Michele Johnson > Latham & Watkins LLP > Orange County, United States > Lawyer Profile

Active in a broad range of international litigation matters, Latham & Watkins LLP is recognized for its capacity across cybersecurity, tax, intellectual property and white-collar defense, leveraging its deep bench of former federal prosecutors in government enforcement proceedings and regulatory investigations. Global chair of the litigation and trial department, Michele Johnson, based in Orange County, focuses her practice on representing large companies, directors and financial institutions in securities class actions, M&A litigation and other commercial litigation. Associate Elizabeth Annis, based in Washington DC, has experience in regulatory investigations with a cross-border component and Belinda Lee, based in San Francisco has been active in antitrust and regulatory investigations relating to an acquisition of a semiconductor chip designer.

At Latham & Watkins LLP, ‘the M&A litigation team is deeply experienced in this space and works seamlessly with the transactional team and client team‘. Clients remark that the lawyers are ‘zealous advocates while remaining pragmatic, and they focused on the broader outcome of a successful deal rather than focusing solely on winning the litigation‘. The firm is active in the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court, as well as other fora around the country, and is involved in cutting-edge areas of the market, such as SPAC-related litigation. Michele Johnson in Orange County, Blair Connelly in New York and Colleen Smith in San Diego lead the securities litigation and professional liability practice, while up-and-coming partner Kristin Murphy in Orange County has a major role in SPAC-related cases.