Deborah S. Mallgrave 

Deborah S. Mallgrave is a partner and a co-founder of the sexual abuse and human trafficking litigation practice at Greenberg Gross LLP.

She is a past president of the board of directors of the Public Law Center of Orange County, a nonprofit that offers free legal services to low-income residents.

In 2019, when California expanded its statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse civil claims, Mallgrave drew on her work with victims she’d met at the Public Law Center to build a new practice centered on clients with similar stories.

“Wayne and Alan had the vision to think outside the box. They encouraged me,” Mallgrave said, referring to name partners Wayne A. Gross and Alan A. Greenberg.

Mallgrave is currently dealing with a case that represents a recent development in the #MeToo movement in which persons accused of abuse strike back with defamation counterclaims.

She represents counter-defendants facing defamation and conspiracy claims filed by a member of the Backstreet Boys vocal group, Nickolas Carter, after Melissa Schuman, a former member of the girl group Dream, accused him of having raped her during the making of a movie in 2002.

Carter accused Schuman and others of interfering with his career and business opportunities. Mallgrave said it’s an attempt to silence and punish those who speak out about abuse. Mallgrave has filed an anti-SLAPP motion to try to toss Carter’s suit. Carter v. Ruth et al., A-22-862259B (Clark Co. Dist. Ct., Nev., filed Dec. 8, 2022).

“Survivors of abuse need to know these backlash suits can be defeated,” Mallgrave said. “Otherwise, this tactic will have a chilling effect.”

In a major suit against a prominent religious sect, Mallgrave represents a woman raised in La Luz del Mundo, which espoused a doctrine of subservience to an “Apostle,” Nassón Joaquin Garcia, and his inner circle of bishops. Martin v. La Luz Del Mundo, 2:20-cv-01437 (C.D. Cal., filed Feb. 12, 2020).

In the sect, Sochil Martin said she suffered years of sexual assault, trafficking, forced labor, harassment and financial exploitation. When she left the sect in 2016, she was threatened and her home was broken into to intimidate her, according to her complaint.

Mallgrave said the suit is one of the most significant ever brought under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and California’s Child Victims Act.

Mallgrave also represents a member of the Gucci fashion family who alleges relatives were abusive, neglectful and subjected her to sexual assault. The plaintiff, Alexandra Zarini, has created an anti-child abuse nonprofit to channel any money she wins toward victims. Zarini v. Gucci et al., 20STCV34041 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 8, 2020).

Trial is set for March 2024.

— John Roemer