Marcellus Antonio McRae is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is Co-Chair of the firm's White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Group and a member of the firm's Litigation, Government and Commercial Contracts, and Media, Entertainment and Technology Practice Groups. Mr. McRae's litigation and white-collar criminal defense practices focus on a wide variety of business disputes, internal investigations, and criminal prosecutions including defense of individuals and corporations in cases involving allegations of: financial fraud, false claims act violations, public corruption, violation of federal and state environmental laws, health care fraud, wrongful death, criminal antitrust violations, and other matters. He also represents and advises employers in wrongful termination, retaliation, and whistleblower claims.
Mr. McRae has first chaired numerous jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations in both federal and state courts. He also writes and speaks on trial and litigation skills, white-collar criminal defense, labor and employment law, and other topics. From 1995 until joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in February 1998, Mr. McRae served as an Assistant United States Attorney with the Criminal Division, Major Frauds Section, of the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. While he was an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. McRae investigated and prosecuted complex white-collar crimes (tax, securities, bankruptcy, and other business frauds) and traditional crimes that involved both jury and non-jury trial experience with a 100 percent conviction rate at trial. He also drafted numerous appellate briefs filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and had several arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to joining the United States Attorney's Office, Mr. McRae was an associate with Debevoise & Plimpton.
Some of Mr. McRae's achievements include:
Trials and Litigation
ˇ Successful defense at trial of Vestin Realty Mortgage I and II in a nationwide class action alleging that the merger of funds into the trusts constituted a "roll up."
ˇ Successful defense of Nutro Products, Inc. in an eight-week jury trial in a mass action in which homeowners claimed that the company's production facility emitted a nuisance odor.
ˇ Defending major corporations in qui tam litigations and parallel proceedings involving False Claim Act violation allegations.
ˇ Representation of an I.R.A. administrator in a class action against claims that it aided and abetted a fraud against investors.
ˇ Representation of Pacific Maritime Association and members in a federal court action involving claims of gender and race discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
ˇ Successful defense of Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc. in a jury trial against allegations that it defrauded California Union Insurance Company into issuing performance and property coverage on several wind turbine farms.
ˇ Successful defense at trial of a film and television celebrity in a palimony action.
ˇ Representation of Deloitte & Touche LLP in a state court action involving allegations of age and race discrimination.
ˇ Successful defense of ITT Educational Services in a False Claims Act retaliatory discharge action by obtaining summary judgment.
ˇ Representation of PricewaterhouseCoopers in a state court action involving allegations of gender discrimination and failure to promote.
ˇ Representation of United Parcel Service in a state court action involving allegations of sexual harassment.
ˇ Successful defense of one of world's leading media and entertainment companies in a three-week arbitration involving claims for profit participation in a syndicated series.
ˇ Successful defense of ConAgra Foods, Inc. in a four-week jury trial involving breach of contract and fraud claims arising from the termination of a beef distribution relationship.
White Collar Defense and Investigations
ˇ Represented major corporations in federal grand jury investigations involving contract and payment disputes with various regulatory agencies.
ˇ Defended municipality in a federal criminal investigation alleging Clean Water Act violations. No charges were filed.
ˇ Defended retailers in civil class action and criminal proceedings involving pricing accuracy claims.
ˇ Defended elected official in a public corruption investigation. No charges were filed.
ˇ Defended food and beverage manufacturers in federal criminal investigations alleging Clean Water Act violations.
ˇ Defended maritime company in federal criminal investigation alleging violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. No charges were filed.
ˇ Conducted a wide range of internal investigations concerning financial controls and procedures, executive misconduct, government contracting improprieties, and alleged violations of federal election campaign laws, federal communications commission rules and regulations, kickback, fraud, and other federal and state laws.
