Bio
Jimmy S. McBirney is a seasoned first-chair trial lawyer, with extensive experience litigating complex commercial and criminal cases to verdict. He is a Partner in Scott+Scott’s San Diego office, where he specializes in antitrust and securities class action litigation to protect businesses and consumers from unjust corporate practices. He recently represented shareholders in In re Facebook, Inc. S’holder Litig., which brought claims against Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook fiduciaries in connection with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In the first Caremark case ever to go to trial, Mr. McBirney and his colleagues achieved a historic mid-trial settlement. He also represents investment funds in general commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract cases such as Two Roads Shared Trust v. Wells Fargo Securities (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) (alleging breach of futures clearing contract) and Two Roads Shared Trust v. Wedbush Securities, Inc., (Cook Cnty. Super. Ct. Ill.) (alleging breach of commodities give-up agreement).
Prior to joining Scott+Scott, Mr. McBirney was a Senior Trial Attorney at the United States Department of Justice, where he tried over a dozen civil and criminal cases to verdict. During his time at DOJ’s Civil Division, Mr. McBirney successfully defended hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars against claims brought by large corporations represented by some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious law firms, while also recovering taxpayer funds through affirmative counterclaims. He received the Justice Department’s Special Commendation for Outstanding Service for his successful trial work defending the government against excessive damages claims by the nuclear power industry.
Mr. McBirney also worked at the Antitrust Division as part of the team that successfully pursued federal antitrust claims against Google in the Eastern District of Virginia for its anticompetitive monopolization of the advertising technology market in United States v. Google, LLC, (E.D. Va.), and at the Civil Rights Division, where he pursued DOJ’s first ever “reverse-redlining” case under the Fair Housing Act. He also spent time as a federal prosecutor at the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, where he investigated and prosecuted a wide array of criminal matters.
Prior to government service, Mr. McBirney worked at a large international law firm litigating complex commercial cases. He was named “Attorney of the Year for Pro Bono Work” by California Lawyer Magazine for successfully exonerating a wrongfully convicted client in a complex habeas corpus matter, where he demonstrated his client’s actual innocence through expert testimony that utilized state-of-the-art Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry techniques and fire cause-and-origin analysis. Mr. McBirney was also named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers, a distinction that recognizes the top 2.5% of the legal profession.
When not practicing law Mr. McBirney enjoys playing basketball and is an avid cyclist. He is also an emphatic San Francisco 49ers fan, and a firm believer that—despite their penchant for injuries and uncanny talent at clawing defeat from the jaws of victory—the answer to former head coach Jim Harbaugh’s mantra-question of “Who’s got it better than us?” is, and will always be, “Nobody.”
Admissions
- State of California
- State of New York
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- United States District Court for the Northern, Central, and Eastern Districts of California
- United States Court of Federal Claims
Education
- University of California at Davis (J.D.)
- Azusa Pacific University (B.A.)