Eric Landau, Chair of Securities Litigation Department, has been a trusted legal advisor and trial attorney for four decades. He represents public and private companies, directors, officers, shareholders and business leaders in a variety of industries, including financial, technology, health care, energy, fashion, pharmaceutical, entertainment, media, alcohol beverage, gaming and hospitality.
As a securities litigator, he has defended directors, officers and issuers against securities class and derivative actions before state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Taking on the toughest of issues, Mr. Landau has been at the forefront of pivotal decisions in state law-based merger challenges and the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
As corporate governance counsel, Mr. Landau has assisted boards of directors in reviewing and establishing procedures to help ensure compliance with their fiduciary duties and responsibilities. With his years of experience in the courtroom and boardroom, Mr. Landau also has helped guide corporate leaders through some of the most important and game-changing events in the life of a company, including advising with respect to proxy fights, hostile takeovers and advances by activist shareholders, as well as tender offers, mergers, and “interested director” transactions, to minimize litigation risk. He also has been chosen to lead numerous special committees through internal investigations as independent counsel.
Having practiced in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Mr. Landau appreciates and understands the intricacies of some of the most demanding legal markets in the world, and is dedicated to helping his clients safely navigate the waters. Whether the situation calls for preventative policies and procedures, deal advocacy, dispute resolution, or bet-the-company litigation, Mr. Landau has the experience to strategically assess the challenges and opportunities and assist clients in charting the course.
Mr. Landau presently serves as Chair of the Local Rules Advisory Committee for the Central District of California. He served as President of the Federal Bar Association, Orange County Chapter, and was a Delegate to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference. In addition, he previously served as an Executive Committee Member of the RAND Corporation Institute for Civil Justice.
Mr. Landau is admitted to practice in the state courts of California, New York, Illinois and the District of Columbia, and before the United States Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit, Second Circuit, Seventh Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, and federal district courts in California, New York, Illinois, Virginia, Florida, Nevada and Michigan. He earned his law degree from Washington University School of Law in 1982 and holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biology and Economics from Washington University’s College of Arts & Sciences.
Education
- Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri
- J.D. – 1982
- Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
- A.B. – 1979
- Major: Economics
- Major: Biology
Bar Admissions
- California
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- New York
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Federal Courts
Published Works
- Supreme Court Clarifies What It Means to “Make” a Statement for Rule 10b-5 Liability, 2011
- Employee Contact with Opposing Counsel, 2011
- Supreme Court Resolves Circuit Split on Proof of Loss Causation at the Class Certification Stage, 2011
- Supreme Court to Consider Circuit Split on Proof of Loss Causation at the Class Certification Stage, 2011
- U.S. Supreme Court Rules That a Drug’s Adverse Event Reports May be Material to Investors Even Though not “Statistically Significant”, 2011
- SEC Proposes Rules for New Whistleblower Program, 2010
- Employee Contact with Opposing Counsel, California Bar Journal, 2010
- Special Committees for Tough Economic Times and Beyond, Vol. 24, No. 3, 2009
Honors
- Southern California’s “Super Lawyers”
- “Top Lawyers” in Orange County
- “100 Lawyers You Need To Know In Securities Litigation”
- “Securities Lawyer of the Year,” Century City Bar Association
Past Positions
- Thomas Whitelaw & Kolegraff LLP, Partner, Chair Securities Litigation Group, 2019 to 2021
- Jones Day, Partner, Securities Litigation Group, 2008 to 2019
- McDermott, Will & Emery, Partner, National Chair Securities Litigation Group, 2001 to 2008
Professional Associations
- Chair, Local Rules Advisory Committee, Central District of California
- Former Executive Committee Member, RAND Corporation, Institute for Civil Justice
- Former President, Federal Bar Association, Orange County Chapter
- Former Delegate, Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference