Perrie M Weiner

Practice Areas

Perrie is a prominent securities litigation attorney with over 30 years of experience, renowned for his unwavering commitment to providing top-tier service and delivering exceptional results. He currently serves as the Partner-in-Charge of Baker McKenzie's Los Angeles office, and holds the esteemed position of Chair for the Firm's North America Securities Litigation Group. Perrie's experience centers around securities class action and shareholder derivative litigation, as well as SEC enforcement matters. He is highly regarded as the "go-to advocate" for hedge funds navigating complex suits and CEOs facing off against the US Securities and Exchange Commission, earning accolades from prestigious legal publications such as Law 360.

Perrie's exceptional reputation is further supported by testimonials from clients and other influential sources such as the Legal 500 US and Chambers USA, where he is praised for his problem-solving prowess, exceptional leadership, and outstanding legal acumen. He has earned the trust and approval of major companies like American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and XL Group PLC, making him one of the select few lawyers in California to represent directors and officers in complex (class action) securities litigation matters.

As a key player in the growth and leadership of Baker McKenzie's North America Securities Litigation Group, Perrie has helped position the team among the top tier in the highly regarded US Legal 500 rankings for consecutive years. Recognized by US Legal 500 as a Leading Individual in Litigation: Securities in California, Perrie's influence extends beyond legal circles. He has been honored as a Leader of Influence: Litigators & Trial Lawyers by the LA Business Journal and has been named one of the Top 100 Lawyers and Top 500 most influential people in LA. His dedication to pro bono legal work has been acknowledged with prestigious awards, including the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and the Wiley W. Manuel Award. He also received the prestigious Burton Award, revered as the Pulitzer Prize of the legal profession, for excellence in legal writing, where a work he co-authored was inducted into the Library of Congress.

Perrie brings a holistic approach to advocacy, skillfully defending clients facing high-profile and intricate regulatory actions, as well as securities fraud class action cases across the United States. His diverse clientele includes private equity funds, hedge funds, broker-dealers, underwriters, placement agents, REITS and publicly held issuers (alongside their officers and directors). Perrie also handles M & A securities litigation, where business combinations or sales are being challenged because of alleged deficient public disclosures. Perrie's expertise extends to SEC and FINRA enforcement proceedings, as well as white-collar criminal proceedings.

Beyond his outstanding work in securities matters, Perrie's legal acumen shines in complex business litigation. He has successfully represented clients in California consumer privacy class actions involving alleged violations of the Right to Privacy, such as TCPA, CCPA, "call recording," data breach, cybersecurity, and more. Additionally, Perrie leads the Firm's global SPAC Rapid Response Team and is a prominent authority in Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) and de-SPAC M&A securities class action litigation, including related SEC enforcement.

His innovative approach and unwavering commitment to serving clients led to his establishment of the Firm's Lease Litigation and Restructuring Group (LLRG) during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Perrie, alongside a multi-disciplinary team of Baker McKenzie lawyers, provides crucial assistance to retailers, tech companies, physicians with surgery centers, law firms, and various tenants negatively impacted by pandemic-related disruptions. He skillfully navigates lease renegotiations, restructurings, and landlord-litigated disputes, supporting clients during challenging times.

Perrie's international practice adds another layer of distinction to his career, with numerous litigation victories and publications featured in renowned media outlets such as Time, Business Week, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist, among others. His expertise extends to representing domestic and international market participants, including Chinese issuers traded in the US, in a wide array of securities litigation and enforcement matters, accompanied by expert pre-litigation crisis management counseling.

He is also a recognized securities expert in the areas of short selling, naked short selling, "pump and dump" and "short and distort" litigation--where self-proclaimed analysts short the stock of a thinly traded public company, put out an intentionally or recklessly false negative report about the company, draw in other short sellers causing the stock's price to fall precipitously, thereby reaping a windfall profit from their short selling activity.

Professional Memberships

• Beverly Hills Bar Association (BHBA)

• Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA)

• Advisory Board, Institute of Corporate Counsel, USC Gould School of Law

Publications

• Co-authored, "Takeaways from SEC's Aggressive Cybersecurity Moves," Law360, February 2024, (Top 10 Most Read Expert Analyses)

• Interviewed, "Office Snapshot: Baker McKenzie's Growing LA Outpost," Law 360, June 2022

• Interviewed, "Activist Investors are hunting targets in the SPAC market, but battles won't be easy to win," CNBC.com, April 2022

• Interviewed, "5 Things You Need to Become a Top Lawyer in Your Specific Field of Law," Authority Magazine, January 2022

• Quoted, "Derivative Lawsuit Challenges SPAC Model and Causes Pershing Square to Pivot to New "SPARC" Vehicle," Private Equity Law Report, September 2021

• Interviewed, "Mini-Roundtable US Securities Class Actions," Corporate Disputes Financier Worldwide, Ltd., September 2019

Education

Expert in these Jurisdictions

USA

Languages Spoken

English