Sarah Tomkowiak has been recognized as a rising star in Securities Litigation. She represents litigants in complex, high-stakes civil business disputes and investigations, including securities class actions, commercial litigation, and enforcement actions. She has extensive trial and arbitration experience as well, including a major victory in one of the only securities class actions to go to a jury trial in a decade.

Profile

Ms. Tomkowiak advises an array of clients in numerous industries, including healthcare, life sciences, technology, education, commercial real estate, and financial services.

Ms. Tomkowiak is an accomplished trial attorney, with victories at all stages of cases, in federal, state, and arbitral venues. She recently served as trial counsel in the first federal securities class action to reach a jury verdict in over a decade. In that matter, the trial team achieved a unanimous verdict in the clients’ favor on the majority of plaintiffs’ claims and defeated more than 95% of plaintiffs’ claimed damages.

Ms. Tomkowiak also represents issuers and executives facing SEC subpoenas and investigations, as well as board committees in connection with internal investigations into financial reporting, accounting, disclosures, and internal controls issues. She advises clients on a range of matters, including corporate governance and the securities laws.

Ms. Tomkowiak has been recognized as a Rising Star in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers lists 2014-2017, and as a Law360 Rising Star in 2019.

Leadership

Ms. Tomkowiak is a founding member of Washington Area Women Trial Attorneys (WAWTA). She is also active in the D.C. Women’s Bar Association and is vice chair of the ABA’s Class and Derivative Actions Subcommittee. She co-authors the ABA’s annual publication Recent Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation - Class Actions.

Ms. Tomkowiak participates in firm management, previously serving on Latham’s Recruiting, Associates, and Pro Bono Committees.

Ms. Tomkowiak’s recent experience includes:

  • At trial, defeated more than 95% of plaintiffs’ claimed damages in rare federal securities class action to go to jury verdict. Named one of the Top Defense Verdicts of 2019 by the Daily Journal. Hsu v. Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2019).
  • Currently representing the nation’s leading commercial real estate information provider pursuing copyright infringement, unfair competition and breach of contract claims against a rival competitor. CoStar v. CREXi (C.D. Cal.).
  • Currently representing General Electric in pending securities class action and was part of the team that secured complete dismissal of a securities fraud class action against General Electric, in win named Litigator of the Week Runner-Up by The American LawyerSjunde AP-Fonden v. General Electric Company (S.D.N.Y.) & Birnbaum v. General Electric Company (S.D.N.Y. 2020) (affirmed 2021).
  • Currently representing a major global bank pursuing fraud claims against a hedge fund in chapter 11 case and related adversary proceeding.
  • Currently representing a leading education technology company in a pending securities class action alleging misleading statements in connection with financial projections. In re 2U Securities Class Action (D. Md.)
  • Secured dismissal of securities class action and derivative case against drug developer alleging misleading statements in connection with clinical trial results. Salinger v. Sarepta Therapeutics (S.D.N.Y. 2020).
  • Successfully represented CoreCivic in pending securities class action alleging misleading statements in connection with the DOJ’s 2016 announcement to end the Bureau of Prison’s reliance on private prisons. Grae v. Corrections Corp. of America (M.D. Tenn.).
  • Successfully represented Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and was part of the team that secured dismissal of a securities fraud class action against Wal-Mart’s Mexican subsidiary. City of Pontiac General Employees’ Retirement System v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (W.D. Ark. 2018) & Fogel v. Vega (S.D.N.Y. 2018).
  • Successfully represented Weatherford International in securities fraud class actions related to the Company’s restatement of certain financial statements due to tax accounting errors. Dobina v. Weatherford International, Ltd. (S.D.N.Y. 2014); Freedman v. Weatherford International Ltd. (S.D.N.Y. 2015).
  • Won complete dismissal of all claims on behalf of a leading manufacturer of retail anti-theft systems, in a securities class action related to the company’s restatement of certain financial statements due to tax accounting errors. Meier v. Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (D.N.J. 2017).
  • Successfully represented a for-profit hospital chain in a Section 11 securities class action challenging disclosures in the offering materials for the company’s initial public offering. 
  • Successfully represented Booz Allen, a consulting services firm, and officers in a federal securities fraud jury trial (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Bar Qualification

  • District of Columbia
  • Illinois

Education

  • JD, University of Illinois College of Law, 2007
    summa cum laude
  • BA, University of Missouri, 2004
    Bachelor of Arts With Honors in Communication, Bachelor of Arts in German, summa cum laude
General Recognition Thumbnail
February 9, 2020Recognition

Daily Dicta: Latham’s Billion Dollar Litigator

For many lawyers, litigating a billion-dollar case is a once-in-a-career opportunity. Latham & Watkins partner Andrew Clubok has won three in the last year alone.