Lara A. Flath

In addition, Ms. Flath assists clients in connection with complex regulatory and internal investigations, including enforcement matters before the Department of Justice and other domestic and international regulators. She also has represented individuals in connection with white collar crime investigations and litigation brought by the Department of Justice. In recognition of her work, Ms. Flath was named one of Crain’s New York Business’ 2022 Notable Women in Law, one of Law360’s 2022 Rising Stars, one of Business Insider’s 2022 Rising Stars of the Courtroom and repeatedly as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America.

Ms. Flath’s representative experience includes:

• winning a motion to dismiss federal and state securities claims brought against Coinbase Global, Coinbase, Inc. and Coinbase Global’s CEO
• winning judgment on all claims brought against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill following an eight-day federal trial regarding the constitutionality of the university’s use of race in undergraduate admissions, including representing the university through appeal to the Supreme Court
• winning a motion to dismiss claims brought against Barclays and over 40 current and former directors, officers and employees named as individual defendants in shareholder derivative litigation
• securing the dismissal with prejudice of shareholder derivative litigation brought against over 25 current and former directors of Société Générale
• representing JPMorgan Chase in antitrust class actions alleging conspiracy in the trading of federal agency bonds
• representing Barclays in antitrust class actions and state False Claims Act litigations alleging anticompetitive activity related to variable rate debt obligations
• defending Peco Foods in multiple antitrust class actions and opt-out litigation around the country in connection with alleged conspiracies, including among broiler chicken producers to reduce output; among poultry producers to fix and suppress wages of processing plant employees; and among broiler chicken producers to fix and suppress compensation of contract broiler chicken growers
• winning the complete dismissal of all claims for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty on behalf of Lincoln International LLC and Lincoln Partners Advisors LLC in the Platinum-Beechwood fraud litigation
• defending UBS in a first-of-its-kind federal trial involving over $2 billion in claims relating to residential mortgage-backed securities
• representing JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the successful resolution of government investigations into the propriety of trading activities within its foreign exchange business, both in London and other jurisdictions globally. Skadden successfully negotiated resolutions with the Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority
• assisting Fortune 500 companies and senior executives with sensitive internal and regulatory investigations
• representing the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools in criminal litigation brought by the Department of Justice

Ms. Flath also has extensive experience working with expert witnesses on issues involving residential mortgage-backed securities, loss causation, damages, class certification and other economic analyses. Additionally, she is a member of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’ Trial Bar.

Ms. Flath maintains an active pro bono practice and has handled a variety of matters in this capacity, including a recent federal trial relating to constitutional issues. She has represented the interests of minors as a guardian ad litem and child representative in trial and due process hearings; represented individuals in federal criminal matters; and submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on Fourth Amendment issues.

Ms. Flath is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Advancing Diversity and contributed to its 2023 report providing a blueprint for organizations to continue their DEI efforts following the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action.