Perrie Weiner

Perrie Weiner, partner-in-charge of Baker McKenzie’s Los Angeles office and chair of the firm’s North America securities litigation group, specializes in high-stakes securities class action, shareholder derivative litigation and SEC enforcement matters and has been recognized as a leading advocate for hedge funds and CEOs in complex legal battles.

In a recent matter, Weiner achieved a significant win for CHA Fertility Center in a complex and highly publicized litigation involving mixed-up embryos. A.P. et al v. CHA Health Systems, Inc. et al, 2:23-CV-01621 (C.D. Cal, filed March 3, 2023).

The emotionally charged case, which involved two California residents and a New York resident, initially faced a potential $25 million lawsuit in New York. However, Weiner’s strategic success in transferring the case to California drastically reduced the potential damages.

“The CHA Fertility ‘mixed up embryo’ case is significant, not just because of all of the media attention it received on TMZ and elsewhere, but because we took a $24 million plus exposure case in New York, with extraordinary jury appeal, and turned it into a six-figure case in L.A., simply because we won a pivotal motion to transfer venue to California, where there is a cap for medical malpractice cases,” Weiner said.

Weiner and his team also successfully defended a hedge fund and its principals in a non-public SEC investigation into alleged insider trading. Teecom, Inc. VS SFII 1333 Broadway, LLC, RG21089048 (Alameda Sup. Ct., filed Feb. 17, 2021).

The SEC had issued a Wells Notice, indicating a likely enforcement action. However, Weiner’s team submitted persuasive White Papers and engaged in high-level discussions with the SEC, which led to a complete reversal of the SEC’s stance and the termination of the investigation.

Weiner’s work in the Momentus SPAC securities litigation is also noteworthy. His team addressed new legal challenges in this emerging area of law, achieving significant results, including a groundbreaking decision in Delaware that shaped future indemnity challenges. This case involved multifaceted issues, including SEC enforcement actions, securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, and Delaware books and records demands.

“I anticipate a continued, significant uptick in the number of SEC investigations and enforcement matters in 2024, not just with respect to insider trading and securities fraud matters, but also with respect to cyber security and data breach, to the extent that the public disclosures of the respective companies were inadequate in describing the adequacy of compliance and the resulting data breach risk,” Weiner said. “I also anticipate an increase in the number of whistle-blower cases.”