John M. Moscarino

John Moscarino represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex litigation matters in federal and state courts. His practice encompasses such diverse areas as professional malpractice, sports and entertainment, securities fraud, labor and employment, real estate, defamation, intellectual property, unfair competition and related business torts. In addition to his trial practice, Mr. Moscarino has handled numerous appeals. He regularly represents clients in arbitrations and mediations and has served as a mediator himself.

Mr. Moscarino has served as an expert witness in legal malpractice matters.

Mr. Moscarino has written and lectured extensively on a variety of business-related topics. He regularly teaches in the Deposition Skills program sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA).

Mr. Moscarino is:

• The youngest person on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 1997 list of the “50 Top L.A. Lawyers You Should Know.”
• Profiled in the “20 under 40” feature of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals.
• On the inaugural list of “Southern California Super Lawyers” in 2004 and listed as a “Super Lawyer” every year since then.
• A Charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Mr. Moscarino is a graduate of both Dartmouth College and the UCLA School of Law and has been an active fundraiser for both.

Representative matters:

• Won a $42 million verdict for his client in a fraud and malpractice case against a Big Five accounting firm arising out of that firm’s engagement as an expert witness for the client. The case was aggressively litigated over nine years and generated four published opinions establishing significant precedents. Mattco Forge, Inc. v. Arthur Young & Co., Inc. 52 Cal.App 4th 920 (1997); 38 Cal. App. 4th 1337 (1995); 5 Cal. App. 4th 392 (1992); 223 Cal. App. 3d 1429 (1990).
• Successfully represented a real estate developer in establishing its right to enforce a $15 million liquidated damages provision in a promissory note that was secured by a first deed of trust.
• Represented a large national law firm in a multi-million dollar malpractice case winning dismissal of the case as time-barred under the statute of limitations. The California Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal, resolving a conflict in lower court opinions and adopting narrow construction of the “continuous representation” tolling provisions of the California attorney malpractice statute of limitations. Beal Bank, SSB v. Arter & Hadden LLP, 42 Cal. 4th 503 (2007).
• Represented a large international bank in a $35 million fraud case, ultimately recovering a significant portion of its losses.
• Represented two professional basketball players claiming that their business manager embezzled millions of dollars, winning a financial recovery from four separate defendants, and resulting in criminal conviction of the business manager.
• Successfully defended a real estate developer in an arbitration filed by a land planner who sought a multi-million dollar recovery arising out of the development of the Lake at Las Vegas project.
• Won dismissal on the first day of trial for former owners of a mining company who were named defendants in a securities fraud case.
• Won dismissal of a group of corporations and lawyers in a malicious prosecution case filed by an individual who had been acquitted in a criminal insurance fraud case.
• Won an arbitration for a professional basketball player whose shoe endorsement contract was terminated by the shoe manufacturer for an alleged violation of the morals clause in the contract.
• Represented a bank consulting company in a legal malpractice case brought against a local Los Angeles lawyer and his small law firm arising out of a claim for breach of a royalty agreement. The matter was favorably resolved after the first day of testimony.
• Won dismissal of a malpractice claim against a well-known Los Angeles litigation boutique in a malpractice case brought by the firm’s former client.
• Represented a large national law firm in an interference with contract case in which the firm was sued for allegedly disregarding a law firm’s lien when disbursing proceeds of a settlement. After a few strategically chosen depositions, the case settled for an amount far below the cost of defense.
• Represented a garment manufacturer in a malpractice action against its accountants for failing to detect embezzlement by a bookkeeper. The matter was resolved favorably to the client shortly after an accounting malpractice complaint was filed against the accounting firm.
• Advised the partners in a small Los Angeles law firm on structuring their partnership and the developing a system for dividing profits.
• Successful appeal overturning a seven figure trial court verdict where the client had been previously represented by another law firm. The Court of Appeal not only reversed the judgment, but ordered the judgment be entered in favor of the client, paving the way for a successful attorneys’ fee motion.
• Successfully represented a lawyer who obtained an equitable lien on an attorneys’ fees award in a civil forfeiture action.