John C. Millian is a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Millian has served as Partner-In-Charge of Gibson, Dunn’s Washington office, and as a member of the Firm’s governing Executive Committee. He has been named a Washington “top lawyer” by Washingtonian Magazine and a leading practitioner in securities litigation by Superlawyers.com, based on peer-review surveys. While Mr. Millian’s practice focuses primarily on trial court litigation, he has also argued appeals before six of the twelve federal courts of appeals nationwide.

Mr. Millian’s securities litigation practice includes the representation of issuers, directors and officers, underwriters, accounting firms, law firms, and broker-dealers in securities class action lawsuits, as well as in related derivative litigation and government investigations. Mr. Millian also represents companies and board members in litigation challenging merger and acquisition transactions, and represents board committees in internal corporate investigations. In addition, Mr. Millian provides corporate governance and securities disclosure advice and D&O insurance counseling to clients both in the United States and abroad. Mr. Millian has spoken on securities litigation matters at conferences in cities across the United States, and is a contributing author to Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide (PLI 2006).

Mr. Millian also has extensive experience in financial institutions litigation and other banking and insurance-related matters, including as lead trial lawyer in multi-month trials. Mr. Millian’s practice in this area has included recovering $33.8 million from the federal government for investors who recapitalized a failing thrift, persuading the government to drop claims brought against the director of a financial institution seized by regulators, and serving as counsel to the audit committee of a commercial bank, including conducting an internal investigation into practices by a mortgage-lending subsidiary. Mr. Millian has also represented clients in major mortgage insurance and trade credit insurance coverage disputes.

Mr. Millian’s practice also includes representing clients in antitrust litigation, accounting and legal malpractice defense, and other complex commercial and finance-related litigation.

Mr. Millian is a member of the boards of directors of the Council For Court Excellence and the Wesley Seminary Foundation, and he serves on a pro bono basis as outside general counsel to Wesley Theological Seminary.

Mr. Millian is an active member of the District of Columbia bar, and is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and before numerous other federal appellate and trial courts. Mr. Millian received his Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980, graduating with highest honors. In 1983, he received his law degree from Yale Law School. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Millian served as law clerk to United States District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell in Washington, D.C.

Representative securities and derivative-related matters include:

Vidmar v. Integral Systems, Inc. Mr. Millian represents Integral Systems, Inc. and certain officers of the company in a class action securities suit pending in Maryland federal court.
Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. Securities Litigation; Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. Derivative Litigation. Mr. Millian represents Sunrise Senior Living’s current board members and senior officers, as well as certain former directors and officers, in class action and derivative lawsuits brought in Washington, D.C. federal court and in derivative litigation brought in Delaware Chancery Court. These cases were recently settled, subject to court approval, at no out-of-pocket cost to our clients.
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litigation; King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Derivative Litigation. Mr. Millian represented King Pharmaceuticals, a leading pharmaceuticals manufacturer, and certain of its officers and directors in class action securities litigation and related derivative litigation brought in Tennessee federal and state court. The plaintiffs in each set of cases asserted independent damage claims in excess of $500 million each, but after extensive discovery both cases were settled within policy limits, with no financial contribution by any defendant.
Value Health, Inc. Securities Litigation. Mr. Millian represented Value Health, Inc., a managed health care provider, and certain related individuals in consolidated securities class action litigation in Connecticut federal court. The trial court granted summary judgment to defendants after full discovery, and this decision was affirmed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
AirGate PCS, Inc. Securities Litigation. Mr. Millian represented AirGate PCS, a Sprint affiliate, and certain of its former officers in class action securities litigation currently pending in Georgia federal court. The court dismissed nearly all of plaintiffs’ claims at the pleading stage, and the remainder of the case was settled for nuisance value funded by the insurance carrier.
Eastman Kodak Securities Litigation. Mr. Millian represented Eastman Kodak and certain of its officers and directors in class action securities litigation filed in New York federal court. The court dismissed the action at the pleading stage.
Neff Corp. Shareholders Litigation. Mr. Millian represented Neff Corporation and certain related individuals in a Delaware Chancery Court action challenging a merger transaction. The court dismissed the action at the pleading stage.
FAC Realty Securities Litigation. Mr. Millian represented FAC Realty, Inc., at the time one of the nation's largest owners and operators of factory outlet shopping centers, in consolidated securities class action litigation brought in North Carolina federal court. The court dismissed the action at the pleading stage.
Equitec Rollup Securities Litigation. Mr. Millian represented Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., in a six-month class action securities litigation trial. The case settled, after the close of the evidence, on terms favorable to Dean Witter.
HomeGold/Carolina Investors Litigation. Mr. Millian represented the long-time outside law firm for HomeGold and its subsidiary, Carolina Investors, an investment company that collapsed in what became known as “the Enron of South Carolina” and led to multiple criminal convictions. Mr. Millian’s client reached a very early settlement with counsel representing the receiver for the companies and the thousands of individual investors in Carolina Investors, and obtained court approval of the settlement. The settlement was later criticized by certain investor groups as unduly favorable to the law firm represented by Mr. Millian.
Internal Investigations. During the past two years Mr. Millian has conducted publicly-disclosed audit committee/special committee internal investigations addressing accounting and securities disclosure issues for The Mills Corporation, a leading developer of major shopping centers, and for Eclipsys Corporation, a leading provider of information solutions to hospitals and health systems. Mr. Millian also led additional non-public internal investigations for other clients.