Michael L. Lipman practices in the area of litigation with his primary focus on all aspects of white-collar criminal defense and related parallel proceedings, regulatory and licensing matters, and business litigation. He has had more than 50 jury trials and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Lipman has extensive experience representing individuals and entities in matters involving securities fraud and insider trading, healthcare billing fraud, criminal tax matters, government procurement and contract fraud, criminal environmental violations, financial institution fraud, criminal antitrust violations, political corruption, campaign and election law violations and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases. He has handled complex civil litigation cases involving civil RICO, securities fraud, healthcare issues and the Civil False Claims Act.

Mr. Lipman has conducted or participated in numerous internal investigations for both private and public entities, and has prepared and assisted in making presentations involving voluntary disclosures and amnesty applications to the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Defense, IRS, the Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) and EPA. He has also represented clients in suspension and debarment/exclusion proceedings against various components of the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Navy, Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Lipman is a 1971 graduate of Columbia Law School and a 1968 graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Representative Matters

Securities Fraud, Insider Trading and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

• Counsel to the chief financial officer of a San Diego public company accused in a federal criminal securities fraud case of manipulating reserves to overstate revenues; Seven-week trial in federal court.
• Counsel to a San Diego commodities trader accused of defrauding investors of more than $10 million and tax evasion; six-week trial in federal court.
• Represented the controller of a San Diego high-tech public company in Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice investigations and civil cases arising out of securities fraud related to revenue-recognition and insider-trading issues.
• Counsel to founder and former chief executive officer of an Orange County high-tech public company in an options backdating investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Convinced the government not to file any charges against a senior tax counsel at a Los Angeles public company in an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice of improper revenue-recognition and transfer-pricing issues.
• Represented executive of a defense contractor in an internal investigation regarding overseas payments implicating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
• Obtained acquittal for Los Angeles businessman in criminal insider-trading case after two-week trial in federal court in Los Angeles; Securities and Exchange Commission case was settled on terms the client found favorable.
• Counsel to San Diego insurance executive in Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice investigations of insider trading relating to trading in community bank stocks.
• Represented a patent agent at San Diego biotech public company in Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice investigations of insider trading in the company's stock.
• Counsel to a member of Board of Directors of San Diego public company in Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice investigations of insider trading.
• Represented a businessman in a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of insider trading in high-tech company stock.
• Counsel to an Orange County businessman in Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice investigations of insider trading in Orange County public company stock.
• Negotiated civil resolution of case for an investment advisor in connection with allegations of misrepresentations made to his investor clients, without precipitating any governmental investigations.
• Represented an employee of international government contractor in an internal investigation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.
• Represented a securities broker in investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice into embezzlement of more than $5 million of client funds.
• Counsel to a commodity pool operator in connection with investigations by the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice into a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
• Represented a client charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Riverside County District Attorney's Office in the largest Ponzi scheme in the county's history.

Antitrust

• Counsel to a Korea-based senior executive of a Korean multinational company in a criminal antitrust investigation regarding price fixing in the DRAM chip market.
• Represented a San Diego business in a criminal bid-rigging investigation involving art auctions in the Southern District of New York. Resolved the investigation with a corporate guilty plea with no individual charged.
• Counsel to a San Francisco businessman in a criminal bid-rigging investigation by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice involving the sale of foreclosed real estate.

Environmental

• Represented a project manager of a multimillion-dollar contract to remove pipe wrap containing asbestos from nine miles of pipe at a San Diego Gas & Electric facility. Client and SDG&E were indicted for criminal violations of the Clean Air Act. After a seven-week trial in federal court, the client was acquitted of all but one charge. The court's grant of our motion for a new trial was upheld by the Ninth Circuit, and the government was persuaded to dismiss all remaining charges.
• Represented a cruise-ship line charged criminally for releasing oil in the port of Los Angeles. Persuaded the Los Angeles city attorney to dismiss the criminal case and resolve the matter with a civil settlement.
• Counsel to a San Diego ship-repair company accused of illegal dumping of waste materials. Convinced the government to resolve the case with a misdemeanor guilty plea and avoided debarment of the company.
• Represented a Fortune 500 company in criminal investigation for improperly transporting and disposing of hazardous material in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Persuaded the federal and state prosecutors to resolve the investigation with a civil settlement.
• Counsel to a developer accused of illegally polluting the San Diego River in violation of the Clean Water Act. Ultimately convinced the government to resolve the case with a civil settlement with no criminal charges filed.

