Sara B. Brody

SARA BRODY is a commercial litigator whose practice focuses on securities litigation and corporate governance disputes. She is co-leader of the firm’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation practice group and heads the Northern California litigation practice. She has extensive experience in securities litigation, defending issuers, officers, directors, underwriters and venture capital firms in shareholder class actions and derivative actions in state and federal courts throughout the United States. She regularly represents companies and individuals in matters involving the Securities and Exchange Commission and various self-regulatory organizations. Sara also has extensive experience in conducting internal investigations and counseling clients on disclosure issues. She has written articles and lectures on a wide range of securities litigation topics in legal and business forums across the country.

Sara has been ranked by Chambers USA as a leading California litigator for Litigation: Securities every year since 2005, including Band 1 from 2021–2025, with clients noting, “her technical competence outshines all others I’ve seen in the space” and “she is very smart, very practical, very good at writing and very strategic.” The Daily Journal lists her as one of the “Top 30 Securities Litigators” in California (2005) and she was shortlisted as “Litigator of the Year” at the Chambers USA Women in Law Awards. Additionally, Sara has been listed as a “Life Sciences Star” in the White-Collar/Government Investigations category by LMG Life Sciences (2018–2025). She also won one of the “Top 10 Defense Verdicts” of 2002, as selected by The National Law Journal. Benchmark Litigation has named Sara both a “California Litigation Star” and a “National Practice Area Star” in the Securities category (2019–2026). She has also been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation (2012–2026) and Litigation – Securities (2013–2026) as well as awarded “Lawyer of the Year” for Corporate Law in its 2022 edition.

• McKesson Securities Litigation, N.D. Cal. Represents McKesson and its officers in securities class action litigation arising out of allegations of price fixing in generic drugs
• Flex, Ltd., N.D. Cal. Represents Flex and its officers in securities class action litigation related to its Nike relationship and automation of shoe manufacturing
• Nektar Therapeutics, N.D. Cal, and D. Delaware. Represents Nektar and its officers and directors in securities class action and derivative litigation
• Bloom IPO Litigation, Santa Clara Superior Court. Represents Bloom and its board in securities litigation arising out of its IPO
• Apple eBooks Derivative Litigation, Santa Clara County Superior Court. Represents directors of Apple, Inc., in derivative litigation
• SunEdison Securities Litigation, S.D.N.Y. Lead counsel for SunEdison’s officers and directors in shareholder class actions, large individual investor actions, derivative and ERISA cases
• Diamond Foods, Inc., N.D. Cal, San Francisco Superior Court and Delaware Chancery Court. Represented the Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Foods in a securities class action pending in the Northern District of California and derivative cases in the Northern District of California and the San Francisco Superior Court
• In Re: Wachovia Preferred Bond/Notes Litigation, S.D.N.Y. Represented 72 underwriters in litigation regarding Wachovia’s bond and note offerings
• In Re: Wachovia Equity Securities Litigation, S.D.N.Y and Second Circuit. Represented the underwriters in securities class action regarding Wachovia’s equity offerings: case dismissed on motion to dismiss and settled during appeal to the Second Circuit
• Alphatec Spine Securities and Derivative Litigation, S.D. Cal and San Diego Superior Court. Represented Special Committee of the Board of Directors in securities class action and derivative litigation

Recent SEC investigations include representations of a technology company regarding disclosure issues, a Big Four accounting firm in connection with an investigation of revenue recognition of an audit client, a professional services firm in a multinational insider trading inquiry, an investment management company in a failed leverage bond fund, representation of a bank’s securities lending unit in connection with an inquiry into disclosure and investment practices, the controller of a venture fund in connection with issues of disclosures and management fees, the CEO of a public company in a matter involving allegations of financial statement manipulation.

• State Bar of California
• American Bar Association
• San Francisco Bar Association (past President Securities Litigation Section) 
• Board Member of the Legal Aid Society — Employment Law Center
• Board Member of the Bolinas Museum