Professional and Community Associations
Mr. McRae was a 2003-04 co-chair of the Lawyer Delegates to the Ninth Circuit - Central District of California. He has also served as an adjunct professor of Advanced Trial Advocacy at Loyola Law School, teaches trial advocacy at Harvard Law School, and is an instructor at the national level of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. Mr. McRae has conducted mock jury trial demonstrations at numerous national American Law Institute-American Bar Association conferences and has been a featured panelist at numerous professional seminars regarding a wide range of topics including trial advocacy, individual and corporate criminal defense, federal sentencing guidelines, and employment litigation. He also frequently appears on television and radio and in print media as a legal commentator. Mr. McRae has also been a chair of the Environmental Crimes Committee for the West Coast Chapter of the American Bar Association and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Bar Association; the Executive Committee of the Criminal Justice Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association; the Attorney Discipline Committee for the Central District of California; and the Attorney Admissions Fund Board for the Central District of California, the Steering Committee of the California Minority Counsel Program and the LAPD Police Commission Rampart Review Panel. Mr. McRae is currently a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy; the Board of Advocates of Human Rights First; the Los Angeles County Bar Association Committee on Diversity in the Profession; and the Boards of Directors of Public Counsel, Friends of the Expo Center, Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library, and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Speaking Engagements
ˇ "One Nation Under Arrest? The Growth of Federal Criminal Law," The Federalist Society, Los Angeles Chapter, April 24, 2012
ˇ "Ethics Surrounding Attorneys' Fees: How to Agree to Them, Collect Them, Keep Them, and Persuasively Seek Them as Sanctions," ABA Section of Litigation Annual Conference, April 20, 2012
ˇ "Learn What Matters in Federal Court: Hear from the Decisionmakers," Public Counsel/LACBA Barristers' CLE program, panel entitled "How to Win Summary Judgment," February 24, 2012
ˇ "To Arbitrate or Not?" Bridgeport Continuing Education Seminar, January 13, 2012
ˇ "2011 Year-End OFAC Update," Gibson Dunn Webcast, January 12, 2012
ˇ "Deposition Strategies in Employment Litigation," Strafford Publications Webinar, November 22, 2011
ˇ "Former Employees and Executives as Non-Party Witnesses: Navigating the Complexities of Privilege, Compensation, Cooperation With Counsel and Protection of Business Information," Strafford Publications Webinar, October 11, 2011
Publications and Acknowledgments
Mr. McRae was listed among the top "20 Under 40" California lawyers by the Daily Journal in 2003. In January 2004, Mr. McRae was selected by Law & Politics magazine as one of California's "Superlawyers" in the area of Business Litigation, based on a survey of more than 65,000 California lawyers. He was named in 2006 among the "New Stars, New Worlds" by Lawdragon magazine, which features up-and-coming talent and lawyers with fascinating new practices. He has also authored several articles including "Handling Federal Litigation," published by Practical Law Company in 2011; "Is Government Knowledge a Defense to False Claims Liability: A Discussion of the Role of Government Knowledge Under the California and Federal False Claims Acts," published by BNA, Inc., Federal Contracts Report, Volume 84, No. 11, September 27, 2005; "Gauging Organizational Exposure to Environmental Criminal Liability: A Comparison of the Proposed Environmental Sentencing Guidelines to the Organizational Guidelines and the Department of Justice's Revised Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations," published by the American Bar Association for the National Institute on White Collar Crime in March 2004; "Proof and Pretext: Reeves provides some clarification of the burden-shifting formula in employment discrimination lawsuits," published by the Los Angeles Lawyer in March 2004; "Seeking and Defeating Summary Judgment In Light Of Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products And Its Progeny" which was published in the ALI-ABA Course of Study-Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Actions in Federal and State Courts, Volume 1 in May 2003; and "Grace Under Pressure: Fifteen Steps You Should Take To Manage a Search of Your Client's Office Pursuant to a Federal Warrant" published in the Corporate Counsel's Quarterly and The Lawyer's Brief, Volume 18, No. 3 in July 2002. He is also the co-author of "Closing Arguments," Chapter 37, Business and Commercial Litigation Treatise, West Publishing, 1998.
Education
Mr. McRae received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. He earned a B.A. degree summa cum laude in 1985 from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Recent Publications
2011 Year-End OFAC Update, Client Alert, Jan 18, 2012
Webcast: 2011 Year-End OFAC Update, Webcast, Jan 12, 2012
Handling Federal Litigation: Overview, Article, Oct 1, 2011
Webcast: Ignorance Is Not an Option: Environmental Compliance and Criminal Liability, Webcast, Sep 21, 2011
Webcast: A Gibson Dunn National Security Presentation: 2011 Mid-Year OFAC Update, Webcast, Jul 13, 2011
2010 Year-End OFAC Update, Client Alert, Feb 23, 2011
Webcast: 2010 Year-End OFAC Update, Webcast, Jan 6, 2011
Recent Decisions in Private Sector Qui Tam Cases, Client Alert, Aug 3, 2010
How to Avoid False Claims Act Liability -- What Every Compliance Officer Needs to Know, Client Alert, Mar 26, 2010
Damages in Education False Claims Act Cases -- The Tail That Wags the Dog, Client Alert, Feb 23, 2010
Racial Diversity at the Counsel Table, Article, Jun 8, 2009
Is Government Knowledge a Defense to False Claims Liability? A Discussion of the Role of Government Knowledge Under the California and Federal False Claims Act, Article, Sep 27, 2005