Overview
(June 6, 2024, San Francisco) – Steptoe LLP secured a not-guilty jury verdict on behalf of client and former CEO of Autonomy, Dr. Mike Lynch after an 11-week criminal trial in Federal Court. Dr. Lynch was accused of deceiving Hewlett Packard Co. (HP) about Autonomy's business and financial health in the years leading up to HP's 2011 purchase of the British software company for $11.7 billion. The acquittal ends a 13-year legal battle, noted as one of Silicon Valley's biggest-ever fraud cases.
Dr. Lynch was accused of securities and wire fraud based on claims that he falsely inflated revenues at Autonomy. On the stand, Dr. Lynch maintained his innocence and denied the allegations against him. He maintained that the $8.8 billion write-down HP took the year after the acquisition was the company's own fault.
Dr. Lynch stated: "I am elated with today's verdict and grateful to the jury for their attention to the facts over the last ten weeks. My deepest thanks go to my legal team for their tireless work on my behalf. I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field."
Steptoe partner Brian Heberlig and Christopher Morvillo (partner, Clifford Chance LLP), co-counsel for Dr. Lynch, said:
"We are thrilled with the jury's verdict, which reflects a resounding rejection of the government's profound overreach in this case. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated conclusively that Mike Lynch is innocent. This verdict closes the book on a relentless 13-year effort to pin HP's well-documented ineptitude on Dr. Lynch. Thankfully, the truth has finally prevailed. We thank Dr. Lynch for his trust throughout this ordeal and hope that he can now return home to England to resume his life and continue innovating."
The Steptoe team includes partners Brian Heberlig, Michelle Levin, Jonathan Baum, Nicholas Silverman and Reid Weingarten, of counsel David Fragale, and associates Drew Harris, Galen Kast, Caroline Covington, James Purce, Samantha McCarthy, and Meredith Lewis. Attorneys Christopher Morvillo, Dan Silver, and Celeste Koeleveld from Clifford Chance LLP were also co-counsel for this matter.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
