Charlene S. Shimada

A pioneer in the legal profession, Chuck was the first woman litigation partner, as well as the first woman of color partner, at a premier California firm known for its elite litigation practice. She served as the office managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco headquarters, one of the first women of color to hold that position in any major US law firm. She also served as the co-office managing partner of the San Francisco office of another international law firm.

In addition to her legal practice, Chuck is active in professional and civic affairs. She was appointed to the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Board of Directors and the Standing Committee on Professional Conduct for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, was selected as a Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representative, and served as the co-chair of the Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives Committee. She also serves as a member of the US–Japan Council, the Women In Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) Global Advisory Board, and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus’s Leadership Council.

Chuck was a founding member of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s No Glass Ceiling Task Force, which since 2001 has been helping participating firms increase both the number of women partners and their leadership opportunities. Chuck also co-founded Women In Securities (WISe), a network for women securities litigators in the Bay Area that seeks to promote their development and advancement, and is a member of the Women Attorneys Advocacy Project.

In 2012, Chuck was recognized as one of The Recorder’s Women Leaders in Law. The same year she received an award in honor of “25 years of vision and leadership” from the Asian American Bar Association.

Before entering private practice, Chuck served as a law clerk to Judge Martin Pence of the US District Court for the District of Hawaii. She is admitted to practice in California and Hawaii.

• In re Velti plc Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; 9th Circuit) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action; secured precedent-setting ruling that nonsettling defendants sued under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 are entitled to receive a judgment reduction equal to the greater of the proportionate liability of the settling defendants or the settlement amount (Rieckborn v. Velti PLC, No. 13-cv-03889, 2015 WL 468329 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2015)); and secured dismissal of claims against underwriters (Rieckborn v. Velti PLC, No. 13-cv-03889, 81 F. Supp. 3d 902 (N.D. Cal. 2015), and Rieckborn v. Velti PLC, No. 13-cv-03889, 2015 WL 5736589 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 1, 2015))
• In re Avalanche Biotechnologies Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; San Mateo County Superior Court) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions; dismissal of claims against underwriters (Huang v. Avalanche Biotechnologies, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152891 (N.D. Cal. November 3, 2016))
• In re LendingClub Corp. Shareholder Litigation (N.D. Cal.; San Mateo County Superior Court; Delaware Chancery Court) — Represented former officer in securities shareholder class actions and shareholder derivative actions
• In re Inventure Foods Inc. Securities Litigation (D. Ariz.; Ariz. State Court) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re NantHealth, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.; Los Angeles County Superior Court) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; 9th Circuit; San Mateo County Superior Court) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re Puma Biotechnology, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.) — Represented non-party investment banks in securities shareholder class action
• Rimrock High Income Plus (Master) Fund, Ltd., et al. v. Jefferies LLC, et al. (Orange County Superior Court) — Represented Jefferies in securities action brought under the California Blue Sky laws
• In re Sientra, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.; San Mateo County Superior Court)— Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• In re Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litigation (D. Mass.; Suffolk County Superior Court; San Francisco County Superior Court) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• US Securities and Exchange Commission v. Khan, et al. (N.D. Cal.) — Represented defendant in alleged insider trading action
• In re CytRx Corp. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal., Los Angeles County Superior Court)— Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• In re Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D. Cal.) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re Hansen Medical, Inc. Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; Santa Clara County Superior Court) — Represented issuer and certain officers and directors in federal class action, shareholder derivative actions, and SEC investigation and civil action
• Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago v. Banc of America Securities LLC, et al. (Washington State Court) — Represented issuers and underwriter of mortgage-backed securities in securities action brought by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
• In re ShoreTel, Inc. Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action; dismissal of Section 11 claim on loss causation grounds
• Franciscan Resident Advisory Committee v. LINC Housing Corp., et al. (N.D. Cal.; San Mateo County Superior Court) — Represented LINC defendants in class action brought on behalf of mobile home park residents
• Danone v. Zong, et al. (Los Angeles County Superior Court) — Represented Groupe Danone in multijurisdictional suit against certain parties affiliated with its Chinese joint venture partner relating to misuse of Danone proprietary information and other commercial wrongdoing
• California State Teachers’ Retirement System v. Qwest Communications International Inc., et al. (San Francisco County Superior Court); State Universities Retirement System of Illinois v. Qwest Communications International Inc. (Illinois State Court) — Represented underwriter in multijurisdictional securities actions
• In re Network Commerce, Inc. Securities Litigation (W.D. Wash.) — Represented IPO and SPO underwriters in securities shareholder class action; obtained dismissal with prejudice
• Kamehameha Schools Litigation (E.D. Cal.; 9th Circuit)— Represented Kamehameha Schools in litigation relating to challenge to its admissions policy
• McKesson Corporation Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) — Represented McKesson Corporation in securities and business litigation relating to its merger with HBOC
• In re Stac Electronics Securities Litigation (S.D. Cal.; 9th Circuit) — Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action; dismissal with prejudice and affirmed by Ninth Circuit (In re Stac Electronics Securities Litigation, 89 F.3d 1399 (9th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 520 US 1103 (1997))
• Representation of various underwriting firms, broker-dealers, public accounting firms, and individuals in connection with investigations and proceedings conducted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, US Department of Justice, US Internal Revenue Service, and Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs