Tom McNamara has a deep and diverse background in both civil and criminal law which has enabled him to implement creative, flexible, and bottom-line strategies for optimum results in a wide range of sophisticated matters.

After his graduation from law school and a one-year clerkship with a federal district court judge, he was a litigation associate in the Washington D.C. office of a national law firm focused on corporate securities business matters and securities litigation. He then served for 11 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in San Diego with a primary focus on economic crimes and public corruption. For a thirteen-month period, he was detailed to Washington D.C. as a prosecutor with the Campaign Finance Task Force growing out of the 1996 Presidential Election.

He left government service and returned to private practice with a focus on white collar matters, civil litigation, internal investigations and receiverships/monitorships:

On white collar matters, he has represented clients in federal and state courts and in grand jury and SEC investigations across the country – these matters have involved allegations of health care fraud, computer crimes, financial fraud, FDA violations, public corruption, and insider trading. As a long-time federal prosecutor and seasoned defense lawyer, he understands the complexities and nuances of these investigations and/or prosecutions and navigates clients through the process to achieve the best result possible.

He has represented clients in a broad range of complex civil litigation matters and class actions in federal and state courts and has tried numerous cases to judges, juries, and arbitration panels.  

He has conducted internal corporate investigations on behalf of inside counsel, board committees, and nonprofits.

He has been appointed receiver by federal district courts in more than 40 actions brought by federal and state regulators. He has also served as a court-appointed monitor on several occasions.

For further details on representative matters, see Experience.

Education

  • University of San Diego School of Law (J.D. 1986), Managing Editor, San Diego Law Review
  • University of Nevada (B.S. 1983)

Judicial Clerkships

  • Hon. Roger D. Foley, U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada

Admissions

  • California
  • District of Columbia
  • Nevada
  • U.S. District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California
  • U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Professional Activities

  • American Bar Association, Member, Criminal Justice Section, White Collar Crime Committee
  • San Diego County Bar Association
  • Irish American Bar Association of San Diego

Recognitions

  • U.S. Department of Justice, Director’s Award (1996 and 2001)

Representative government investigation and enforcement matters include the following:

  • Representing companies and individuals in investigations of alleged misbranding and adulteration under the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)
  • Representing pharmaceutical executives in Off-Label Promotion investigations
  • Conducting internal investigations into issues such as allegations of self-dealing, revenue recognition, and employee threats
  • Representing hospital executive in Anti-Kickback investigation and prosecution brought by the U.S. Attorney’s office; charges dismissed after trial
  • Representing senior city executive in SEC investigation into municipal bond issuances and disclosure documents
  • Representing attorney in SEC insider trading investigation
  • Representing executive in computer crimes investigation and prosecution
  • Representing individual in government procurement fraud prosecution

Mr. McNamara’s practice also encompasses complex commercial litigation and class actions in federal and state courts. These matters include consumer class actions, securities class actions, trademark and trade secret lawsuits, and contract disputes.

Representative civil litigation matters include the following:

  • Defending Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) class action cases on behalf of companies
  • Defending securities class actions in state and federal court on behalf of developer client
  • Defending consumer class actions arising out of the September 2011 Southern California electrical blackout
  • Prosecuting Lanham Act violations on behalf of Fortune 500 company
  • Defending California Wiretap class action cases on behalf of financial services client

Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California (1991-2002). Focused on major economic crimes and public corruption. He worked on the Campaign Financing Task Force in Washington, D.C., investigating violations of federal campaign finance laws during the 1996 presidential election, and was the lead prosecutor in the Task Force’s first indicted case.