Mr. Mermelstein, a trial lawyer with more than 20 first-chair trials, specializes in white collar criminal defense, Securities & Exchange Commission enforcement actions, and complex commercial litigation, particularly in technology-related matters. He also handles cybersecurity and privacy litigation and enforcement matters. He focuses his work representing corporations and individuals facing allegations of securities fraud, healthcare fraud, environmental crimes, violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the False Claims Act, mail/wire fraud, and embezzlement.

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Mr. Mermelstein also focuses on asset recovery for corporate crime victims such as those victimized by cybercrime, including theft of trade secrets, hacking, counterfeiting and other business crimes. In this regard, Mr. Mermelstein routinely leads data breach and cybersecurity incident response efforts.

 

Mr. Mermelstein has written many articles and has spoken extensively on many aspects of his practice. A frequent commentator on matters related to white collar crime, he has been recommended by Legal 500 in both White Collar Criminal Defense, and Cybersecurity, and recognized as a "Best Lawyers" in White Collar Criminal Defense.

 

With his substantial trial experience, earned as a partner at an Am Law 100 firm, a partner at a pre-eminent white collar boutique and a public defender, he knows how to devise winning strategies for trial and has the judgment to know when it is best to find an alternative solution. A sample of Mr. Mermelstein’s trial and evidentiary hearing successes appears below.
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• Achieved a complete dismissal of criminal elder abuse and OSHA wrongful death charges for a group home for the elderly and its CEO in connection with a series of COVID-related deaths.

• After bench trial, obtained complete dismissal of all allegations of impropriety in a high stakes child custody battle for a multi-millionaire business executive.

• Won a hung jury verdict for ConAgra Foods, where the food manufacturer was facing a US$40 million claim from a distributor for breach of contract.

• Secured complete dismissal of manslaughter charges against a motorist accused of killing a prominent municipal employee in an alcohol-involved car accident.

• Obtained an order of specific performance after bench trial ordering a personal injury plaintiff to accept an insurance payment as full satisfaction for his injury and dismiss the underlying personal injury lawsuit.

 

Representative subject matter experience includes the following:

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Healthcare

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• Represented a chain of group homes for the elderly in connection with a D.A.’s Office investigation into allegations of an elder abuse homicide at one of its residences, the related civil litigation and the related licensing investigation.

• Represented numerous physicians and other healthcare professionals in connection with federal or state criminal investigations into allegations of Medicare/Medical fraud or drug distribution by writing prescriptions without medical necessity.

• Achieved a verdict after jury trial for Aetna below the settlement offer, where the health insurer had been accused of insurance bad faith by decedent seeking more than US$20 million.

 

Environmental Crimes

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• Represented environmental consultants in three of the four criminal investigations initiated by the State Water Resources Control Board and Attorney General’s Office regarding allegations of fraud on the California Underground Storage Tank Fund.

• Represented a bottling company in a federal criminal investigation into violations of the Clean Water Act.

• Represented a hotel engineer in a federal criminal investigation into violations of the Clean Water Act.

• Represented numerous seamen in federal criminal investigations regarding violations of the Clean Water Act.

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Asset Recovery

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• Represented the victim of art fraud when he was sold a phony Picasso painting for US$2 million. By referring to the matter to the United States Attorney’s Office for a successful criminal prosecution, and asset forfeiture seizure, recovered more than the client’s US$2 million cash outlay.

• Represented a major international union that was fraudulently induced to enter into more than US$25 million of over-priced office equipment leases. By initiating a state court lawsuit was able to extricate the client from the leases and resolve the litigation on favorable terms.

• Represented an Internet company that was the victim of cyber-extortion when the perpetrator demanded payment of money in exchange for not releasing company and customer trade secret information.

 

Mail, Wire & Securities Fraud / Breach of Contract / Breach of Fiduciary Duty

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• Achieved a dismissal of an Oregon litigation against a Canadian securities lawyer related to a debenture offering

• Represented a French investment company in connection with a U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation into allegations of fraud in connection with the purchase of a failed insurance company, Executive Life, and related civil litigation.

