Gary S. Lincenberg

High-Stakes Trials, White Collar Criminal Defense, Internal Investigations, Government Investigations, Securities, Health Care, Environmental and Complex Civil Litigation

In the past five years, Mr. Lincenberg’s trial success has been unparalleled. In 2025, the Daily Journal recognized Mr. Lincenberg as the California Lawyer of the Year. In 2024, Global Investigations Review recognized his San Francisco trial victory in the HP/Autonomy federal criminal prosecution as Most Important Case of the Year. Law360 named him the nation’s top lawyer of the week. Benchmark Litigation shortlisted Mr. Lincenberg as the top white collar defense attorney in California, an award he previously won in 2021. His recent victories also include a complete victory in the Bel Air/Mohamed Hadid real estate dispute in a two-month Los Angeles trial, defeating the California Attorney General in a three-month oil spill prosecution in Santa Barbara, and a mid-trial dismissal of all charges in a federal criminal fraud case in San Diego.

Chambers USA always ranks him in the prestigious Band One category of “Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations.”

“Sometimes words in the English language are insufficient. This is one of those occasions. I met Gary 10 years ago as we embarked on a journey to defend my innocence in a U.S. fraud trial.

The entire team at Bird Marella [was] amazing. Together we fought the U.S. government every step of the way and won!! The dedication and commitment to helping me get my life back was unwavering and relentless. He is a truly exceptional lawyer and someone I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with for the rest of my life. One of a kind, and don’t think twice about hiring him. It will be the best decision you make.” -Stephen Chamberlain, Former VP of Finance, Autonomy

“He’s an excellent trial lawyer and a fearless advocate. Gary is one of the best lawyers in the state, if not one of the best in the country. In terms of his litigation skills, he’s great on his feet and has really good judgment.” –Chambers USA

“Gary represented my company in high-stakes litigation and achieved an outstanding result. He is organized, thorough, and persuasive, and he has a great sense of the best path to success. I would recommend Gary to any General Counsel in need of a Top Gun.” –Eric Lardiere, General Counsel of Meggitt USA

“I feel incredibly fortunate to have been represented by Gary Lincenberg and his firm… Gary believed in me. He developed a brilliant strategy, gave an opening statement that brought me to tears, and eventually got all charges against me dismissed. I am eternally grateful. I couldn’t have picked a better legal team to represent and advise me during the most challenging time in my life. [Their] meticulous research, well-constructed strategy, and arguments fully paid off. It resulted in a success I had only hoped for. Getting the case dismissed was the dream victory and [they] did it!” –Petr Pacas, Advertising Executive

“As the CEO of a software company, I was criminally charged with unfounded allegations relating to certain data privacy issues. Mr. Lincenberg jumped on my case. He developed a smart strategy and then tenaciously and brilliantly carried it out. Within one month of being retained, he persuaded the Court to reverse restrictive bail conditions and then got the entire case dismissed. I owe my freedom to Mr. Lincenberg. I am forever grateful for the way he cares for his clients and has the experience, judgment and brilliance to protect them.” -Eugene Yu, CEO of Konnech, Inc.

Mr. Lincenberg defends freedom. Executives and businesses facing a loss of liberty from government investigations or consequential disputes need an attorney who is savvy in the courtroom with a proven record of winning; has deep experience in dealing with a wide range of strategic, procedural, and factual issues; and offers sound judgment. In these areas, Mr. Lincenberg excels. That is why judges and his peers consistently rank him among the very best trial attorneys in the country. Mr. Lincenberg has handled a wide variety of cases, including securities, intellectual property, real estate, False Claims Act, FCPA, investment, tax, real estate, banking, money laundering, money remitting, government contractor, economic espionage, export, health care, environmental, public corruption, program fraud, election law, first amendment, entertainment, and defamation cases. Prior to joining Bird Marella, he served as a supervisory Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California.

Mr. Lincenberg is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He currently chairs Senator Adam B. Schiff’s Judicial Selection Commission. He served as the National Co-Chairman of the ABA’s White Collar Crime Committee; Co-Chair of the CJS ABA Liaison Committee to the Department of Justice; Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference; President of the Los Angeles County Chapter of the Federal Bar Association; and Chairman of the ABA Southern California Regional White Collar Crime Committee. Furthermore, Mr. Lincenberg served as Co-Finance Chair of Senator Adam Schiff’s successful 2024 campaign and is also an instructor at Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Class. He regularly participates in professional activities integral to his success – presenting lectures, writing, and volunteering in the community – along with continually improving his skills in counseling, negotiating, and arguing in court.

