Heather Speers

Heather’s practice focuses on securities litigation and enforcement matters. She has defended companies and their officers and directors in dozens of securities class actions and shareholder derivative suits in federal and state courts nationwide. She also has extensive experience representing companies in regulatory investigations conducted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in parallel investigations involving the Department of Justice (DOJ). Heather also conducts internal investigations and counsels public and private companies and their directors and officers about a wide range of issues relating to corporate governance, insider trading, disclosure obligations, and litigation risk and strategy. Her clients span various sectors, including life sciences, technology, communications, software, gaming and apparel.

Some of Heather’s recent matters include representing:

• Illumina and several current and former officers and directors in parallel securities class actions, arising from Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL, in the US District Court for the Southern District of California and the Superior Court of California for the County of San Mateo
• Dexcom and several current and former officers and directors in a securities class action and several tagalong derivative suits in the Southern District of California and the Delaware Court of Chancery
• FIGS and several current and former officers and directors in a securities class action in the US District Court for the Central District of California, as well as tagalong derivative actions in the US District Court for the District of Delaware and the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Acadia and several former officers in a securities class action in the Southern District of California arising from US Food and Drug Administration denial of a supplemental new drug application
• Beyond (f/k/a Overstock.com) in a securities class action in the US District Court for the District of Utah brought by a short seller plaintiff accusing the company of market manipulation for purportedly engineering a short squeeze
• Activision Blizzard and several officers in a securities class action in the Central District of California arising from Activision’s partnership with video game developer Bungie

Before law school, Heather earned her MBA and worked as an auditor, conducting audits and reviews of financial statements and internal controls for public and private company clients, giving her a strong foundation in financial statement analysis and internal controls that she draws on in securities litigation and enforcement matters.

Publications

• Co-author, “10th Circuit Rejects Scheme Liability Claim, Finds Presumption of Reliance Rebutted on the Pleadings – A Significant Cooley Win,” Cooley Securities Litigation + Enforcement blog, November 13, 2024
• Co-author, “Second Circuit Confirms That Corrective Disclosure Mismatch May Preclude Class Certification,” Cooley Securities Litigation + Enforcement blog, September 11, 2023
• Co-author, “Cooley Secures Dismissal of Securities Class Action for Overstock,” Cooley Securities Litigation + Enforcement blog, October 5, 2021