Sarah A. Tomkowiak

Partner

Washington, D.C.
sarah.tomkowiak@lw.com
+1.202.637.2335

PRACTICES

  • Complex Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Governance
  • Litigation & Trial
  • Securities Litigation & Professional Liability
  • White Collar Defense & Investigations

INDUSTRIES

  • Financial Institutions
  • Healthcare & Life Sciences

BAR QUALIFICATIONS

  • District of Columbia
  • Illinois

EDUCATION

  • JD, University of Illinois College of Law, 2007
    summa cum laude
  • BA, University of Missouri, 2004
    summa cum laude

PROFILE

Sarah Tomkowiak, an accomplished trial attorney, litigates high-stakes civil business disputes and investigations in federal, state, and arbitral venues across the United States.

Profile

Sarah leverages her pragmatic approach to negotiations and extensive trial experience — including a major victory in one of the only securities class actions to go to a jury trial in a decade — to help clients navigate:

  • Securities law disputes and corporate governance matters
  • Complex commercial litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, particularly relating to copyright disputes
  • Enforcement actions

She represents issuers and executives facing US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoenas and investigations, as well as board committees in connection with internal investigations into financial reporting, accounting, disclosures, and internal controls issues. 

Sarah has been recognized as a Rising Star in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers lists 2014-2017, and as a Law360 Rising Star in 2019.

Leadership

A recognized leader within and outside the firm, Sarah is a founding member of Washington Area Women Trial Attorneys (WAWTA). She is also active in the D.C. Women’s Bar Association and is vice chair of the American Bar Association’s Class and Derivative Actions Subcommittee. She has co-authored the ABA’s annual publication Recent Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation – Class Actions.

She has served on Latham’s Recruiting, Associates, and Pro Bono Committees.

Sarah maintains an active pro bono practice, including in partnership with the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and the National Veterans Legal Services Program.
 

EXPERIENCE

Sarah’s recent experience includes representing:

  • Puma Technology in defeating at trial more than 95% of the plaintiffs’ claimed damages in a rare federal securities class action to go to jury verdict; named one of the Top Defense Verdicts of 2019 by the Daily Journal (Hsu v. Puma Biotechnology, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2019))
  • CoStar, the nation’s leading commercial real estate information provider, in pursuing copyright infringement and Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims against a rival competitor (CoStar v. CREXi (C.D. Cal. 2020))
  • General Electric in a pending securities class action and securing complete dismissal of a securities fraud class action (Sjunde AP-Fonden v. General Electric Company (S.D.N.Y.); Birnbaum v. General Electric Company (S.D.N.Y. 2020) (affirmed 2021))
  • Shopify in a copyright infringement lawsuit and Digital Millennium Copyright Act defense case (Bedford v. Shopify (E.D.Va 2021))
  • A major global bank pursuing fraud claims against a hedge fund in chapter 11 case and related adversary proceeding
  • 2U, a leading education technology company, in a securities class action alleging misleading statements in connection with financial projections (In re 2U Securities Class Action (D. Md. 2020))
  • Sarepta Therapeutics in securing the dismissal of a securities class action and derivative case alleging misleading statements in connection with clinical trial results (Salinger v. Sarepta Therapeutics (S.D.N.Y. 2020))
  • CoreCivic in a securities class action alleging misleading statements in connection with the US Department of Justice’s 2016 announcement to end the Bureau of Prison’s reliance on private prisons (Grae v. Corrections Corp. of America (M.D. Tenn. 2017))
  • Wal-Mart in securing dismissal of a securities fraud class action against its Mexican subsidiary (City of Pontiac General Employees’ Retirement System v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (W.D. Ark. 2018); Fogel v. Vega (S.D.N.Y. 2018))
  • Weatherford International in securities fraud class actions related to its restatement of certain financial statements due to tax accounting errors (Dobina v. Weatherford International, Ltd. (S.D.N.Y. 2014); Freedman v. Weatherford International Ltd. (S.D.N.Y. 2015))
  • Checkpoint Systems, a leading manufacturer of retail anti-theft systems, in winning complete dismissal of all claims in a securities class action related to the company’s restatement of certain financial statements due to tax accounting errors (Meier v. Checkpoint Systems, Inc. (D.N.J. 2017))
  • A for-profit hospital chain in a section 11 securities class action challenging disclosures in the offering materials for the company’s initial public offering
  • Booz Allen, a consulting services firm, and certain of its officers in a federal securities fraud jury trial (S.D.N.Y. 2015)