Bradley R. Schneider

Bradley R. Schneider

Bradley Schneider is Of Counsel in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. His practice focuses on commercial litigation and bankruptcy.

In the bankruptcy context, Mr. Schneider represents creditors, independent directors, equity holders, and other stakeholders in major bankruptcy proceedings. His experience includes representing a wide range of clients in defending adversary proceedings brought by debtors, litigation trustees, creditors’ committees, and other bankruptcy estate representatives. Recently, for example, Mr. Schneider played a lead role in successfully defending a major law firm against malpractice claims asserted by a chapter 7 trustee.

Mr. Schneider also represents clients in a wide range of other complex litigation matters, in both court and arbitration (domestic and international), on issues ranging from high-stakes contractual disputes to trade secret misappropriation. Mr. Schneider also advises clients on pre-litigation disputes, where he has often secured favorable outcomes that avoided litigation.

Mr. Schneider joined the firm following a clerkship with Judge Arthur Alarcón of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He graduated first in his class from UCLA School of Law, where he was an editor of the Law Review and was awarded the American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence and the Barry Russell Award for Excellence in Federal Courts. Mr. Schneider graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, San Diego, where he was awarded the Seymour Harris Award as the most outstanding student in economics.

Experience

In 2014, Mr. Schneider was a member of a trial team that successfully defended a major pharmaceutical company in a two-week AAA arbitration where plaintiff sought more than $100 million for an alleged breach of a “co-promotion” agreement for a highly successful drug. Mr. Schneider’s contributions at trial included cross-examining the plaintiff’s key expert witness, and taking the direct testimony from two of his client’s principal fact witnesses. More recently, Mr. Schneider represented the Texas Competitive Holdings LLC (TCEH) group of companies in the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy cases.

Other Significant Representations include:

  • Hancock Park Capital II, L.P. and certain other defendants in an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of the dismissal of an adversary proceeding brought by the Chapter 7 Trustee of Fitness Holdings International, Inc., alleging claims for recharacterization, fraudulent transfer, and brief of fiduciary duty. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of all claims against Mr. Schneider’s clients. See Leslie v. Hancock Park Capital II, L.P., 2016 WL 6599925 (9th Circ. Nov. 8, 2016). Mr. Schneider successfully briefed and argued for the dismissal of the trustee’s claims in the bankruptcy court.
  • Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. against plaintiffs who alleged that Wells Fargo’s securities lending program made improper investments of cash collateral. Following a six-week trial in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, the jury returned a verdict for Wells Fargo on all counts.
  • Warner Bros. in litigation with Charlie Sheen arising from Mr. Sheen’s termination from the series “Two and a Half Men.” Mr. Schneider took the lead in drafting Warner Bros.’s successful motion to compel arbitration and opposition to Mr. Sheen’s motion to enjoin the arbitration proceedings. The case settled shortly after the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Warner Bros.’ motion to compel arbitration, including the arbitration of Mr. Sheen’s defenses to the enforcement of his arbitration clause.
  • Adelphia Communications Corp. against Motorola in a case arising from Motorola’s alleged aiding and abetting of fraudulent accounting practices at Adelphia. Mr. Schneider was part of the Munger Tolles team that tried the case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and, in a post-trial settlement, obtained a $68 million recovery for Adelphia’s estate.
  • Covington & Burling LLP in a lawsuit filed by the liquidating debtor, Heller Ehrman LLP. The case involved allegations concerning 14 former Heller IP litigators who joined Covington in 2008. In addition, Heller asserted claims relating to California’s so-called “Jewel” doctrine. Under a settlement reached in July 2011, Heller agreed to retract all claims of wrongdoing against Covington and the former shareholders, who paid nothing for the release of these claims. Covington settled the Jewel claims on extremely favorable terms.
  • Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in the bankruptcy proceedings of Station Casinos Inc. and its affiliated debtors in successfully opposing (along with the debtor and other secured creditors) a motion by the Unsecured Creditors Committee to obtain standing to bring claims arising from Station’s 2008 leveraged buyout.
  • A medical device manufacturer in seeking to estimate claims asserted against it by a rival firm after the firm obtained a jury verdict that forced the client into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The estimation proceedings culminated in a settlement that set the stage for the client’s successful emergence from bankruptcy.
  • The former independent directors of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. and IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. in an adversary proceeding pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
  • Abbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement Trust in fraudulent transfer litigation arising from the Tribune Company’s leveraged buyout.

Experience

In 2014, Mr. Schneider was a member of a trial team that successfully defended a major pharmaceutical company in a two-week AAA arbitration where plaintiff sought more than $100 million for an alleged breach of a “co-promotion” agreement for a highly successful drug. Mr. Schneider’s contributions at trial included cross-examining the plaintiff’s key expert witness, and taking the direct testimony from two of his client’s principal fact witnesses. More recently, Mr. Schneider represented the Texas Competitive Holdings LLC (TCEH) group of companies in the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy cases.

Other Significant Representations include:

  • Hancock Park Capital II, L.P. and certain other defendants in an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of the dismissal of an adversary proceeding brought by the Chapter 7 Trustee of Fitness Holdings International, Inc., alleging claims for recharacterization, fraudulent transfer, and brief of fiduciary duty. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of all claims against Mr. Schneider’s clients. See Leslie v. Hancock Park Capital II, L.P., 2016 WL 6599925 (9th Circ. Nov. 8, 2016). Mr. Schneider successfully briefed and argued for the dismissal of the trustee’s claims in the bankruptcy court.
  • Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. against plaintiffs who alleged that Wells Fargo’s securities lending program made improper investments of cash collateral. Following a six-week trial in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, the jury returned a verdict for Wells Fargo on all counts.
  • Warner Bros. in litigation with Charlie Sheen arising from Mr. Sheen’s termination from the series “Two and a Half Men.” Mr. Schneider took the lead in drafting Warner Bros.’s successful motion to compel arbitration and opposition to Mr. Sheen’s motion to enjoin the arbitration proceedings. The case settled shortly after the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Warner Bros.’ motion to compel arbitration, including the arbitration of Mr. Sheen’s defenses to the enforcement of his arbitration clause.
  • Adelphia Communications Corp. against Motorola in a case arising from Motorola’s alleged aiding and abetting of fraudulent accounting practices at Adelphia. Mr. Schneider was part of the Munger Tolles team that tried the case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and, in a post-trial settlement, obtained a $68 million recovery for Adelphia’s estate.
  • Covington & Burling LLP in a lawsuit filed by the liquidating debtor, Heller Ehrman LLP. The case involved allegations concerning 14 former Heller IP litigators who joined Covington in 2008. In addition, Heller asserted claims relating to California’s so-called “Jewel” doctrine. Under a settlement reached in July 2011, Heller agreed to retract all claims of wrongdoing against Covington and the former shareholders, who paid nothing for the release of these claims. Covington settled the Jewel claims on extremely favorable terms.
  • Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in the bankruptcy proceedings of Station Casinos Inc. and its affiliated debtors in successfully opposing (along with the debtor and other secured creditors) a motion by the Unsecured Creditors Committee to obtain standing to bring claims arising from Station’s 2008 leveraged buyout.
  • A medical device manufacturer in seeking to estimate claims asserted against it by a rival firm after the firm obtained a jury verdict that forced the client into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The estimation proceedings culminated in a settlement that set the stage for the client’s successful emergence from bankruptcy.
  • The former independent directors of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. and IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. in an adversary proceeding pending in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
  • Abbott Laboratories Annuity Retirement Trust in fraudulent transfer litigation arising from the Tribune Company’s leveraged buyout.