Overview
MARK LABATON is a seasoned litigator and former Assistant U.S. Attorney, who has prosecuted and defended whistleblower and corporate governance actions, securities and consumer class actions, and various other commercial and administrative cases. He managed the Los Angeles Office and whistleblower practice and the securities law practices for renowned law firms and was a name partner in a law firm.
Mark served as lead counselor or played a leading role in lawsuits where his clients received substantial monetary settlements or judgment awards in: In re Countrywide Securities Litigation (settlement $601 million); Kline Hawkes et al. v. Bill Gross, et al. (settlement $138 million); In re Hewlett Packard Securities Litigation (settlement $57 million); In re Goldman Sachs Securities Litigation (settlement $29 million); In re Heritage Bond Litigation (settlement $28 million); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System v. Kemal Shoaib (judgment $26 million); In re: Semtech Securities Litigation (settlement $20 million); In re Comerica Bank Securities Litigation (settlement $10 million); In re Channell Litigation (settlement $7.8 million); In re Beckman Coulter Securities Litigation (settlement $5 million); In re: Plug Power Securities Litigation (settlement $5 million); Corona v. Cloughtery Meat Packing (settlement $4.5 million); Wingard v. Lowe’s/Home Depot (settlement $4 million); U.S. ex rel Baylor v. Kerlan-Jobe Clinic (settlement $2.6 million); United States v. William Lange (settlement $1.8 million); U.S. ex rel. Basu v. Grewal (settlement $1.3 million); along with other substantial confidential (or partly confidential) settlements in: U.S. ex rel. Rost v. Pfizer; U.S. ex rel. Carter v. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.; In re: Genus Derivative Litigation; U.S. ex rel. Oha v. Pain Center of Fort Meyers; U.S. ex rel. Fockler v. Hillcrest Heights Healthcare Center; In re: Idealab Derivative Litigation; U.S. ex rel. Godecke v. Kenetic Concepts, Inc.; and In re: Intermix/MySpace Derivative Litigation.
Mark successfully argued eleven federal appeals including one en banc which resulted in a decision that overturned twenty-five years of Ninth Circuit whistleblower law. Holdings in cases he argued were viewed as groundbreaking and major decisions by the American Lawyer magazine, the National Law Journal, and the Daily Journal. Mark also actively participated in other significant state court appeals and in a case that resulted in a favorable Supreme Court opinion.
Recognition: National and California Whistleblower Lawyer of the Year (repeatedly); “America’s Top 50 Lawyers” (listed by state and practice area); California Super Lawyer (regularly); commended by Mayor of Lancaster California and by a former mayor of D.C.; featured on the cover of Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine; listed in “Who’s Who” indexes; recipient of more than a dozen performance awards and commendations from U.S. Attorney Generals, U.S. Attorneys, and federal agencies.
Memberships: American Law Institute (elected 2007); Institute of Law and Economic Policy (long-term vice president); Board of Governors of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers (two terms); SEC Committee for Taxpayers Against Fraud; Los Angeles Bar Association (appellate, litigation, and antitrust and consumer sections); National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys; Association of former U.S. Attorneys for the C.D. of California; American Bar Association White Collar Crime Committee.
Scholarship and Journalism: Mark has written articles and columns for the Duke Law Journal; Loyola University Law Journal; Banking Law Review, Practicing Law Institute’s Securities Law Handbook, Chicago Tribune, Irish Times, South Mississippi Sun, Jackson Citizen-Patriot, Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Citizen-Journal, Staten Island Advance, Toledo Blade, Washington Times, Consumer Lawyer’s Advocate magazine, Los Angeles Lawyer magazine, Los Angeles Real Estate Journal, Legal Times, Los Angeles Real Estate Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, New York Legal Journal, Texan Lawyer; New Jersey Lawyer, Manhattan Lawyer, Litigation News, Nassau Herald, Interlink Wire Service, Northwestern University Art Journal, and Medill Wire Service. (He also researched, edited, and help write articles, sections of legal treatises, and book chapters for others).
Mark’s legally-related published articles from law school onward include: “An Oberlin apology letter to Gibson Bakery,” Washington (D.C.) Times, Sept. 7, 2022; “Saturday Essay: Oberlin College isn’t learning from errors,” The (Toledo, Ohio) Blade, January 3, 2020; “Once Famed for Tolerance, Oberlin Displays Unthinking Aggression,” Columbus Dispatch, June 20, 2019; “Recovering Nazi-Looted Art: Restoring Lost Legacies,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, pp. 34-41, June 2018; “United States ex rel. Leveski v. ITT Educational Services, Inc.: The Seventh Circuit Reinvigorates the False Claims Act to Combat Recruiting Abuses by For-Profit Schools,” Loyola University (Chicago) Law Journal, Vol. 46, No. 4, Summer 2015, pp. 815-63; “Roberts Puts Securities Class Action Hyperbole to Bed in Halliburton,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 8, July 1, 2014; “Curious, revealing history of billable hours: “Wait: The Art and Science of Delay,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 7, August 31, 2012; “Blowing the Whistle on Corporate Fraud,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, December 20, 2010; “Credit-Rating Agency Reform?” Los Angeles Daily Journal, pp. 1, 6, January 7, 2010; “Swap Meet,” Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine, pp. 24-30, October 2009 (featured on cover of magazine); “Rodriquez v. West Publishing: Hidden Class Rep. Incentive Deals Lead to Denial of Award Altogether,” (commentary), Litigation News, Summer, 2009; “Ratings (Fool’s) Gold,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, July 27, 2009; “Insisting on Reform,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, March 24, 2009; “Cutting Class,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, November 17, 2008; “Rewarding the Head of the Class,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 4, August 19, 2008; “Lessons Learned?” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, June 10, 2008; “Opting Out,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 4, April 1, 2008; “From “Rats to Riches: Whistle-blowers Deserve Increased Protection,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, February 7, 2008; “Word to The Wise: Language Is a Lawyer’s Strongest Tool,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, January 17, 2008; “Watching Waste,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, p. 6, November 19, 2007; “Bursting the Pay Bubble,” p. 6, Los Angeles 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 Stop: 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,” California Consumer Lawyer 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 Unretained Experts: Creating a Clear and Equitable Standard to Govern Compliance with Subpoenas, “1987 Duke Law Journal 140, pp. 140-56.
Speaking: Mark spoke at events sponsored by the: Beverly Hills Bar Association; California Lawyer Magazine; Claremont University Drucker and Ito Business School, Claremont McKenna College; County Counsels’ Association of California; Duke University School of Law (participated in a half-dozen or more events); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Institute of Law and Economic Policy; Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Loyola University Los Angeles School of Law; National Association of Legal Professionals; New York University School of Law; Rand Institute; Taxpayers Against Fraud; University of Arizona School of Law; Arizona State School of Law; University Los Angeles School of Law; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; U.S. Department of Education; Washington University School of Law. He has also been invited to participate in events held abroad and is quoted regularly.