Healthcare

• Counsel to owners of a chain of pharmacies in a joint FBI/DEA investigation of diversion of oxycontin and hydrocodone, Medi-Cal billing fraud, and claims for millions of dollars in civil penalties under the federal Controlled Substance Act.
• Represented the owner of a group of Southern California methadone clinics in an investigation into allegations of $14 million in Medi-Cal billing fraud. Negotiated a resolution of the matter without any individuals being criminally charged and with a civil settlement involving structured payments, a compliance program and no program exclusions.
• Represented an owner of a nationwide home oxygen supply company in a federal investigation of Medicare durable medical equipment (DME) billing fraud. Investigation was resolved with a civil settlement and compliance program.
• Convinced the U.S. Department of Justice not to file criminal or civil charges against the physician-president of a large Monterey, Calif., practice group initially accused of defrauding Medicare in an upcoding billing scheme.
• Counsel to a prominent San Diego ophthalmologist who, after a federal criminal tax conviction, had his license revoked by the Medical Board of California. Obtained a reversal of the board's decision after litigation in Superior Court of California and the Court of Appeals.
• Represented a psychiatrist accused of having improper sexual relations with his patient. Case was resolved without any criminal charges or license revocation.
• Represented an ophthalmologist in parallel criminal and civil False Claims Act investigations into allegations he defrauded Medicare by upcoding laser surgeries. Convinced the government to settle civilly with no criminal charges filed and no discipline against his license. Convinced 60 Minutes to kill the story it was about to run on the case.
• Counsel to a surgeon in a civil False Claims Act investigation in which he was accused of defrauding Medicare by billing for unapproved surgical procedures.
• Represented a prominent Los Angeles ophthalmologist in civil litigation in which he was accused by insurers of billing for cosmetic eye surgeries as if they were necessary medical procedures.
• Counsel to an internist in parallel criminal and civil False Claims Act investigations into allegations he had defrauded Medicare by misbilling for cardiac rehabilitation procedures.
• Counsel to physician in criminal investigation into allegations he had conspired to defraud Medicare by allowing operators of clinic to bill Medicare using his provider number when he never saw patients at the clinic or reviewed patient charts.

Criminal Tax

• Persuaded a federal district court to reverse the appointment of a receiver and to vacate an order freezing more than $600 million in assets in a civil case brought by the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice accusing the owner of a financial holding company of operating a multimillion-dollar tax and investment fraud. The case was dismissed, and the government was convinced not to file any criminal charges related to this conduct.
• Represented a prominent Los Angeles certified public accountant in a criminal tax case involving more than $9 million in taxes avoided by his clients.
• Convinced the government not to file criminal charges against a Los Angeles businessman in a criminal tax investigation involving fraudulent charitable gifts to a New York religious organization.
• Counsel to San Diego restaurant owners in criminal tax-skim investigation. Convinced the government that the case should be resolved with a corporate guilty plea with no individuals charged criminally.
• Convinced the government not to file either criminal or civil charges against one of the owners of Metabolife in a criminal tax investigation in which the government had alleged that the client was involved in a scheme to evade more than $80 million in taxes.
• Represented a certified public accountant in an investigation by the California Board of Accountancy into abusive tax shelters involving billions of dollars of taxes.
• Represented a San Diego businesswoman implicated in a cross-border tax-evasion scheme. Convinced the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice not to follow the internal recommendation to file criminal charges.
• Counsel to a San Diego certified public accountant in a criminal tax investigation involving a fraudulent transfer-pricing scheme.
• Represented a tobacco wholesaler in a federal criminal investigation into a scheme to defraud the California Board of Equalization of millions of dollars in tobacco excise taxes.
• Counsel to a businessman in connection with a voluntary disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service involving undisclosed foreign bank accounts and Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) issues.

Government Contract/Grant Fraud

• Represented an aerospace fastener manufacturer in multijurisdictional federal investigation into government-procurement fraud arising out of sale of inferior quality materials and the falsification of quality-control documentation regarding military specifications items. Case was the subject of congressional hearings.
• Counsel to a large school district in connection with investigation by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the National Science Foundation into misuse and fraud in connection with millions of dollars in grant funds. After an internal investigation, the matter was resolved with a small civil settlement and the implementation of a compliance program.
• Counsel to the chief financial officer of a biotech company in connection with a criminal investigation into fraud relating to a contract with the National Institutes of Health.
• Represented an executive of a San Diego hospital in connection with a criminal investigation of the procurement of health care contracts from the ministers of health of several South Pacific island governments. Case was resolved without any criminal charges being filed.
• Represented several San Diego shipyards, ship-repair companies and other Department of Defense contractors in criminal investigations involving mischarging on government contracts, providing inferior materials, falsifying quality-control documentation and failing to provide agreed-upon deliverables.
• Counsel to the owner of a San Diego logistics company in connection with parallel criminal and civil False Claims Act investigations of overcharging on Department of Defense contracts.
• Represented the chief operating officer of a San Francisco health care company in parallel criminal and civil False Claims Act investigations into government-contract fraud.

