James Asperger
Partner
Jim Asperger is a partner in O’Melveny’s Los Angeles office and the Chair of the White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice. He tries civil and white collar criminal cases, conducts internal corporate investigations, and represents publicly traded companies, audit committees, independent directors, and corporate officers in federal grand jury, SEC, and other government investigations. With his extensive trial experience — more than 20 jury trials and over 100 bench trials and contested evidentiary hearings — he is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Jim’s recent trial experience includes:
- U.S. v. Tenet Healthsystem Hospitals, Inc., Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, and Barry Weinbaum. A victory in an eleven-month criminal jury trial in which Jim represented Alvarado Hospital in defending against charges alleging violations of the federal anti-kickback statute (judge declared mistrial on ground that jury was hopelessly deadlocked after failing to reach a verdict because of government’s failure of proof; charges were thereafter dismissed);
- Henry Huang v. Caltech, Applied Biosystems. A victory in federal district court for Caltech in a patent trial arising from a dispute over the inventorship of the DNA Sequencer, which was used to decode the human genome and represents one of the most significant scientific inventions of the 20th century; and
- Nuance Communications, Inc v. Tellme Networks, Inc. A victory for Nuance in a patent infringement suit against Tellme that ended in a settlement favorable on the seventh day of a 10-day arbitration.
Jim clerked for former Chief Justice (then Justice) William H. Rehnquist. He has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and has handled more than 40 cases before federal and state courts of appeals. He also litigates regularly against federal regulatory enforcement agencies such as the SEC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Customs Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and Inspectors General from a number of agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and NASA.
Jim has extensive experience in representing companies and individuals in sensitive matters involving high-profile media coverage. He frequently works closely and coordinates litigation strategies with experts in crisis management and public relations and in high-profile congressional hearings. For example, Jim has represented:
- Public companies, audit and special committees, directors, and corporate officers in complex financial reporting and accounting investigations, as well as in a number of the stock options investigations that have received recent media attention
- Public companies, corporate executives, doctors, and hospitals for alleged violations of healthcare fraud and abuse and anti-kickback statutes
- Corporate defense contractors, audit committees, independent directors, and company officers in Department of Justice (DOJ), FBI, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigations for alleged violations of the False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and Arms Export Control Act
- Individuals and companies for alleged violations of hazardous waste disposal and other environmental laws
- Companies and defense contractors in federal grand jury investigations for alleged violations of antitrust laws
- Companies and individuals in criminal tax fraud investigations and prosecutions
Jim has been recognized by Chambers and Partners:
Chambers USA -
America’s Leading Business Lawyers as a leading lawyer in the field of White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005). He is listed among the
International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (2008, 2007), and he has been named a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in the field of business litigation in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in
Los Angeles magazine (2008, 2007, 2006, 2005). The
Daily Journal recognized Jim as among the 2006 “Top 100 Attorneys” in California.
Before arriving at O’Melveny, Jim served as Chief of the Major Frauds Section of the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he supervised the investigation and prosecution of complex financial fraud and RICO cases. As a supervisor and trial attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jim received the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Attorney General–one of the highest awards given in the U.S. Department of Justice–and the DOJ Executive Office of the U.S. Attorneys’ Award for Superior Performance as Assistant U.S. Attorney. Examples of his trial victories as an Assistant United States Attorney include his victory in a four-month jury trial in the case of
United States v. Barry Minkow, arising from the ZZZZ Best Carpet Cleaning Scam, and his victory in the racketeering and financial fraud jury trial of Orange County Businessman of the Year Michael E. Parker.
Professional Activities
Law Clerk, The Honorable William H. Rehnquist, U.S. Supreme Court; The Honorable Stanley Mosk, Supreme Court of California
Former Chair, ABA, West Coast White Collar Crime Committee
Vice-Chair, ABA, National White Collar Crime Committee
Lecturer, Continuing legal education courses on criminal law, civil enforcement actions, and the RICO statute