Charlene S. Shimada

Chambers USA ranked Chuck for “offer[ing] notable strengths acting for underwriters defending significant securities class actions, alongside wider strengths advising individual and corporate clients in litigation and regulatory investigations,” and reported that clients described her as a “terrific” securities litigator and highlighted her “very thoughtful” approach as a “key strength.”

A pioneer in the legal profession, Chuck was the first Asian Pacific American woman partner in a major San Francisco law firm. She was also 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 served as a member of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s board of directors, a Ninth Circuit lawyer representative, co-chair of the Ninth Circuit Lawyer Representatives Committee, and president of the Berkeley Law Alumni Association.

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. She 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. She is a member of the Women In Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) Global Advisory Board and the Women Attorneys Advocacy Project.

In 2012, Chuck was recognized as one of The Recorder’s Women Leaders in Law. That same year she received an award in honor of her “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.; Ninth 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. Jefferies LLC, 81 F. Supp. 3d 902 (N.D. Cal. 2015), and In re Velti PLC Securities Litigation, No. 13-cv-03889, 2015 WL 5736589 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 1, 2015)
• In re Stac Electronics Securities Litigation (S.D. Cal.; Ninth Circuit): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action; dismissed with prejudice and affirmed by Ninth Circuit (In re Stac Electronics Securities Litigation, 89 F.3d 1399 (9th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1103 (1997))
• 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. Nov. 3, 2016))
• In re Bloom Energy Corp. Securities Litigation (Santa Clara County Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re Fitbit, Inc. Stockholder Derivative Litigation (Delaware Chancery Court; E.D. Pa.): Represented current and former officers in shareholder derivative actions 
• In re LendingClub Corp. Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; Ninth Circuit; San Mateo County Superior Court; Delaware Chancery Court): Represented former officer in securities shareholder class actions and shareholder derivative actions
• In re Livent Corp. Securities Litigation (E.D. Pa.; Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• In re Lyft, Inc. Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; San Francisco Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• In re Menlo Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation (San Mateo County Superior 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 Puma Biotechnology, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.): Represented nonparty underwriters in the first securities shareholder class action to reach a verdict in many years
• 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 Sogou Inc. Securities Litigation (San Mateo County Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Securities Litigation (D. Mass.; Suffolk County Superior Court; San Francisco Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• In re TrueCar, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• US Securities & Exchange Commission v. Khan, et al. (N.D. Cal.): Represented defendant in alleged insider trading action
• In re YogaWorks, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.; Los Angeles County Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• In re CytRx Corp. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal., Los Angeles County Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• 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 Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
• 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
• In re Inventure Foods Inc. Securities Litigation (D. Ariz.; Ariz. State Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. Securities Litigation (E.D. Cal.): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re ProNAi Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation (N.D. Cal.; Ninth Circuit; San Mateo County Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class action
• In re Sientra, Inc. Securities Litigation (C.D. Cal.; San Mateo County Superior Court): Represented underwriters in securities shareholder class actions
• 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.; Ninth 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 
• Represented 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