Lambert

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Thomas P. Lambert

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp

Specialty: Civil litigation

Law School: UCLA, 1971

Thomas Lambert prides himself on litigating a wide variety of cases, from securities fraud to probate. More often than not, he wins.

The key to his success? “I’m able to communicate complex issues to juries in a way they will understand,” he says.

That, in a nutshell, is why Lambert was tapped to present the complex DNA evidence in the wrongful-death civil suit against O.J. Simpson. That trial ended in a victory for his law firm’s team of attorneys, who represented Fred Goldman, father of murder victim Ronald Goldman. The jury came back with a verdict of $33.5 million.

In a very different case with even higher financial stakes, Lambert represented the estate of billionaire oilman Armand Hammer against Joan Weiss, the niece of Hammer’s wife, Frances Hammer. The feud was over Hammer’s fortune, half of which Weiss claimed she was legally entitled to receive.

Lambert won, and as a result, Hammer’s $400 million art collection still hangs in the Armand Hammer Museum and Cultural Center in Westwood.

The very first case Lambert ever tried was presided over by Joseph Wapner, who went on to gain fame on the TV show “People’s Court.” Lambert represented the Greek Theater and Huntington Hartford Theater, which were seeking to be exempted from property taxes because of their non-profit status. Lambert won that case and the ruling was affirmed on appeal.

He has gone on to handle disputes involving antitrust and unfair competition, employment litigation, copyright and trademark infringement and securities litigation.

As chairman of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp’s securities litigation practice group, Lambert has represented a long list of clients in numerous cases before the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Victoria O’Guinn