Mala Ahuja Harker

Mala Ahuja Harker represents individuals and corporations in the technology, healthcare, life sciences, financial services, and other industries in connection with white collar, securities, employment, and complex commercial litigation matters. She has particular strength in matters with both regulatory enforcement and civil litigation elements and significant experience with cross-border matters. In addition to her active white collar and litigation practice, Mala is a member of the firm's Management Committee.

Prior to rejoining Friedman Kaplan, where she was formerly a partner, Mala served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2011 through 2017. In this role, Mala investigated and prosecuted cases involving sophisticated financial frauds, public corruption, insider trading, securities violations, mortgage and bank fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, identity theft and cybercrime, as well as violent crime and drug offenses, among others. Earlier in her career, Mala practiced at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP.

Mala was selected to Chambers & Partners’ list of ranked lawyers in the Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations in New Jersey category of the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Chambers USA guides. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. (No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.)

Representative Matters

• Representation of WeWork co-founder and former CEO and Chairman Adam Neumann in a Delaware Chancery Court action, which was consolidated with an action commenced by a Special Committee of WeWork’s Board of Directors, challenging the decision of WeWork’s majority institutional shareholder to terminate a multibillion-dollar tender offer.
• Representation of Cognizant, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, in a criminal prosecution of two former Cognizant executives by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
• Representation of multiple individuals employed by a Fortune 500 healthcare company in connection with a criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey involving allegations of violations of the Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law) and the Anti-Kickback Statute.
• Representation of a subsidiary of a Japanese multinational conglomerate in connection with an unauthorized transfer of over $150 million from an account of an overseas subsidiary, including an internal cyber investigation into the theft of the funds (which were converted to bitcoin), coordination of criminal investigations in the United States and Japan, and the successful recovery through civil forfeiture proceedings of several million dollars more than the company’s original loss due to the well-timed interlocutory sale of the seized bitcoin.
• Representation of a prominent technology company in responding to a series of regulatory inquiries (including by the Federal Trade Commission, the European Commission, and a coalition of various states’ Attorneys General) and subpoenas from civil litigants concerning the retrieval of user data from, and alleged anticompetitive conduct by, another prominent platform.
• Representation of GSO Capital Partners in litigation challenging its refinancing of debt issued by New Jersey-based home builder Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.
• Representation of a prominent media company in a series of matters defending against allegations of Video Privacy Protection Act violations.
• Representation of multiple media companies in connection with pre-litigation advice regarding the impact of AI-generated deepfake content on copyright-protected works.
• Representation of an S&P 500 financial institution in an internal investigation and settlement of claims made by a former employee alleging violations of the whistleblower protections under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and New York’s whistleblower protection statute.
• Representation of a witness in a large-scale federal criminal prosecution involving violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and related civil litigation concerning False Claims Act allegations of kickbacks to doctors for laboratory testing referrals.
• Representation of a pharmaceutical company in multiple investigations into pricing of its drugs, including investigations conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the New York Department of Financial Services.
• Representation of a major financial institution in various civil and criminal investigations at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Representation of the Chief Financial Officer of an international media company in connection with an internal investigation.
• Representation of a biotech company in connection with regulatory and criminal investigation matters.
• Representation of an inter-dealer brokerage firm in a three-week arbitration related to claims of unfair competition and raiding by a rival firm.
• Representation of a hedge fund in a two-week arbitration involving contract and tort claims against a departing portfolio manager.
• Representation of a major pharmaceutical manufacturer in a multimillion-dollar breach of contract action by a supplier.
• Representation of a major operator of refrigerated storage centers in an action in New York state court seeking to enjoin a failed bidder from utilizing confidential information gained in the auction process pursuant to an NDA in efforts to purchase facilities from landlords of the client's existing warehouse locations.
• Representation of a senior executive of a generic drug manufacturer in connection with a criminal investigation and related civil shareholder actions.

Outside the Office

Mala is a member of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association, the New York City Bar Association and its Women in the Legal Profession: White Collar Crime Subcommittee, the South Asian Bar Association of New York, and the National Association of Women Lawyers.

Mala serves on the Board of Trustees of Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, which ensures access to justice for people experiencing poverty, and volunteers with Lasagna Love, an organization enabling volunteer chefs to provide homemade meals to families in need. Mala and her husband have endowed scholarships at West Virginia University and Fairmont State University as well as a scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University in honor of Dr. Mangho and Mevi Ahuja.