Prashant Manmohan Rai is of counsel in the Complex Litigation group based in the firm’s San Francisco office.

Prashant represents public and private companies, investment firms and management teams in complex business litigation and related negotiations. He works with clients across a variety of industries, including infrastructure, telecommunications, real estate, natural resources, software and financial services. Prashant’s experience includes business disputes involving breach of contract, fiduciary duties, fraud and the securities laws, class actions, mass torts, regulatory disputes, restructurings and other distressed situations. His cases often also involve contested insurance issues.

Since joining Paul Hastings, Prashant has played a leading role in several significant trial victories. 

Most recently, Prashant served on a team that represented one of the world’s largest REITs in a civil enforcement action brought by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in Los Angeles Superior Court for violations of the Clean Water Act. Following a bench trial that spanned three months, the court issued a final decision imposing zero penalties on Prashant’s client. 

Before that, Prashant served on a team that represented the owner of an iconic Los Angeles hotel in arbitration and parallel unlawful detainer proceedings regarding control over business-critical real estate assets. Prashant and his team secured a complete victory for their client, including an award of attorneys’ fees. 

In another case, Prashant served on a team that represented the owner of a battery recycling plant in a writ proceeding in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Prashant's client filed a petition seeking to reverse the first-ever appellate decision issued by the California Board of Environmental Safety, the newly formed appellate body within the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. In a matter of first impression, Prashant and his team successfully persuaded the court to grant the petition. 

Prashant also represents clients in complex bankruptcy proceedings.

Out of court, Prashant counsels clients on a variety of transactional and pre-litigation matters, including serving as outside general counsel for several technology companies and investment firms. In providing such advice, Prashant brings to bear years of experience working outside of private practice as a financial analyst and business executive. His business-side experience includes years serving as an investment professional at multiple prominent investment firms, and serving as chief legal officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer for a market-leading blockchain project. Prashant possesses substantial knowledge regarding the public and private credit, litigation finance, event-driven, insurance, cryptocurrency and risk transfer markets.

Prashant earned his law degree with high honors from Columbia University and his undergraduate degree with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles.

• Columbia Law School, J.D., 2014
• University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., 2010