• Represented a senior executive at KB Home in connection with a U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation into allegations of stock options backdating, related Securities & Exchange Commission investigation and civil litigation.

• Represented numerous environmental consultants in criminal and civil proceedings brought by the California State Water Resources Control Board and qui tam whistleblowers related to allegations of fraud on the California Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund

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Publications

 

• Co-Author, "Checklist of Potential FCA Risks for Healthcare Providers Receiving CARES Act Funds," ABA Practice Points, October 29, 2020

• Quoted, “Global Scam Ravaging Hollywood: Silver-Tongued Imposter Poses As Top Female Producers to Catfish Victims,” Deadline Hollywood, February 21, 2018

• Quoted, “Top Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyers 2018,” Daily Journal, January 24, 2018

• Co-Author, "The Propriety of Prosecutorial Bluffing," Law360, November 28, 2017

• Quoted in “Small Business Suing Equifax After Data Breach Face Standing Hurdle,” MLex,, September 26, 2017

• Co-Author, “SEC Settlement Can Bring Unintended Consequences for CPAs,” Fortune100, September 7, 2017

• Quoted, “Cannabis Company Cyberattack Reveals Industry's Vulnerability to Hacking,” LA Weekly, February 6, 2017

• Executive Editor, Trust Anchor

• Co-Author, “Baca Case Shows Utility of Judicially Compelled Immunity,” Daily Journal, December 7, 2016

• Co-Author, “Data Breach Logs: The New 'Hot' Document,” Corporate Counsel, January 19, 2016

• Co-Author, “The Cybersecurity Playbook: Building Effective Attack & Breach Preparedness,” Inside the Minds: Understanding Developments in Cyberspace Law. Thomson Reuters/Aspatore, 2015

• Co-Author, “The Rise of the Cybersecurity Whistleblower,” The Recorder, October 1, 2015

• Co-Author, “Jury Nullification: A Tool in the Criminal Defense Lawyer's Toolbox?,” Bloomberg BNA United States Law Week, September 15, 2015

• Co-Author, “Email at Trial,” California Lawyer, August 3, 2015

• Co-Author, “Filer Beware! E-Filing Error Can Destroy Trade Secret Status,” Trade Secrets Watch, July 31, 2015, reprinted as “E-Filing Error Can Destroy Trade Secret Status,” Law360, August 7, 2015

• Co-Author, “Will Your Cyber Insurance Respond When You Need It Most?,” Orrick Client Alert, May 21, 2015

• Co-Author, “6 Steps for Adding WISP to Your Cybersecurity Strategy,” Corporate Counsel, May 19, 2015

• Co-Author, “All Bets Are Off: Kentucky Downs Trade Secrets Case Presents Novel Question Under Kentucky's Uniform Trade Secrets Act,” Trade Secrets Watch, April 24, 2015

• Co-Author, “Going for Brokerages: FINRA and SEC Take Aim at Deficient Cyber Policies and Practices,” Bloomberg BNA Privacy & Security Law Report, April 6, 2015

• Co-Author, “Opinion: SEC's Home-Turf Venue Gives Undue Advantage,” Mark Mermelstein, Guy Singer, and Kevin Askew collaborated on this article which first appeared online in the National Law Journal on March 9, 2015

• Contributor, “Rookie Mistakes: Litigators On Their Past Trial Blunders,” Law360, October 28, 2014​

• Co-Author, “Trade Secret Plaintiff Goes Three Rounds, Takes a Beating,” Orrick Trade Secrets Watch, September 26, 2014

• Co-Author, “Is It a 'Cyberattack' or a 'Data-Breach Incident'?” Corporate Counsel, July 15, 2014

• Co-Author, “Referring Trade Secrets Theft for Criminal Prosecution,” New York Law Journal, June 10, 2014

