Howard M. Privette

Howard Privette is a trial lawyer who represents U.S. and global clients in a wide range of complex business disputes, and focuses his practice in securities litigation and fiduciary duty litigation. 

Mr. Privette represents clients in cases involving business ownership disputes, financial restatements and alleged GAAP violations, insider trading, alleged corrupt practices (FCPA), privacy and cybersecurity, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), FDA regulations, false claims act and whistleblower issues, and other corporate governance matters. He also assists companies, officers and directors in relation to internal investigations, and in SEC, DOJ, and other regulatory proceedings.

Mr. Privette has perhaps unique trial experience among securities defense lawyers in that he has tried to judgment both civil and criminal securities fraud cases.  Perhaps most notably, Mr. Privette was lead trial counsel for the defense in one of the very few securities class actions to go to trial in the post-Reform Act era.  He successfully defended the former Chairman and CEO of Homestore.com, Inc. against claims based on the company's restatement of two years of revenues.  After a three-week jury trial and verdict, judgment was entered whereby the shareholder class took nothing from our client and the case was dismissed with prejudice.  This landmark victory was named one of the “Top Verdicts of 2011” by the Daily Journal and “Highly Commended” and ranked among the year's top 10 U.S. litigation cases by the Financial Times in its 2012 “Innovative Lawyers” report.

Mr. Privette was also a member of the trial team that obtained a complete defense verdict in favor of the former Chairman and CEO of sTec, Inc. in a SEC civil enforcement action based on allegations of insider trading and misstatements about the company's revenue guidance.  After a two-week trial in the United States District Court in Orange County, California, the jury took less than one day to return their unanimous verdict for the defendant.  This win was named one of the "Top Verdicts of 2014" by the Daily Journal.  

Mr. Privette obtained a securities class action dismissal for UBS, described as a "big win" by the American Lawyer and "Highly Commended" and ranked among the year's top 10 U.S. litigation cases by the Financial Times in its 2011 “Innovative Lawyers” report.

Mr. Privette graduated from Yale College (B.A., magna cum laude), Yale University (M.A., Economics), and Stanford Law School (J.D., with distinction; Order of the Coif; Note Editor, Stanford Law Review).