Lara A. Flath

Her experience spans all stages of litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country, with particular depth in complex commercial litigation, class actions, securities and shareholder litigation, and matters involving financial markets, digital assets and emerging technologies.

Ms. Flath has earned widespread acclaim for her work and achievements. She has been selected for inclusion in Chambers USA, where clients have praised her “exceptional client services and sophisticated strategic thinking” and described her as “outstanding.” She has been named a BTI Client Service All-Star, a distinction based on unsolicited feedback from in-house counsel who note that she also brings “tons of charisma to the courtroom.” Her other honors include recognition by Forbes in its inaugural America’s Top Women Lawyers list, Crain's New York Business as a Notable Woman in Law, Law360 as a Rising Star and Business Insider as one of its Rising Stars of the Courtroom. Lawdragon has repeatedly listed her among its 500 Leading Litigators in America and 500 Leading Lawyers in America and Benchmark Litigation has repeatedly designated her a Future Star.

Ms. Flath’s representative experience includes:

• representing Coinbase in securities class actions and other significant litigations involving digital assets, including securing the dismissal of federal securities claims in a victory recognized by The American Lawyer and the subsequent dismissal of federal and state securities claims at summary judgment
• winning judgment on all claims brought against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill following an eight-day federal trial concerning the university’s consideration of race in undergraduate admissions, and representing the university through appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court
• securing a precedent-setting victory for Barclays and more than 40 individual defendants in shareholder derivative litigation, obtaining dismissal with prejudice and successfully defending that result through appeal and ultimately before the New York Court of Appeals in a victory recognized by The American Lawyer
• securing dismissal with prejudice of shareholder derivative litigation brought against more than 25 current and former directors of Société Générale
• representing JPMorgan Chase in complex antitrust class actions and related investigations concerning financial markets and payment systems, including the trading of federal agency bonds and payment card interchange fees
• securing dismissal for Citigroup of an antitrust action alleging a conspiracy among dealers of U.K. government bonds
• representing Chainalysis in federal and state litigation involving blockchain analytics and digital assets, including securing dismissal with prejudice of RICO and state claims in a putative class action alleging that Chainalysis was complicit in the laundering of stolen cryptocurrency
• securing dismissal of a securities class action brought against ESSA Pharma and certain of its executives concerning disclosures related to the clinical development of a prostate cancer drug candidate
• representing Barclays in a range of disputes, including antitrust class actions involving variable-rate demand obligations and the municipal bond market, as well as separate state False Claims Act litigation and securities class actions
• representing Peco Foods in nationwide antitrust class actions and opt-out litigation involving alleged conspiracies concerning broiler chicken output, compensation for processing plant employees and contract growers
• defending UBS in a first-of-its-kind federal trial involving more than $2 billion in claims relating to residential mortgage-backed securities
• assisting Fortune 500 companies and senior executives in connection with sensitive internal and regulatory investigations

Ms. Flath also maintains an active pro bono practice focused on children’s and women’s rights. Among other matters, she has won a federal trial protecting abortion access and submitted amicus briefs advocating for the rights of domestic violence survivors. She was a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Advancing Diversity and contributed to its 2023 report following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision concerning affirmative action. In addition to serving on numerous firm committees, Ms. Flath is a member of the national board of directors of Only Make Believe, a nonprofit organization that creates and performs interactive theater for children in hospitals, care facilities and special education programs.