• Co-Author, “The ‘I Was Just Trying to Land a New Job' Defense to Criminal Trade Secret Theft Charges,” Trade Secrets Watch, November 20, 2013

• Co-Author, “From Victim to Victor: Corporate Crime in the Internet Era,” Business Law Today, November 2013

• Co-Author, “Strategic Remedies for Victims of Trade Secrets Theft,” Law360, September 16, 2013

• Co-Author, “AGs to the Front Lines: State Attorneys General Begin Wielding Unfair Competition Laws against Foreign IP Thieves,” Trade Secrets Watch, July 2013

• Co-Author, “Strategic Remedies For Cybercrime Victims,” Journal of Internet Law, Vol. 16, No. 12, June 2013. Cited in “Microsoft the Botnet Hunter: The Role of Public-Private

• Partnerships in Mitigating Botnets,” Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, note 109.

• Co-Author, “It's Not Just for Patents Anymore: Using the ITC to Combat Theft of Trade Secrets,” Trade Secrets Watch, June 2013

• Co-Author, “The War on Cybercrime: How Far Can You Go?” Corporate Counsel, April 16, 2013

• Co-Author, “More Corporate Crime Victims Recovering Investigation Fees,” Law360, April 8, 2013

• Author, “Strategic Remedies for Corporate Crime Victims,” Los Angeles Lawyer, October 2012

• Co-Author, “On Tap the Government's Use of Wiretaps in Insider Trading Prosecutions Shows a Willingness to Use Nontraditional Methods of Investigation,” Los Angeles Lawyer, April 2012

• Panelist, “White Collar Defense Roundtable,” California Lawyer, July 2010

• Co-Author, “When Transactional Attorneys Face Criminal Liability,” Los Angeles Lawyer, December 2009

• Co-Author, “Walk the Line,” Los Angeles Lawyer, December 2006, reprinted as “What Civil Attorneys Need to Know About Criminal Law,” ABA White Collar Crime Bulletin, February 2008.

• Co-Author, “AGs to the Front Lines: State Attorneys General Begin Wielding Unfair Competition Laws against Foreign IP Thieves,” Trade Secrets Watch, July 2013

• Author, “Hanging Together,” Los Angeles Lawyer, October 2004

• Author, “Searching Far and Wide,” Los Angeles Lawyer, November 2003. Reprinted as “Defending an Extraterritorial Search,” The Practical Lawyer, December 2003

• Co-Author, “Strategic Remedies For Cybercrime Victims,” Journal of Internet Law, Vol.16, No. 12, June 2013

• Co-Author, “In the Fifth Dimension,” Los Angeles Lawyer, October 2002

• Co-Author, “It's Not Just for Patents Anymore: Using the ITC to Combat Theft of Trade Secrets,” Trade Secrets Watch, June 2013

• Co-Author, “Grace Under Pressure: Fifteen Steps You Should Take to Manage Successfully a Search of Your Client's Office Pursuant to a Federal Warrant,” Corporate Counsel's Quarterly July 2002, The Practical Lawyer, October 2003, Law Department Management Advisor, September 2002, and The Lawyer's Brief, June 2002

• Co-Author, “The War on Cybercrime: How Far Can You Go?” Corporate Counsel, April 16, 2013

• Co-Author, “Walk the Line,” Los Angeles Lawyer, December 2006, reprinted as “What Civil Attorneys Need to Know About Criminal Law,” ABA White Collar Crime Bulletin, February 2008

• Author, “Searching Far and Wide,” Los Angeles Lawyer, November 2003. Reprinted as “Defending an Extraterritorial Search,” The Practical Lawyer, December 2003

• Co-Author, “Grace Under Pressure: Fifteen Steps You Should Take to Manage Successfully a Search of Your Client's Office Pursuant to a Federal Warrant,” Corporate Counsel's Quarterly July 2002, The Practical Lawyer (October 2003), Law Department Management Advisor (September 2002) and The Lawyer's Brief, June 2002