In the Counsel's Chair: Jason de Bretteville on the sanctions ruling that could be a game-changer

When Jason de Bretteville's client refused to take the easy off-ramp -- a dismissal that would have let everyone walk away quietly -- it set the stage for a sanctions ruling that may finally put teeth into a 30-year-old law. The court was blunt: widespread practice doesn't make a practice acceptable.

Jason is a partner at Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth LLP, Chair of the firm's Litigation Department and Co-Chair of its Enforcement Defense and Investigations Practice. In this episode of In the Counsel's Chair, he walks through the case that produced what may be the first-ever sanctions ruling against a plaintiff for filing a bare-bones placeholder complaint in a securities fraud class action -- and what it could mean for how the plaintiff's bar operates going forward.

Jason also explains the structural reasons this practice has persisted for three decades despite the PSLRA, what it would take for defense lawyers to routinely push back, and how AI is shifting the calculus for smaller firms competing against larger ones.

About Jason: Jason de Bretteville defends companies, financial institutions and executives in high-stakes civil and criminal litigation matters

Jason served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California from 2001 through 2006. As a prosecutor, he tried seven felony cases to verdict, investigated and prosecuted significant crimes of violence and fraud, supervised teams of federal agents engaged in the detection and prevention of terrorist activity, and briefed and argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Jason has secured favorable settlements and trial and appellate victories for clients facing civil and criminal allegations relating to securities fraud, white-collar crime and abuses of the False Claims Act and the FCP. He also has represented medical device companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, investment banks, technology companies, consumer goods manufacturers, oil and gas concerns, and other companies in a wide variety of complex business disputes. When he is not litigating, he helps his clients optimize their compliance programs and navigate pre-litigation securities matters to minimize potential liability.