Mr. Lincenberg is regularly recognized among the top white collar defense attorneys in all of the leading legal publications. Chambers and Partners USA ranks Mr. Lincenberg in the selective Band 1 group – describing him as “marvelous,” and “quick to adapt to changing circumstances in the courtroom.” The Daily Journal has recognized him as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California – one of only five true white collar crime specialists to be honored.

Mr. Lincenberg is best known for his strategic approach to avoiding charges against his clients and for his superior skills at trial. Many white collar defense attorneys rarely try a criminal case and have seldom defeated the government at trial. Mr. Lincenberg has an extraordinary record of success at trial, including complete victories, or hung juries resulting in dismissals, in five of his last six criminal trials. He has been retained by a host of large companies such as Plains, Providence, Epson, Yahoo, Lennar, Unocal, Marathon Oil, Raytheon, Meggitt, Woodward, Sunrider, Northrop, Las Vegas Sands Corporation, as well as scores of companies and their executives.

American College of Trial Lawyers; Federal Bar Association (former President and current member Board of Directors); ABA (Former National Chair, White Collar Crime Committee; Winner of Outstanding National Leadership award)

Co-Author, "The Legality of the U.S. Abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro," The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators, July 2026

Co-Author, "Legal issues for employers arising out of ICE raids," Daily Journal, July 2025

Co-Author, "Eulogy of an Acquittal: 'I am an Innocent Man,'" White-Collar Crime - California, Chambers and Partners Global, October 2024

Quoted, "Litigators of the Week: In Case Prosecutors Described as Silicon Valley’s Biggest Corporate Fraud, Two Complete Defense Verdicts," Law.com, 2024

Quoted, "How 3 Firms Cleared 2 Ex-Autonomy Execs In HP Fraud Case," Law360, 2024

Co-Author, “'Property' Fraud in an Intangible Age," Chambers Expert Focus, Chambers and Partners, January 2023

Co-Author, “'Property' Fraud in the Intangible Age,” 37 American Bar Association Criminal Justice Magazine, No. 2, Summer 2022; and in The Champion, August 2022

Contributor, “California: An Introduction to Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations,” Chambers and Partners USA, May 2021

Harvard Law School; Former Supervising Assistant US Attorney

On behalf of Plains GP Holdings, a Fortune 100 company, in a four-month trial arising out of an oil spill in Santa Barbara. Court orders and verdicts resulted in dismissal on the known felony counts, dismissal of the three individuals, and defeating 99.7% of the State’s fines and restitutions claims.

At prelim, obtained a full dismissal of all criminal charges brought by the California Attorney General against the largest construction framing company in the country and its CEO.

Successfully represented KST Data, Inc. and its chief principal – obtaining a dismissal of criminal charges relating to false claims in connection with a declination of parallel civil charges.

Successfully defended a public company, Woodward Inc., its subsidiary, and the subsidiary’s prior owners, in a defective pricing/FCA criminal and civil prosecution by the USAO for the Northern District of Illinois. Obtained declinations against former owners and achieved global monetary settlement for company of ten cents on the alleged dollar.

Successfully directed numerous internal investigations for public companies of false claims allegations where we avoided charges.

As an AUSA in the Government Fraud section, investigated and prosecuted several large FCA cases.

Obtained dismissal with prejudice for Chicago attorney/NFL sports agent in investment fraud case.

Won motion to vacate SEC award involving high profile insider trading case, United States v. Newman, and related case SEC v Dosti.

Won dismissal of all charges against the executive of a Chinese public company charged with theft of trade secrets. Mr. Lincenberg’s cross-examination in Iowa of FBI agents, which led to the dismissal of the charges, is highlighted in Mara Hvistendahl’s book, The Scientist and the Spy.

Harvard Law School, J.D.

University of Illinois, B.A., Bronze Tablet Award for Top 1 percent, summa cum laude