Christopher Babbitt

Christopher E. Babbitt has extensive experience with litigation and strategy involving the federal government and matters of public policy. His practice encompasses all phases of litigation before US district courts, the federal courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court, and frequently involves matters challenging or defending actions taken by the federal government. Mr. Babbitt joined the firm in 2007.

Mr. Babbitt focuses on government and public policy litigation and strategy. His litigation work frequently involves matters challenging or defending actions taken by the federal government, where the firm’s clients are adverse to the government or aligned with the government against a third-party challenge to a federal law, rule, program, or policy position.

He has significant civil litigation experience under the False Claims Act, where he has represented clients in the defense, pharmaceutical, financial services, and construction industries. Mr. Babbitt also advises private- and public-sector clients on matters of public policy, public affairs, and strategy.

In addition, Mr. Babbitt regularly advises corporations, universities, non-profit organizations, and individuals on compliance with the federal lobbying disclosure laws, the government ethics laws, and the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Mr. Babbitt served as a board member of the Bay Area Lawyers Chapter of the American Constitution Society and is a member of the American Bar Association.

Experience :

• Counsel for a defense contractor in a suit alleging that the contractor fraudulently concealed defects in the equipment it manufactured for the military. The district court dismissed the qui tam case on Rule 9(b) grounds and the relator declined to appeal.
• Counsel for a pharmaceutical company alleged to have made false marketing claims regarding its product.  The district court dismissed the case and the Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that the general release of claims the relator signed upon leaving the company barred the relator’s subsequent qui tam suit.
• Counsel for student loan company in qui tam suit challenging industry-wide practice of recycling student loan proceeds to purchase additional loans entitled to fixed-rate special allowance payments (SAPs) from the Department of Education.
• Counsel for major foreign airline in litigation alleging price-fixing conspiracy on transatlantic and Europe-Japan routes. The cases were dismissed by the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of New York.
• Counsel for California inmate in litigation under Section 1983 and RICO following orchestrated attack during prison lockdown. Negotiated a $210,000 settlement with the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation on behalf of injured inmate.

EDUCATION :

• JD, Harvard Law School, 2002
• MA, Religious Studies, Stanford University, 1999
• BA, Religious Studies, Stanford University, 1998

ADMISSIONS : District of Columbia, California

CLERKSHIPS : The Hon. Mary M. Schroeder, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2002 – 2003.