Desirae Tongco is an experienced litigator and trial attorney who represents clients in a wide range of complex business litigation, including mass torts and antitrust merger litigation. She advises pharmaceutical companies on their most complex product liability cases, and has also represented media conglomerates and health insurance companies. Desirae has worked in state and federal courts through all phases of litigation, including pleadings, discovery, trial, and post-trial briefing. Desirae was a critical member of the O’Melveny trial team that achieved full victory for an international pharmaceutical and medical device company and its subsidiaries against allegations brought by California localities concerning the client’s opioid products, and she continues to represent the companies in state Attorneys General litigations also involving opioid products.
Desirae also devotes time to pro bono matters involving veterans’ benefits, naturalization, and juvenile justice. Recent pro bono work involved filing an amicus brief in Brown v. Precythe on behalf of the Juvenile Law Center, Children and Family Justice Center, and the Fred T. Korematsu for Law and Equality in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eight Circuit. Desirae is also active in the New York community as a volunteer with the New York Junior League and a member of the Federal Bar Council American Inn of Court.
Prior to joining O’Melveny, Desirae served as an intern for Vice President Kamala Harris during her tenure in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the California Attorney General’s Office.
- Part of an O’Melveny trial team in what The New York Times called “one of the most complicated and gargantuan legal battles in American History,” defending an international pharmaceutical company and subsidiary in a two-month, multi-billion dollar trial against the State of Oklahoma in Oklahoma.
- Key member of a winning O’Melveny trial team that successfully defended an international pharmaceutical company and subsidiary against allegations brought by California localities.
- Part of the O’Melveny AT&T-Time Warner merger trial team that prevailed against the United States Department of Justice in what the press dubbed “the antitrust trial of the century.”
- Key member of the O’Melveny team defending an international pharmaceutical company and subsidiary against 1,000+ opioid lawsuits brought against them by states, counties, and municipalities across the United States.
- Represented a leading international pharmaceutical company in an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into the company’s charitable giving.
- Represented a major health insurance company in an investigation regarding billing and reimbursement practices and procedures.
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- New York
Court Admissions
- US District Court, Southern District of New York
Education
- Howard University School of Law, J.D.
- American University, M.S.: Justice, Law and Society
- Mills College, B.A.: Political, Legal, and Economic Analysis; minor in American History
Professional Activities
Internships
- Kamala Harris, San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and California Attorney General’s Office
Author
- "Saying No to 'Cutting Corners': The Military Courts’ Correctness in Rejecting the Use of Evidence of Sexual Assault Against a Minor to Search for Child Pornography," 60 How. L.J. 593 (2017)
Member
- Member, Federal Bar Council American Inn of Court