EDITORIAL REVIEW
A master in white-collar matters, he continues to
defend the former CFO of Broadcom and former
Embarcadero Technologies leader Raj Sabhlok.
—2008 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America
This savvy white-collar pro wins summary judgment for executives charged by the SEC, but is best known as Mr. Backdating from his defense of Brocade’s former CEO and the former CFO of Broadcom.
— Lawdragon,
January 2008
This white-collar guru nabbed the
spotlight with his work defending Brocade’s former CEO on
backdating claims.
— Lawdragon,
October 2006
When the government launches investigations into alleged corporate fraud, Merrill Lynch, Gemstar-TV Guide execs and many others call him.
— Lawdragon,
March 2006
Submit your evaluation of this attorney.
Contact Lawdragon about the information in this review.
Partner
Litigation,
SEC Enforcement and
White Collar Crime
Richard Marmaro is the head of Skadden’s West Coast SEC enforcement and white collar defense practice and has offices in
Los Angeles and
San Francisco. Mr. Marmaro is a fellow
of the
American College of Trial Lawyers, as well as the
International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Marmaro has been called the “go
to” white collar lawyer by the
Daily Journal, and for the past seven years that publication has recognized him as one
of the “Top 100” attorneys in California. The
Daily Journal also has recognized Mr. Marmaro as one of the leading
white collar and SEC enforcement defense attorneys in California and the
Los Angeles Business Journal has included
him on its list of “Who’s Who in L.A. Law.” In addition, Mr. Marmaro consistently is recognized as a “leading lawyer” by
Chambers Global The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business and
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for
Business, and he repeatedly has been selected for inclusion in
The Best Lawyers in America. Recently, Mr.
Marmaro was one of eleven attorneys named to
The National Law Journal’s annual “Winning” feature, which profiles
successful litigators; named “Litigator of the Week” by
The AmLaw Litigation Daily; was named “Attorney of the Year”
by
The Recorder; was recognized as a “Litigator in the Spotlight” by
The American Lawyer, and was a finalist
in the Chambers USA Awards for Excellence in the area of Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations. Mr.
Marmaro also was a recent winner in California Lawyer magazine’s California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Awards (CLAY),
which recognizes lawyers throughout the state whose legal work has made a profound impact.
For almost 30 years, Mr. Marmaro successfully has defended individuals and corporations, both nationally and
internationally, in all phases of complex civil, criminal and regulatory matters, including those involving allegations of
insider trading, accounting and disclosure irregularities, stock options backdating, market manipulation, financial frauds
and wrongful termination. Mr. Marmaro has tried many cases in federal and state courts around the country, and he has
conducted numerous internal corporate investigations for Fortune 500 companies, involving allegations of stock options
backdating, insider trading, tax violations and corporate opportunity issues. Mr. Marmaro has represented clients in their
most formidable and difficult lawsuits and investigations, including the following:
- successfully defended William J. Ruehle, the former CFO of Broadcom, in the largest stock options backdating case
brought by the federal government. In what only can be described as an extraordinary result, after a jury trial lasting
nearly two months, Judge Cormac J. Carney of the Central District of California dismissed the indictment against Mr. Ruehle,
dismissed the stock options backdating indictment against Broadcom co-founder Henry T. Nicholas, withdrew Broadcom
co-founder Henry Samueli’s guilty plea and dismissed the case against him, and dismissed the pending SEC case against Mr.
Ruehle, Drs. Nicholas and Samueli, and David Dull, the former general counsel of Broadcom;
- represented Greg Reyes, the former CEO and chairman of Brocade in criminal, SEC and civil litigation in the first stock
options backdating case to go to trial. The Ninth Circuit unanimously reversed Mr. Reyes’ conviction in his first trial
based on prosecutorial misconduct;
- co-lead counsel in the successful defense of the former CEO and chairman of Columbia Savings & Loan who was acquitted on
all 45 criminal counts following a two-month jury trial;
- successfully defended the former CEO of Gateway in an SEC enforcement action where Mr. Marmaro prevailed at summary
judgment; and
- represented executives of several leading corporations in SEC enforcement matters, including Critical Path (defense of
former CEO); Gemstar-TV Guide (defense of former CFO of TV Guide); Peregrine Systems (defense of former controller); and
Netopia (defense of former VP of sales).
In addition, Mr. Marmaro routinely is retained by broker-dealers in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations
by the DOJ, SEC, FINRA and the New York attorney general. Recent representations have involved IPO allocations, market
timing and revenue recognition issues. Mr. Marmaro also has represented audit and special committees of public companies in
connection with internal investigations into various allegations.
Mr. Marmaro has appeared on CNN, KNBC and CNBC as an “expert commentator” on SEC enforcement and white collar criminal
issues. He is quoted frequently in such publications as
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times,
Washington Post, USA Today and
Fortune magazine on issues relating to white collar criminal defense and SEC
enforcement. He also is a frequent speaker at conferences and bar groups on trial techniques and defending SEC and white
collar cases.
Mr. Marmaro has been on the faculty of the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute at the
U.S. Department of Justice, where he participated in training assistant U.S. attorneys from around the
country. In addition, he has served as the president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the
Federal Bar Association. He has served as the co-chairman of the Central District’s Attorneys
Delegation to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and as the co-chairman of the Trial Practice Committee of the ABA’s
Litigation Section. Mr. Marmaro also has taught civil trial practice at
Southwestern Law School.
Prior to entering private practice in 1984, Mr. Marmaro served as a law clerk to a federal judge in the
Southern District of New York and as an assistant United States
attorney in the
Central District of California, where he was an
assistant chief of the Criminal Division. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Marmaro conducted and supervised numerous grand jury
investigations and successfully prosecuted many individuals and companies on business-related crimes, as well as
successfully argued numerous appeals before the
Ninth Circuit Court
of Appeals.
Related Practices
Bar Admissions
Education
Professional Experience
- Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
(1980-1984)
Associations/Affiliations
See Library Tab for articles, publications and presentations
by Richard Marmaro
Voting for the 2009 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America has closed. We will announce the posting of the next ballot later this year. Thanks for your participation.
