Virginia Milstead

Ms. Milstead has advised clients on matters involving federal and state securities laws, duties of corporate directors, civil RICO, unfair business practices, and various other contract and tort claims.

In 2022, Ms. Milstead was named a Leader of Influence — Litigators and Trial Attorneys by the Los Angeles Business Journal, which also has selected her to its lists of leading profes­sionals who are Thriving in Their 40s and who are Women of Influence. She also has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon’s inaugural list of the 500 Leading Litigators in America and repeatedly in Chambers USA, in which she has been described by clients as “a gifted litigator and a strong oral advocate ... [with an] ability to cut through complexity and focus on the critical issues.” She also received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Pepperdine Caruso School of Law in 2021.

Among others, Ms. Milstead has represented:

• Baidu, Inc. and two of its senior officers in securing the dismissal of a federal securities class action alleging that the company had misrepresented its ability to comply with Chinese internet content regulations in a series of 12 public statements spanning more than a year. This case was recognized by the Daily Journal as one of the Top Verdicts of 2021 in California;
• the underwriters in the IPO of GoodRx in securing the dismissal of a putative class action filed in the Central District of California in connection with the company’s September 2020 IPO. The complaint alleged, among other things, that the GoodRx registration statement contained false or misleading statements related to Amazon’s entry into the prescription drug discount market;
• LexinFintech in securing the dismissal of a securities fraud class action alleging that the company made material misrepresentations or omissions in connection with, among other topics, its user base, loan terms and credit quality in violation of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
• Jumei International in securing the dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action alleging that the company made material misrepresentations or omissions in connection with the proxy statement for its going-private transaction in violation of Section 10(b) and 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act;
• ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. in securing the dismissal of a securities class action alleging offering materials related to ZTO’s IPO omitted a change in the company’s pricing;
• Pinduoduo Inc. in securing the dismissal of Securities Act claims in connection with its 2018 initial public offering of American depositary shares, alleging that the defendants made material misstatements and omissions in the offering documents filed in connection with the IPO; 
• Yirendai Ltd. in securing a dismissal with prejudice of federal securities class action claims;
• ChinaCache International Holdings, Ltd. in securing a dismissal with prejudice of federal securities class action claims;
• the underwriters for an offering of preferred units in an oil and gas master limited partnership in securing a dismissal and favorable settlement of federal securities class action claims;
• the founder and CEO of a semiconductor manufacturer in federal securities class action claims;
• Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a federal securities class action and derivative litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging misrepresentations in press releases, conference calls and SEC filings related to, among other things, the effectiveness of the company’s flagship product and prospects for growth;
• Nationwide Health Properties, Inc. and certain of its officers and directors in litigation arising from Nationwide’s merger with Ventas, Inc., resulting in a dismissal with prejudice and a favorable decision on an issue of first impression under Maryland law;
• UNC Lear Services, Inc. and Lear Siegler Services, Inc. in a successful defense at trial and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit against breach of contract and civil RICO claims brought by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
• certain former outside directors of Countrywide Financial Corporation in securities, derivative and ERISA litigations; and
• the founder of a casino in Las Vegas in a successful defense at trial against claims for fraud and invasion of privacy brought by the founder’s former spouse.

Ms. Milstead is a frequent speaker at, and organizer of, legal education events. Among other roles, Ms. Milstead has taught constitutional law at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, has been a regular panelist for the annual Federal Court Boot Camp and Superior Court Boot Camp presented by Pincus Professional Education, and has organized WLALA’s annual Litigators’ Forum. Ms. Milstead also served as a panelist at the Third Annual William French Lecture at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, featuring retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.