Michael D. Kibler is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department resident in its Los Angeles office.  He represents clients in a wide range of complex commercial litigation, with particular emphasis in the areas of insurance, securities and shareholder derivative litigation, internal investigations, and general commercial disputes.  Mr. Kibler also advises clients regarding litigation risks in connection with corporate transactions and regulatory matters.  Representative experience includes:

• Lead trial counsel for a plaintiff real estate developer in a lawsuit against the master developer of a master planned community.  Claims in the suit included breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and tortious bad faith in connection with the master developer’s efforts to block a competing project of Mr. Kibler’s client.  Following a six-week jury trial in Maricopa County Superior Court, a unanimous jury found for Mr. Kibler’s client on all claims and awarded plaintiff its full measure of lost profit damages.  The damage award – over $110 million – was one of the largest ever in Arizona.
• Co-counsel for a publicly traded company and certain of its directors in the successful defense of state and federal shareholder derivative suits alleging breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the alleged “backdating” of stock option grants.  Following a successful motion to dismiss the federal actions, see In re NYFIX, Inc. Derivative Litigation, 567 F. Supp. 2d 306 (D. Conn. 2008), the remaining claims settled on favorable terms. 
• Co-counsel for plaintiff in a lawsuit involving U.S. Department of Defense contracts to supply fuel to U.S. troops fighting in Iraq through the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.  Mr. Kibler’s client – a member of the Jordanian Royal Family – alleged that his partners defrauded him of his share of the profits after playing an instrumental role in establishing a new supply route for U.S. troops and procuring the defense contracts.  Following a nearly three-week trial in Palm Beach Florida Circuit Court, an eight-member jury awarded Mr. Kibler’s client $28.8 million, finding for the plaintiff on all six counts under Florida and Jordanian law.      
• Lead counsel for the buyer in a successful post-closing purchase price arbitration in connection with a $1.8 billion acquisition.  Following a merits hearing and post-hearing submissions, the arbitrator awarded Mr. Kibler’s client over 90% of its claimed reduction in the purchase price.
• Co-counsel in the defense of national insurance companies in multi-jurisdictional insurance coverage litigation pending in Texas, Ohio and New York that arose from novel underlying claims for public nuisance. 
• Lead counsel in the internal investigation of allegations of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related fraudulent conduct in connection with the overseas operations of a U.S. company.
• Representation of the largest property insurer of the World Trade Center in epic litigation following the September 11 terrorist attack.  The owner of the World Trade Center claimed entitlement to two full policy limits for its destruction.  Following three years of litigation and a three-month trial, a unanimous jury found for Mr. Kibler’s client on all claims, limiting its exposure to a single policy limit.
• Co-counsel representing the audit committees of publicly traded companies in the independent investigations of allegations of accounting improprieties.
• Co-counsel in the arbitration of claims arising from the breach of forward power contracts following the 2001 California energy crisis.  Following a one-week trial, the case settled on favorable terms.
• Co-counsel in the successful defense of a company and certain of its directors against claims of securities fraud under both the Securities Act and the Exchange Act in connection with the accounting for a corporate transaction.  Following a successful motion to dismiss, see Johnson v. NYFIX, Inc., 399 F. Supp. 2d 105 (D. Conn. 2005), plaintiffs abandoned the litigation.

Mr. Kibler joined the New York office of Simpson Thacher in 2001, moved to the Los Angeles office in 2005, and was elected a partner in 2006.  He received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997, magna cum laude, where he was a member of the Moot Court Board, competing in several national moot court competitions.  From 1998 to 1999 Mr. Kibler served as law clerk to then United States Magistrate Judge, now United States District Judge Robert B. Kugler in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.  He then clerked for United States District Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr., also in the District of New Jersey, from 1999-2001.

Honors/Associations

•	Author in the area of California Commercial Contracts for Thomson Reuters Practitioner Insights
•	The Association of the Bar of the City of New York
•	The Los Angeles County Bar Association
•	2012-13 Southern California Super Lawyer in Business Litigation
•	2012 recipient of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement

Publications

•	Insurance Law Alerts
•	The Supreme Court Holds That Class Certification of Rule 10b-5 Claims Does Not Require Proof of Materiality
•	Protecting the Jury Process from Ubiquitous Social Media
•	The Supreme Court Limits Rule 10b-5 Liability to Person or Entity Making Alleged Misstatement
•	The Supreme Court Rejects Loss Causation Requirement at Class Certification Stage
•	Lost Profits Should Be Determined as of the Time of the Breach
•	The Supreme Court Considers Loss Causation at Time of Class Certification
•	The Supreme Court Rejects Bright-Line Rule on Disclosure of Adverse Event Reports
•	New Forum for Objections Emerges
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Materiality Requirement in the Context of Drug Companies’ Disclosure of Adverse Event Reports
•	The Supreme Court Considers the Liability of Investment Advisers in Federal Securities Fraud Cases
•	Business Interruption Insurance in the Wake of the Gulf Oil Spill – What Insurers Can Do to Keep Slippery Claims at Bay
•	The Era of Increased Federal Regulation: A “New Deal” for the Insurance Industry?
•	The Heightened Pleading Standard of Twombly Applies to All Federal Civil Claims
•	California Supreme Court Rules on “Sudden and Accidental” Pollution Exclusion in State of California v. Allstate Insurance Company
•	California Court of Appeal Revisits the Anti-Stacking Rule
•	California Supreme Court Expands Arbitration Review
•	State of Rhode Island v. Lead Industries Association, Inc.: Rhode Island Supreme Court Rejects Novel Public Nuisance Theory in Favor of Traditional Products Liability Approach
•	Global Warming Litigation and Insurance Coverage: Emerging Issues
•	Liability Coverage For Lead Paint Contamination: The Rhode Island Public Nuisance Lead Paint Litigation, One Year Later
•	Liability Coverage for Lead Paint Contamination: Insurance Implications of the Rhode Island Lead Paint Public Nuisance Verdict

Admissions

•	California 2006
•	New York 2000
•	New Jersey 1997
•	U.S. District Court Central District of California 2006
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of California 2006
•	U.S. District Court Eastern District of California 2006
•	U.S. District Court Northern District of California 2006
•	U.S. District Court Southern District of New York 2002
•	U.S. District Court District of New Jersey 1997
•	U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit 2012

Clerkships

•	Hon. Robert B. Kugler, U.S.M.J, 1998 - 1999; Hon. Garrett E. Brown, Jr., U.S.D.J., 1999 - 2001

Education

•	Seton Hall University School of Law, 1997 J.D. magna cum laude
•	Seton Hall University, 1992 B.A. cum laude