Gareth T. Evans is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Los Angeles office. He is a member of the Litigation Department and his practice is focused on securities litigation and complex business litigation.
Mr. Evans has significant experience in the area of electronic discovery. He is one of the Co-Chairs of the Firm’s Electronic Discovery and Information Law Practice Group and is active in The Sedona Conference’s© Working Group 1 (Electronic Document Retention and Production) and Working Group 6 (International Electronic Information Management, Discovery and Disclosure). Mr. Evans is a frequent author on topics in the electronic discovery area.
Mr. Evans is also on the Steering Committee of the Firm’s Securities Litigation Practice Group and is Co-Chair of the Accounting Litigation Subcommittee for the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation Securities Litigation Committee.
Mr. Evans received his law degree from the New York University School of Law in 1988, where he was Chairman of the Moot Court Board and received an American Jurisprudence award in Securities Litigation. He received his bachelor of arts in economics and political science with high distinction in general scholarship from the University of California at Berkeley in 1983.
Mr. Evans joined the firm in 1990 following a judicial clerkship with the Hon. Gordon Thompson, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Representative Cases- In re Toyota Motor Corporation Securities Litigation and related cases
- Representing Toyota in securities litigation related to claims of “unintended acceleration” in certain Toyota vehicles.
- Successfully defended Toyota in related shareholder derivative litigation and bondholder securities litigation, both of which were dismissed with prejudice.
- In re Aetna UCR Multi-District Litigation
- Representing managed care organization in multi-district class action litigation involving claims under RICO, ERISA and the Sherman Antitrust Act.
- CSK, Inc. Securities Litigation and SEC Investigation
- Led day-to-day litigation team
- Managed electronic discovery production to SEC and private plaintiffs involving several million electronic documents
- Led legal briefing effort, including successful motion to dismiss derivative litigation with prejudice and mediation briefing that led to settlement of shareholder class action
- In re Wireless Facilities, Inc. Securities Litigation
- Led litigation team and legal briefing effort.
- Obtained dismissal of “Big Four” accounting firm at pleading stage on motions to dismiss
- Computer Sciences Corporation SEC Investigation
- Managed electronic document production to SEC involving several million electronic documents
- In re American Funds Excessive Fee Litigation
- Counsel through federal court trial resulting in defense verdict
- Advised client on selection of electronic discovery vendor
- Janus Capital Group SEC and New York Atty. Gen’l. Investigations and Civil Litigation
- Represented company before SEC and NY Attorney General in investigations of market timing and late trading in the mutual fund industry
- Represented company in multi-district civil litigation arising out of market timing and late trading allegations
- Led electronic document production to SEC and NY Atty. Gen’l.
- Franklin Tax-Free Income Fund, et al. v. Tenet Healthcare Corporation
- In re: NewCom, Inc.• Computer Associates v. Computer Sciences Corporation
- Roll International Corporation v. Unilever United States, Inc.
- In re: Silicon Graphics Securities Litigation
- In re: Stratosphere Corporation Securities Litigation
- In re: Quarterdeck Securities Litigation II
- In re: National Medical Enterprises, Inc. Securities Litigation I and II
Articles
Mr. Evans is a frequent author in the areas of electronic discovery and securities litigation. His recent articles include:
- "E-Discovery Principles Revisited", The Daily Journal, January 28, 2010
- "Court Holds U.S. Discovery Rules Trump French Law and Hague Convention" - Digital Discovery & E-Evidence (BNA), December 2009
- "Access Granted: New California Legislation Tracks Federal Rules on E Discovery, With a Few Key Exceptions", The Recorder, July 15, 2009
- "Federal Rule of Evidence 502: Getting to Know an Important E-Discovery Tool", Orange County Lawyer Magazine, November 2009 (with Farrah Pepper)
- "Securities Litigation and the Economic Crisis: Understanding and Dealing with the Current Securities Litigation Environment", Aspatore Books, 2009 (with Wayne Smith)
- "Pleading Scienter in the Ninth Circuit: Did Tellabs Really Change Much?" Bloomberg Law Reports—Securities Litigation, August 17, 2009 (with Alex Mircheff)