WENDY THOMAS

BAR ADMISSIONS:

New York, 2005

California, 2010 U.S. 

District Court, Northern California

U.S. District Court, Central California

U.S. District Court, Eastern California

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

EDUCATION:

Columbia University School of Law, JD 

University of California, Los Angeles, BA

EXPERIENCE:

Wendy Thomas is one of TT & E's founding partners and practices out of our Los Angeles office. She concentrates her practice on professional liability, shareholder disputes and derivative litigation, securities, white-collar, and business litigation. She has first-chaired more than fifteen trials to conclusion since her admission to practice law in 2005 and has also participated in numerous commercial arbitrations.

Prior to entering private practice, Wendy worked as a federal prosecutor at the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, specializing in white-collar, environmental, and immigration crimes, where she handled a variety of cases through every phase of prosecution, including grand jury, motion practice, trial, sentencing, and appeal.  As a federal prosecutor, she prosecuted 300 cases in the Northern District of California.

REPRESENTATIVE CASES:

Won summary judgment in favor of insurance agents in seven-figure insurance coverage case that alleged professional negligence and fraud causes of action against insurance agents, resulting in dismissal of clients from lawsuit.

Negotiated settlement of TCPA class action for defendant that was less than one percent of amount initially demanded by plaintiffs 

Arbitrated $40 million negligent design and construction dispute related to one of the largest personal residences in the United States.

Obtained dismissal after filing motion for summary judgment in seven-figure legal malpractice case involving underlying bankruptcy litigation.

Obtained dismissal of fraud action representing national sports retailer and its former management in case involving asset-backed lender foreclosing on company’s assets pursuant to Article 9 UCC sale with no money paid by client to secure dismissal.

Prevailed on early motion to dismiss in case against financial management firm alleging negligence and unauthorized practice of law.

Secured dismissal of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty action against wealth management company with no money paid by client .

Defended former officers and directors of dye-sublimation technology company in corporate waste, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty suit alleging direct and derivative claims related to blocked sale of the company to strategic partner and issuance of convertible notes allegedly without the board’s knowledge or approval and secured favorable settlement – less than 5% of damages sought by plaintiffs.

Defended officers and directors of manufacturing corporation in suit alleging hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in case involving direct and derivative claims related to assets of company being assigned for benefit of creditors.

Defended charter school against verified petition for writ of mandate and complaint for injunctive relief alleging CEQA violations   

Defended insurance coverage law firm against seven-figure claims related to inaccurate coverage opinion prepared by firm.

Defended law firm in professional malpractice action involving multimillion-dollar real estate deal.

Conducted jury trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Wilshire Boulevard high-rise property dispute related to flooding damage, environmental contamination, and remediation.

Won arbitration involving shareholder dispute of closely held corporation by successfully petitioning to restore shareholder rights of an individual shareholder and secured multimillion-dollar settlement for shareholder.

Secured dismissal of federal lawsuit filed against law firm at pleadings stage with no money paid by client or carrier.

Defended law firm against multimillion-dollar legal malpractice claims arising from alleged conflict of interest and discovery violations following construction defect trial.

Defended management of billion-dollar medical device and life science company in derivative breach of fiduciary duty action that also had parallel federal criminal proceeding.

Defended management, officers, and directors of hydroponics company in multiple shareholder derivative and class action lawsuits involving allegations of mismanagement, insider transactions, disputes over corporate governance, and challenges to the issuance of company’s shares.

Defended publicly-traded company against alter ego and fraudulent conveyance claims brought in breach of lease case and obtained favorable settlement – less than 5% of damages initially sought by plaintiff, which was lower amount than had been offered at inception of litigation.

Defended financial advisor in professional negligence, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty case related to ERISA compensation plan of which plaintiffs were beneficiaries.

Defended pharmaceutical company against allegations by shareholder alleging right to consulting compensation.

Defended third-party administrator of defined benefit plan in case involving cybersecurity breach.

Defended software developer in breach of contract, tortious interference, negligence, and fraud case regarding iOS, Android, and backend software development services provided on application development project.

Defended law firm against tortious interference, misappropriation of trade secrets, and quantum meruit claims and secured seven-figure settlement for client.

Defended law firm against legal malpractice claims following multimillion-dollar trial verdict in underlying case.

Defended a publicly-traded company against misappropriation of trade secrets and corporate raiding claims brought by multinational conglomerate related to call-center activities in the Philippines and obtained complete dismissal with prejudice and full release of client with no money paid by client after almost four years of litigation.

Represented lawyer threatened with referral to disciplinary proceedings.

Defended award of tens of millions of dollars in attorney’s fees that resulted from over 60 class action lawsuits brought pursuant to Truth in Lending Act against various financial institutions.

Defended insurance agencies and insurance agents against allegations of professional negligence.

Defended lawyer against legal malpractice claims related to establishment and funding of family trust.

Defended interior design company against trademark claims brought by the Rothschild family and obtained complete dismissal with prejudice of all claims with no money paid by client and without sacrifice of any intellectual property rights.

Defended largest provider of midway entertainment in North America in lawsuit filed by State of Michigan that sought $1 million in damages against client. Countersued State of Michigan and ultimately obtained complete dismissal of State’s case as well as monetary damages against State and even reinstatement of client’s contractual rights. Also successfully moved to compel deposition of Governor of the State of Michigan, becoming one of the only attorneys in history of the United States to obtain court order commanding sitting governor to be deposed.

Successfully defended award of attorney’s fees on appeal following a multimillion-dollar jury trial verdict.