The Wharf
1000 Maine Ave. SW
Suite 450
Washington, D.C. 20024
Bret Vallacher is a commercial litigator who has represented clients on both sides of the “V” in high-stakes cases and appeals. He has defended Fortune 100 companies and the United States Government from civil suits and represented classes of plaintiffs—including shareholders, employees, and consumers—in advancing their claims for relief. His experience spans a wide range of matters, including contract, securities, antitrust, employment, trade secret, trademark, deceptive trade practices, fraud, defamation, election law, and constitutional takings.
Before joining the firm, Bret served as a Trial Attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the United States Department of Justice, where he first-chaired dozens of cases in federal trial and appellate courts involving breach of contract, constitutional takings, employment disputes, bid protests, and international trade. Earlier in his career, Bret clerked for federal trial and appellate judges and practiced at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and Jones Day.
Bret received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he served as a judicial extern to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals and worked in the Stanford Criminal Defense Clinic, where he successfully obtained dismissals for all of his clients.
Representative Matters
- Led the removal and motion-to-compel-arbitration strategy for a Fortune 100 retailer defending consumer class actions in multiple federal districts, including securing dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
- Embedded appellate counsel with Jonathan Massey to the Official Committee of Talc Claimants in bankruptcy litigation in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey challenging Johnson & Johnson's "Texas Two-Step" restructuring; drafted appellate briefs on interlocutory orders and portions of the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.
- Second-chaired defense of Baxter in a $130 million Chicago arbitration involving alleged failure to commercialize a product, including running expert discovery; secured a unanimous defense award following a six-day evidentiary hearing.
- Represented plaintiffs in a putative class action challenging Delaware's unclaimed property scheme on federal constitutional grounds in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, seeking recovery of millions in unclaimed securities; defeated the State's motion to dismiss, overcoming sovereign immunity defenses.
- Managed a confidential internal investigation for the Board of Directors of a national insurance services company arising from alleged employee misconduct, including conducting witness interviews and drafting findings delivered to the Board.
- Member of trial team for a class of AIG shareholders in a multibillion-dollar constitutional takings action in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims arising from the U.S. Government's takeover of AIG.
- Member of trial team defending a major credit card network against U.S. Department of Justice antitrust claims targeting the network's merchant-pricing provisions, including a seven-week bench trial in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
- Led five-attorney team in a four-day federal trial defending against a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action.
- Cross-examined plaintiff's damages and valuation expert at trial in a constitutional takings case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, resulting in a judgment for the United States that plaintiff failed to prove damages.
- Conducted depositions for a class of au pairs in an antitrust wage-fixing class action that settled for $65 million.
- First-chaired defense of the United States in federal employment appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in bid protests before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and in trade-law challenges before the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Education
- Stanford Law School, J.D., pro bono distinction, 2013
- Dartmouth College, B.A., cum laude, 2010
Clerkships
- Hon. J. Clifford Wallace, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Hon. K. Michael Moore, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Awards
- Washington DC Elite, Commercial Disputes and Antitrust (2026), Legal 500
- 40 & Under, Dispute Resolution (2024–present), Benchmark Litigation
Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Federal Claims
- U.S. Court of International Trade
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- New York