Banking

• In the criminal and regulatory investigations that followed the government's takeover of one of the largest failed savings and loan institutions, convinced the government not to file criminal charges and negotiated a resolution with the banking regulators on behalf of the chief executive officer.
• Represented a senior partner and major rainmaker at a large San Francisco law firm in connection with a federal criminal bank-fraud investigation. Retained by client after the government informed him that he was going to be indicted for bank fraud. After three months of work, convinced the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Jose not to charge the client.

Public Corruption

• Represented the chief executive officer of an international corporation who was one of Jack Abramoff's largest client in the criminal investigation of Abramoff and Congressmen Tom Delay. Government was ultimately convinced not to bring any criminal charges against the client.
• Counsel to the owner of a government contractor alleged to have bribed Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham.
• Represented a prominent California state senator from Los Angeles in the investigation and prosecution by the Department of Justice of corruption in the California State Legislature.
• Represented a senior executive of a large San Diego hospital implicated in a federal corruption investigation outside of California. The matter was resolved with a civil settlement without any criminal charges.
• Represented a real estate development company in criminal campaign-money-laundering investigation and related investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.
• Counsel to gaming executive in investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into payoffs allegedly made to members of Midwestern Indian tribe.

Miscellaneous

• Counsel to a San Diego businessman in connection with voluntary disclosure to the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) regarding possible violations of the Iranian sanctions.
• Represented several Major League Baseball players in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), Roger Clemens and MLB drug investigations.
• Counsel to a Hollywood producer in connection with the U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation of illegal wiretapping by Anthony Pellicano. Ultimately convinced the government not to criminally charge the client.
• Represented a former executive of a mortgage broker in a criminal investigation into a scheme to fraudulently obtain funding for home loans.

Civil Matters

• Counsel to San Diego real estate syndicators accused of defrauding investors by making misrepresentations regarding the financial affairs of the company.
• Recovered assets valued in excess of $4 million on behalf of San Diego high-tech company that had $2.5 million embezzled from it by its controller.
• Represented a San Diego businessman in dispute with his former partner regarding fraudulent tax allocation in the dissolution of their partnership and embezzlement by the ex-partner. Obtained a multimillion-dollar settlement.
• Obtained on behalf of a prominent former San Diego attorney the dismissal of a civil RICO case filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota by parties he had previously sued for securities fraud. The plaintiffs claimed that they would never had settled the underlying securities case had they known that the attorney and his partners had engaged in criminal conduct and failed to reveal that they were compensating their expert on a contingent basis.
• Counsel to a San Diego bank in a case involving civil RICO allegations that officers of the bank had conspired with a bank customer to defraud investors.
• Counsel to an insurance agent in connection with claims of fraud in the sale of multimillions in dollars of stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI).

Areas of Practice

• White-Collar Criminal Law
• Commercial Litigation
• Securities
• Healthcare
• Environmental

Admissions

• California
• New York
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Education

• Columbia University School of Law, J.D., 1971
• State University of New York at Buffalo, B.A., 1968

Other Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2011-present
• Coughlan, Semmer & Lipman LLP
  - Partner, 1988-2011
• Finley Kumble Wagner et al.
  - Partner, 1983-1987
• U.S. Attorney's Office. Southern District of California
  - Assistant U.S. Attorney / Chief of Fraud Unit, 1976-1983
• National Commission for the Review of Federal and State Laws Relating to Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance
  - Deputy Counsel, 1974-1975
• Bronx District Attorney's Office
  - Assistant District Attorney, 1971-1974

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association
  - Section of Litigation
  - White Collar Crime Committee
• Association of Business Trial Lawyers
  - Founding Board Member of the San Diego Chapter
• Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference
  - Attorney Representative
• California Academy of Attorneys for Health Care Professionals

Honors / Awards

• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
• Listed in "2013 Guide to San Diego's Top 25 Lawyers" by SDMetro
• Listed in San Diego Super Lawyers for white-collar criminal defense, 2007-2013
• Listed in Best Lawyers for over a decade
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• 2012 San Diego County Top Attorney