Manny Abascal is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins. Mr. Abascal’s practice focuses on government investigations, internal investigations and complex business litigation. Mr. Abascal, former co-chair of the Litigation Department in Los Angeles, has handled a wide variety of litigation matters, including multiple criminal and civil jury trials; SEC proceedings; criminal, civil and administrative investigations; internal investigations; voluntary disclosures and testimony before Congress and state legislative bodies. These matters have involved several industries, including healthcare, financial institutions, financial services, investment advisors and hedge funds, entertainment, accounting, construction, food and agriculture, e-commerce and technology.
Prior to joining Latham & Watkins, Mr. Abascal was an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles, where he prosecuted and tried numerous and diverse business and financial fraud cases. Mr. Abascal served as the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Coordinator for the Los Angeles office, where he directed the office’s prosecution of computer and intellectual property crimes.
While at Latham, Mr. Abascal has dedicated a substantial amount of his time towards pro bono work for needy individuals and worthy organizations. Representative engagements include: representing numerous victims of domestic violence, including conducting a trial on behalf of a disabled domestic violence victim; representing a non-governmental organization in efforts to halt human trafficking, child exploitation and other human rights violations; and representing multiple refugees seeking political asylum. Mr. Abascal is also very active in various non-profit organizations throughout Southern California including, Public Counsel, Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital, Food from the Bar, Mexican American Bar Association, Five Acres, and Buildable Hours Los Angeles.
Mr. Abascal has extensive trial experience in complex and high profile matters. Representative trial engagements include:
- Mr. Abascal was hired three weeks before trial to act as lead counsel against several nationally prominent law firms in a complex arbitration that had been litigated for over a year involving control and ownership of a large, privately held financial services company. He obtained a favorable settlement.
- Mr. Abascal acted as lead counsel for the plaintiff in an arbitration involving a breach of contract that resulted in an mid-eight figure award for his client.
- Mr. Abascal acted as lead plaintiff’s counsel on behalf of a publicly traded nutrition company in a complex jury trial involving adulterated products. He was engaged two days before trial and obtained a favorable jury verdict and award.
- Mr. Abascal acted as co-lead counsel in the successful defense of a Tenet Healthcare subsidiary in connection with two federal criminal trials, one lasting 7 months and the other lasting 11 months, alleging violations of the anti-kickback statute. Both cases ended in hung juries and the government ultimately dismissed the criminal case.
Mr. Abascal also has extensive experience representing companies and individuals in government investigations. Representative engagements include:
- Representation of publicly traded medical device manufacturer in investigation relating to foreign corruption. No charges filed.
- Representation of Chairman and CEO of large, nationwide and publicly traded financial institution specializing in originating subprime loans in an SEC and DOJ investigation relating to accounting and disclosure fraud. No charges filed.
- Representation of publicly traded technology company in state and federal investigations involving alleged market manipulation. No charges filed.