Michael Camunez

Partner

Michael Camuñez is a partner in O’Melveny's Los Angeles office and a member of the White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations and the International Practices. Michael has been repeatedly recognized as a Southern California “Rising Star” in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in Los Angeles magazine and the Southern California edition of Super Lawyers (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). In 2006, California Lawyer recognized Michael as one of the state’s outstanding pro bono lawyers by conferring upon him its inaugural Angel Award. In addition to his practice commitments, Michael also serves as the Hiring Partner for O’Melveny’s Los Angeles Office and is a member of the Firm’s Diversity Advisory Board.

A member of The American Lawyer’s 2004 “Litigation Department of the Year,” Michael has a diverse and broad-based practice that includes complex commercial litigation, corporate investigations and white collar defense, and international litigation. He has represented multinational corporations and financial institutions, officers, directors, and principals in a variety of contexts, including in domestic civil litigation, regulatory and white-collar criminal investigations, ICC international arbitration, at trial in U.S. District Court, and on appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also has extensive experience conducting privileged internal corporate investigations and managing international civil and criminal litigation for U.S. clients litigating abroad, especially in Central and South America. He also has counseled clients concerning compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Before joining the firm, Michael served from 1993-1995 as a Senior Policy Advisor for National Service in the Clinton administration in Washington, DC, and also served on the administration-wide Working Group on Welfare Reform. From 1991-1993, he was the director of the National Service Demonstration Program at the bipartisan
U.S. Commission on National and Community Service.

Illustrative Professional Experience

Corporate Investigations and White Collar Defense

• Represented a senior executive of a publicly-traded company in an internal investigation focusing on allegations that the company’s Chinese subsidiary, which he headed, was engaged in financial impropriety, including a scheme to defraud the Chinese government of tax revenue. The investigation centered both on the events at the Chinese subsidiary and the intersection of those events with the company’s U.S. financial reporting functions. Although the matter was disclosed to the SEC, the Commission took no enforcement action against O’Melveny’s client.
• Represented CEO of a privately held transportation company with revenues in excess of $600 million in connection with an Audit Committee investigation concerning alleged reserve accounting irregularities.
• Served as trial counsel in U.S. District Court to defendant charged by the IRS & DOJ with multiple count violations of Federal False Statements Act (18 USC Sec. 1001) resulting in complete acquittal on all counts
• Represented a leading non-prime mortgage lender and servicer in connection with an SEC, DOJ and bankruptcy examiner investigations arising from the restatement of the company’s financial statements and subsequent bankruptcy
• Represented a former FBI Agent in a nationally prominent foreign counterintelligence investigation litigated under the Classified Information Procedures Act, which was profiled in the June 2006 edition of The American Lawyer and recognized by California Lawyer as one of the top pro bono cases in 2006
• Represented a major chip manufacturer in a Trade Secrets misappropriation investigation and dispute concerning the alleged theft of the company’s intellectual property by departing employees and their new employer
• Defended executive officers of an international manufacturing corporation in a multicount federal indictment for interstate transportation of stolen goods, fraud and corporate theft resulting in complete dismissal before trial
• Represented a Department of Defense contractor in an internal investigation into potential federal False Claims Act and Whistleblower violations
• Represented employee of a division of a large defense contractor in a federal criminal environmental prosecution alleging violations of the RCRA and Clean Water Act statutes
• Represented a major entertainment/news corporation in an internal investigation involving alleged employee misconduct resulting in OSHA violations

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Counseling

• Represented U.S. holding companies and U.S. and Foreign Financial Institutions in privileged internal investigations concerning alleged violations of the FCPA in jurisdictions around the globe
• Counsel various international businesses and publicly traded companies in conducting business overseas in a manner consistent with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including conducting due diligence as part of mergers and acquisitions and internal reviews, investigating allegations of wrongdoings and advising regarding disclosures to the Justice Department and SEC, and obtaining formal and informal reviews by and approval from U.S. and foreign officials
• Design and implement compliance programs designed to prevent violations of law and company policy

International Litigation

• Represented two global financial services companies and their chairmen and senior executive officers in multinational litigation and ICC arbitration proceedings involving allegations of director negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and securities fraud in connection with one of the largest bank failures in South American history
• Counsel U.S. and European financial institutions concerning ongoing foreign civil and criminal litigation in South America, including coordinating multinational, multi-jurisdictional parallel proceedings

Complex Commercial Litigation

• Defended a public retirement fund trust administrator in a California False Claims Act investigation and follow-on qui tam litigation concerning the handling of unclaimed participant funds under the California Unclaimed Property Law
• Represented a leading Latino civil rights advocacy organization as Amicus Curiae before the U.S. Supreme Court in Crawford, et al. vs. Marion County Election Board, et al. in a challenge to the State of Indiana’s voter identification statute
• Defended claims brought by foreign depositors alleging securities fraud and civil RICO violations against U.S. and German banks in the Southern District of New York and the New York Supreme Court
• Defended a leading international package delivery company in a national, coordinated multidistrict litigation and putative class action concerning the classification of putative employees
• Represented a major California utility in civil litigation involving Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 17200 unfair competition and antitrust claims

Professional Activities

Admitted to Practice, All California state courts; U.S. District Court, Central District of California; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit; United States Supreme Court
Bar Affiliations, American Bar Association, including Sections on Criminal Law and International Law; ABA National Committee on White Collar Crime; Los Angeles County Bar Association

Public Service

Commissioner (2007 to present), Los Angeles City Ethics Commission
State Commissioner (2002-2007), Appointed by Governor Gray Davis (2002) and re-appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (2005) to the Board of Commissioners of California Volunteers, a multi-million dollar public foundation responsible for awarding grants and promoting community service throughout California. Served as Chairman of the Commission (2006 and 2007) along with Honorary Co-Chair and First Lady Maria Shriver.
President, Board of Trustees (2007 to present), Mexican American Bar Foundation
Member, Stanford Law School Board of Visitors; National Advisory Board, Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford University.
Member, Pacific Council on International Policy
Member, Chancery Club of Los Angeles

Awards, Recipient of California Lawyer’s “Angel Award” as one of California’s leading pro bono attorneys

Language, Spanish