Lara Markarian
Associate
Lara represents companies, corporate officers and directors, and executives in high-profile white collar criminal cases, securities and regulatory enforcement matters, and state and federal litigation.
Lara is an experienced litigator whose practice focuses on white collar criminal defense and government enforcement actions, regulatory and internal investigations, securities litigation, and class action defense. Lara focuses a significant portion of her practice on conducting sensitive internal investigations and interfacing with the government on behalf of her clients. This includes representing business entities, independent directors, and executives in federal grand jury, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other government investigations. She also advises clients on negotiating with the government and responding to civil investigative demands and broad investigative subpoenas.
In the civil arena, Lara has significant experience representing financial institutions, insurance companies, religious institutions, and other global companies in state and federal courts nationwide in civil trial and appellate matters, with a particular focus on complex commercial, securities fraud, class action, and defamation matters. She is experienced in all phases of litigation, including case assessment and strategy development, briefing and arguing motions, and managing all aspects of discovery in complex litigation—including defending depositions, preparing cases and witnesses for trial, and briefing appeals.
Prior to law school, Lara worked at a large global investment bank in the treasury department, where she gained experience managing the bank’s relationships with Fortune 500 companies as a part of both the financial institutions and technology & media sales team.
In addition to her litigation practice, Lara is an active participant in providing pro bono services to the Los Angeles community, with a focus on adoption cases and immigration matters.
Lara is fluent in Armenian and proficient in Spanish.
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, Commercial Litigation (2025)
- Slevin Award, Georgetown University
- Member, Women’s White Collar Defense Association
- Member, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
- Member, Los Angeles Association of Business Trial Lawyers
- Member, Armenian Bar Association
Credentials
Education
Lara received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2019, where she was a judicial extern to the Honorable Ioana Petrou, chief supervising judge in the Superior Court of Alameda. She was also the senior symposium editor of the Berkeley Business Law Journal and a student advocate for the Tenants’ Rights Workshop. She received her B.S., cum laude, in international politics with a concentration in international law from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 2013.
Admissions
- California
Languages
- Spanish
- Armenian
Related Insights & News
Publications
- “Another Crack in the Protective Shell of Shell Companies,” Winston & Strawn Briefing, Co-author, Dec. 17, 2021
- “OFAC’s Eye on Virtual Currencies – Cryptocurrency Regulation and Enforcement Updates,” Winston & Strawn Briefing, Co-author, Nov. 4, 2021
- “Congress Passes Corporate Transparency Act Requiring Small Businesses to Report Beneficial Ownership Information,” Winston & Strawn Briefing, Co-author, Dec. 21, 2020
- “FinCEN Issues First-of-its-kind $60 Million Penalty Against Operator of Bitcoin ‘Mixers’,” Winston & Strawn Briefing, Co-author, Oct. 29, 2020
- “House Passes Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Legislation Aimed at Increasing Transparency of Small Businesses in the U.S.,” Winston & Strawn Briefing, Co-author, Apr. 30, 2020
Winston Attorneys Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America 2025
August 15, 2024
April 21, 2022
September 17, 2020