Bob McGahan is a partner in Goodwin Procter’s Litigation Department and a member of its White Collar Crime & Government Investigations, Commercial Litigation and Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement Practices. A trial lawyer who has been lead or co-lead counsel in more than a dozen trials and arbitrations, Mr. McGahan maintains a diverse practice representing corporations and individuals in civil and criminal litigation and government investigations. He also assists corporations and other entities with compliance with state and federal regulatory matters, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. McGahan was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
In 2008, Mr. McGahan was appointed as co-chair to the ABA Criminal Justice Section White Collar Crime Committee’s Corporate Criminal Liability subcommittee.
MEDIA
Mr. McGahan is a frequent lecturer and author on litigation matters. He has been a featured speaker for the Civil Justice Association of California and the Civil Justice Reform Group. Mr. McGahan was also featured in a documentary entitled “The Rise and Fall of Bill Lerach.”
Mr. McGahan has also been featured in articles appearing in California Lawyer, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the National Law Journal, The Recorder, Reuters.com, Securities.Law.360.com and TheDeal.com.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Major Frauds Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Mr. McGahan represented the United States in criminal proceedings at trial and on appeal. Notably, he served as one of the lead prosecutors in the criminal case against the nation’s most prominent class action law firm for paying illegal kickbacks and obstructing justice in United States v. Milberg Weiss LLP, et al., a case which one leading financial newspaper described as “a watershed moment in the history of the U.S. legal system.” The case resulted in eleven convictions, including four senior partners of Milberg Weiss, see, e.g., United States v. William S. Lerach and United States v. Melvyn I. Weiss.
In addition, Mr. McGahan prosecuted securities brokers in a penny-stock “pump-and-dump” scheme; prosecuted an internet auction and bank fraud case; prosecuted a government program fraud case involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture food stamp program; and briefed and argued numerous cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also served as Acting Deputy Chief for the Major Frauds Section.
Prior to his work within the United States Attorney’s Office, Mr. McGahan was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Bird Marella Boxer & Wolpert, P.C., and an associate in the Washington, D.C. firm of Miller Cassidy Larroca & Lewin LLP. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Before entering law school, Mr. McGahan served as an M1A1 tank company executive officer and platoon leader in the U.S. Army in the Federal Republic of Germany.
BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS
Mr. McGahan is admitted to practice in California.
RECOGNITION
Mr. McGahan was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in California.” In addition, he was awarded the Chief Inspector’s Award by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for excellence in government service.