O’Melveny Worldwide

Jeff leads litigation and investigation teams that focus on developing effective legal strategies to achieve optimal results for clients. Companies frequently call on Jeff to help them defend their most challenging and complex matters. Jeff is a trusted adviser and creative strategist who has secured favorable results in state and federal courts, mediation and arbitration forums, and at trial.

For more than 25 years, Jeff has represented individuals and companies in complex business disputes, class actions, State Attorneys General (State AG) litigation and investigations, white-collar criminal cases, and government enforcement actions. He regularly conducts internal investigations, both of alleged misconduct and to proactively assess risk, on behalf of companies across a broad range of industries. In addition, he frequently counsels clients on matters involving the False Claims Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Jeff’s clients come from a broad range of industries—including financial services, healthcare, medical device, technology, and sports—and they turn to him to manage crises of far-reaching scope and great complexity.

In his sports practice, Jeff helps businesses, leagues, and teams navigate the unique legal issues concerning sponsorship, licensing, employment, and ownership disputes. He also conducts high-profile and sensitive investigations for both leagues and teams.

Jeff co-heads Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at O’Melveny.

Litigation and Arbitrations

  • Defending managed care organization in multiple cases brought by out-of-network medical providers alleging RICO conspiracy and state-law causes of action
  • Defending a customer care company in multiple State AG investigations and litigations concerning employee/independent contractor classification issues
  • Representing a financial services company in ERISA litigation that challenges the inclusion of proprietary investment options in the company’s 401(k) plan
  • Represented the founder and former CEO of a Service-Disabled Veterans Small Business in a wrongful termination, shareholder oppression, and dissolution action
  • Represented a REIT and its directors and officers in a shareholder derivative action to enjoin a proposed merger
  • Represented investment advisors in connection with FINRA arbitrations in fraud and forgery claims
  • Represented a medical technology company in an anti-trust and patent dispute concerning pulse oximetry devices
  • Represented an IT company in a breach-of-contract dispute in U.S.D.C. for the SDNY
  • Represented a telecommunications company before the SEC, DOJ, and EU regarding due-diligence review of an acquired company’s worldwide operations
  • Represented a telecommunications company in a lengthy arbitration concerning the $2 billion sale of its internet business unit
  • Represented a Department of Defense employee in a credit-card fraud matter
  • Represented an eyeglass manufacturer in a patent-infringement matter
  • Represented a pharmaceutical company in a patent-infringement matter concerning glucosamine-based products
  • Represented Baltimore police officers in numerous trials for alleged violations of an individual’s constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
  • Represented Baltimore police officers in wrongful death trials (bench and jury trials)
  • Represented an international hotel company in various negligence and breach-of-duty claims
  • Assisted the Public Justice Center in landlord-tenant disputes, including cases involving properties owned by a notorious drug kingpin in Baltimore
  • Represented an international consulting company in numerous arbitrations concerning its client agreements

Internal and Government-Initiated Investigations

  • Representing a professional services company in multiple OIG and internal investigations
  • Representing a trade association in an internal investigation regarding possible hostile workplace environment claims
  • Represented a senior sales executive in a fraud investigation by the DOJ Criminal Division into sales and accounting activities in the apparel industry
  • Represented a medical device company in an investigation of alleged accounting fraud in its offices in England, France, and the US
  • Conducted an FCPA investigation in China and the U.S. for a Fortune 500 apparel manufacturer
  • Conducted a confidential investigation for a Fortune 100 global science and technology company regarding potential patent-infringement litigation involving its dental business
  • Represented a government contractor in an IRS investigation regarding tax evasion and embezzlement; following an extensive investigation, the USAO and IRS declined to proceed with criminal charges against the company
  • Represented a trade association in an internal investigation regarding possible age-discrimination claims and termination of its CFO
  • Represented a government contractor in a False Claims Act investigation of bills submitted to the government for transportation services
  • Secured a declination of prosecution from the DOJ for a hospice facility in a healthcare-fraud investigation
  • Secured a declination of prosecution from the DOJ for a government contractor in a False Claims Act matter
  • Represented an automobile-parts supplier in a cartel investigation in the U.S. and Japan concerning its wire harness products
  • Represented an educationtesting company in an internal investigation involving potential FCPA violations in India
  • Represented an international pharmaceutical company in an internal investigation into potential FCPA violations in Singapore and the Philippines
  • Managed a global FCPA compliance review of a company’s operations in more than 15 countries, including subsidiaries in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Russia
  • Represented an international medical technology company in an investigation into whether products offered under a Department of Veteran Affairs program complied with the Trade Agreement Act’s country-of-origin requirements
  • Represented a medical technology company in an internal False Claims Act investigation into potential improper billing practices in California, Louisiana, and Texas

Sports

  • Defending a boxing promoter in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of a boxer critically injured during a fight
  • Representing the owner and Chairman of the Baltimore Orioles in a trust and estates dispute regarding ownership of the Club
  • Represented a private University in connection with a high-profile investigation into its women’s basketball program
  • Counseled and advised NFL franchise on various sensitive and confidential investigations
  • Counseled and advised NFL franchise on various racial and social justice issues
  • Represented NFL franchise in various disputes involving stadium operations, sponsorship and licensing agreements, television and media contracts, and ticketing and suite issues
  • Counseled and advised NFL franchise on social media, document retention and data-privacy policies
  • Headed investigation into the alleged use of steroids and other performance-enhancing substances in Major League Baseball
  • Represented the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour in EEOC proceedings regarding discrimination claims

Compliance and Counseling

  • Counseled a financial services company on PPP loan eligibility
  • Counseled clients on developing internal compliance programs and provided compliance counseling on a host of issues, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act, and fraud detection
  • Represented executives of a ballistics-testing company in a False Claims Act matter concerning the use of zylon fibers in the manufacture of bullet-resistant vests
  • Counseled a private-equity company on business issues in Cuba
  • Counseled a Virginia-based company on compliance issues related to the sale of regulated tobacco products in Maryland
  • Represented an international tobacco company in disputes brought by every state’s Attorney General’s office concerning the Master Settlement Agreement

Class Actions

  • Representing a consumer products company in multiple class actions involving privacy issues
  • Representing one of the nation’s largest banks in a putative class action alleging violations of California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Uniform Competition Law
  • Represented a telecommunications company in nationwide consumer class actions in which customers alleged that the company had deceptively and fraudulently overcharged them
  • Represented an insurance company in consumer class actions claiming the insurer had deceptively and fraudulently marketed “vanishing premium” policies
  • Represented numerous retailers and consumer-goods manufacturers in nationwide class actions
  • Represented an international hotel company in consumer class actions alleging that the company had fraudulently overcharged for posted exchange rates

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland

Court Admissions

  • US District Court, Maryland
  • US Court of Appeals, Fourth and District of Columbia Circuits

Education

  • University of Maryland, JD
  • University of Pennsylvania, BA

Honors & Awards

  • Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Sport (2021, 2024) and Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense (2021-2022)

Professional Activities

Speaker

  • Webinar: “Investigating Employee Sexual Misconduct in the Age of Social Media: How #MeToo Has Elevated Sexual Harassment to a Critical Compliance, Governance, and Reputational Issue” (June 7, 2018)