has recognized him as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California – one of only five true white collar crime specialists to be honored.
Mr. Lincenberg is best known for his strategic approach to avoiding charges against his clients and for his superior skills at trial. Many white collar defense attorneys rarely try a criminal case and have seldom defeated the government at trial. Mr. Lincenberg has an extraordinary record of success at trial, including complete victories, or hung juries resulting in dismissals, in five of his last six criminal trials. He has been retained by a host of large companies such as Plains, Providence, Epson, Yahoo, Lennar, Unocal, Marathon Oil, Raytheon, Meggitt, Woodward, Sunrider, Northrop, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, as well as scores of companies and their executives.
Recent victories include:
- Won post-complaint dismissal of criminal complaint filed by Los Angeles District Attorney against CEO of technology company in case involving alleged release of PII to businesses in China (2022).
- Won mid-trial dismissal of indictment against advertising industry executive in federal fraud prosecution brought by DOJ in San Diego (2022).
- Won mid-trial mistrial motion to dismiss based on prosecutorial misconduct in case brought by DOJ in Arizona of former Backpage.com executive relating to the publication of content on its website (2021).
- Won dismissal of civil defamation claims on behalf a member of Congress (2021).
- Won civil trial verdict against notorious developer Mohamed Hadid for illegal construction of $50 million Bel Air mega-mansion, including a multi-million-dollar judgment and an order for total demolition of the illegal structure (2021).
- Successfully avoided prosecution for three sets of parents in the Varsity Blues prosecutions (2021).
- Worked on behalf of the United States House of Representatives in the impeachment trial of former President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction;
- Completed a trifecta of victories on behalf a government contractor and its principal executive: first, won dismissal of criminal charges that had been filed against the executive; second, at trial, won a multimillion-dollar judgment for breach of contract against a company that was adverse during the government investigation; third, following litigation through summary judgment, won a multi-million dollar settlement from another company that was adverse during the government investigation (2020).
Current Representations include:
- Defense of Steve Wynn in securities class action.
- Defense of Optum, Inc. in insulin pricing enforcement action.
- Defense of CFO against securities and accounting fraud indictment.
- Defense of CFO against charges involving content on internet platform.
- Defense of bank CEO in Federal Reserve Board investigation.
- Prosecution of SOX-related matter on behalf of public company General Counsel.
Updated Sep 2023
