Douglas M. Fuchs is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Los Angeles office. Mr. Fuchs is an experienced trial lawyer and handles a variety of matters in the Litigation Department. He is a member of the firm's White Collar Defense and Investigations, Securities Enforcement and Securities Litigation Practice Groups.
Mr. Fuchs has a special expertise in representing corporations and individuals in white collar criminal, SEC and other regulatory enforcement matters, including cases involving allegations of securities fraud, environmental violations, public corruption, antitrust violations, economic espionage and government contracting fraud. Mr. Fuchs has also conducted sensitive internal investigations, been retained by companies that have been victimized by fraud, and developed compliance programs, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Mr. Fuchs additionally has experience handling a broad range of civil litigation, including cases stemming from the same facts giving rise to criminal, SEC, and regulatory investigations. Mr. Fuchs has represented companies and individuals in securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, consumer class actions, and lawsuits involving allegations of fraud, interference with contract, theft of trade secrets, and unfair business practices.
A few of Mr. Fuchs’s representative matters include:
- Represented large university in investigations by the New York Attorney General, the California Attorney General, the Justice Department, and Congress concerning student loan practices, resulting in no action taken against university by any regulator.
- Represented insurance adjusting firm in investigations by the Justice Department, Mississippi Attorney General, Mississippi Department of Insurance and Congress into the handling of insurance claims following Hurricane Katrina resulting in no action taken against company.
- Represented public retail company in an SEC investigation and a parallel securities class action and shareholder derivative lawsuit. The SEC matter settled with no financial penalties, the derivative action was dismissed, and the securities class action settled on favorable terms.
- Represented aircraft parts manufacturer in Justice Department investigation resulting in the government declining to bring civil or criminal charges and qui tam plaintiff abandoning False Claims Act case.
- Represented private equity firm in investigations by the Justice Department, SEC, and the California Attorney General concerning pay-to-play allegations in pension fund industry resulting in no action being taken against client.
- Represented individual in FINRA enforcement investigation and FINRA arbitrations relating to the sale of interests in alleged Ponzi scheme resulting in favorable outcome for client.
- Represented real estate investment company in SEC investigation resulting in the SEC declining to bring any enforcement action against client.
- Represented company in gaming industry in investigations by California state agency and related consumer class actions resulting in favorable settlement with state agency and dismissal of all class actions.
- Represented individual after he had already been indicted by the Justice Department for making illegal campaign contributions and obtained a non-custodial sentence over the government's objection.
- Represented auditor at Big 4 accounting firm in SEC investigation concerning stock option backdating resulting in the SEC declining to bring any enforcement action against client.
- Represented individual in Justice Department investigation concerning alleged improper receipt of government benefits resulting in DOJ taking no action against client.
Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Mr. Fuchs was as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California for seven years, including serving as Deputy Chief of the Major Frauds Section. During his tenure with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Fuchs represented the government in nine jury trials, briefed and argued cases before the Ninth Circuit, and handled multiple investigations involving complex white collar crime, including securities, accounting, bankruptcy, tax and money laundering and investor frauds.
While working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Fuchs handled the high-profile prosecution of 11 former Homestore.com executives in connection with a revenue inflation scheme, which culminated in a nearly three-month jury trial. The investigation was used as a model to formulate Justice Department policy relating to the prosecution of corporate fraud and corporations. Other representative matters included the prosecution of eight members of a telemarketing boiler-room operation for defrauding investors out of several million dollars and prosecution of numerous individuals for fraud and other crimes. For his work with the government, Mr. Fuchs received many awards and commendations from state and federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, INS, and Postal Inspection Service.
Before his tenure with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Fuchs practiced with Munger, Tolles & Olson and Davis Polk & Wardwell. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Cynthia Holcomb Hall in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Fuchs graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 1992, where he was a member of the Law Review. He earned his B.A. degree cum laude from Duke University in 1989.
Mr. Fuchs is a member of the California Bar, a board member of the Federal Bar Association, active in the American Bar Association, and has repeatedly been named a Southern California Super Lawyer in the fields of white collar criminal prosecution and criminal defense.