Biography
Biography
Lesley E. Weaver is the Partner-in-Charge of the California office of BFA and head of its Consumer, Privacy & Antitrust Litigation practice. Lesley is an experienced, soup-to-nuts litigator who has deep experience with the legal and technical issues central to this action. Among the notable examples of her work are the following. As one of two Co-Lead Counsel appointed by Judge Vince Chhabria in the Northern District of California to lead the high-profile MDL against Facebook arising out of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Lesley and her team steered the case to a $725 million settlement after five years of tenacious litigation, yielding at least two landmark decisions of national import. This is the largest amount paid in any private privacy class action to date. The 2024 Ninth Circuit decision in Calhoun v. Google, in which she is co-lead counsel, resolves critical issues on disclosure and consent in privacy actions. Lesley also played a central role in In re Google RTB Consumer Privacy Litigation, in which a settlement was recently noticed after four years of hard fought litigation. And in 2015, Lesley tried to verdict one of just two privacy actions to go to trial in the U.S., delivering opening and closing statements in a case that won 100% economic damages and fifteen times punitive damages.
In addition to landmark privacy cases, Lesley has played key roles in other significant matters. She was appointed by Judge Breyer of the Northern District of California to the Steering Committee in the In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” matter. That matter ultimately recovered more than $17 billion for consumers and the environment. Lesley has served or is serving on executive committees of other significant privacy and automotive litigation, including In re Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litig., which resulted in a settlement of $307.5 million; and In re ZF-TRW Airbag Control Units Products Liability Litig., which has resulted in settlements of $147.8 million to date.
Lesley also has extensive experience in representing sophisticated institutional investors in landmark securities and derivative matters. She is licensed in Delaware and is part of the team litigating claims against the Boeing board for their breach of fiduciary duties. She is also lead counsel in a derivative action against Wells Fargo based on the bank’s systemic discrimination in lending and hiring. Some of the landmark securities cases in which she has been involved include: In re Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. Securities Litigation ($400 million settlement); In re Cavanaugh Securities Litigation (including an appeal to the Ninth Circuit concerning the method of selecting lead plaintiff and lead counsel after the enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act) ; In re Cardinal Health Inc. Securities Litigation ($600 million settlement); and In re Cisco Systems, Inc. Securities Litigation ($99 million settlement). Lesley also served as liaison counsel in In re Twitter Secs. Litigation, which resolved for $805 million in 2022.
Lesley is also actively involved in various antitrust matters, including In re Local TV Advertising Antitrust Litigation, which seeks redress against providers of local television advertising who shared pricing information with each other to artificially increase prices for small business.
Lesley has received numerous awards throughout her career. She was named by The National Law Journal as one of just ten “Elite Women in the Plaintiffs’ Bar” nationally in 2023; one of the “Top 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” as well as “Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon; one of the “Top 100 Plaintiffs Lawyers” by the National Trial Lawyers for many years running; and the prestigious recognition as “California Attorney of the Year” in 2018 by the Daily Journal. She holds a Tier 1 Chambers USA ranking; was inducted into the Fellows of the American Bar Association in 2017; and has been ranked by Thomson Reuters as a “SuperLawyer” since 2016.
More important than external recognition is Lesley’s sincere commitment to her cases and the profession. She has served as a Lawyer Representative for the Northern District of California, and co-chaired many boards of non-profit organizations. She recently served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Securities Section for the Bar Association of San Francisco, as well as Chair of BASF’s cybersecurity and privacy committee. She has been a repeat presenter at the Bolch Institute’s MDL Certificate training program, and is one of the original drafters of the Duke MDL Diversity Guidelines. Lesley is frequently asked to speak by organizations around the country, and has been honored to serve as a panelist at multiple seminars by the Practicing Law Institute, the California Lawyers Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Golden State Institute, Class of Our Own, Women En Masse, California ABOTA, and many others. She is a past Co-Chair of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, a past Co-Chair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, past National Chair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and past Vice-President and Director of the Board of the Frameline Film Festival. She has served on the advisory board for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, the board of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight), and volunteers for Rotary, having been a Rotary exchange student herself.
Lesley speaks German and Danish, and is proficient in French.
In addition to landmark privacy cases, Lesley has played key roles in other significant matters. She was appointed by Judge Breyer of the Northern District of California to the Steering Committee in the In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” matter. That matter ultimately recovered more than $17 billion for consumers and the environment. Lesley has served or is serving on executive committees of other significant privacy and automotive litigation, including In re Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litig., which resulted in a settlement of $307.5 million; and In re ZF-TRW Airbag Control Units Products Liability Litig., which has resulted in settlements of $147.8 million to date.
Lesley also has extensive experience in representing sophisticated institutional investors in landmark securities and derivative matters. She is licensed in Delaware and is part of the team litigating claims against the Boeing board for their breach of fiduciary duties. She is also lead counsel in a derivative action against Wells Fargo based on the bank’s systemic discrimination in lending and hiring. Some of the landmark securities cases in which she has been involved include: In re Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. Securities Litigation ($400 million settlement); In re Cavanaugh Securities Litigation (including an appeal to the Ninth Circuit concerning the method of selecting lead plaintiff and lead counsel after the enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act) ; In re Cardinal Health Inc. Securities Litigation ($600 million settlement); and In re Cisco Systems, Inc. Securities Litigation ($99 million settlement). Lesley also served as liaison counsel in In re Twitter Secs. Litigation, which resolved for $805 million in 2022.
Lesley is also actively involved in various antitrust matters, including In re Local TV Advertising Antitrust Litigation, which seeks redress against providers of local television advertising who shared pricing information with each other to artificially increase prices for small business.
Lesley has received numerous awards throughout her career. She was named by The National Law Journal as one of just ten “Elite Women in the Plaintiffs’ Bar” nationally in 2023; one of the “Top 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” as well as “Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon; one of the “Top 100 Plaintiffs Lawyers” by the National Trial Lawyers for many years running; and the prestigious recognition as “California Attorney of the Year” in 2018 by the Daily Journal. She holds a Tier 1 Chambers USA ranking; was inducted into the Fellows of the American Bar Association in 2017; and has been ranked by Thomson Reuters as a “SuperLawyer” since 2016.
More important than external recognition is Lesley’s sincere commitment to her cases and the profession. She has served as a Lawyer Representative for the Northern District of California, and co-chaired many boards of non-profit organizations. She recently served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the Securities Section for the Bar Association of San Francisco, as well as Chair of BASF’s cybersecurity and privacy committee. She has been a repeat presenter at the Bolch Institute’s MDL Certificate training program, and is one of the original drafters of the Duke MDL Diversity Guidelines. Lesley is frequently asked to speak by organizations around the country, and has been honored to serve as a panelist at multiple seminars by the Practicing Law Institute, the California Lawyers Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Golden State Institute, Class of Our Own, Women En Masse, California ABOTA, and many others. She is a past Co-Chair of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, a past Co-Chair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, past National Chair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and past Vice-President and Director of the Board of the Frameline Film Festival. She has served on the advisory board for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, the board of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now OutRight), and volunteers for Rotary, having been a Rotary exchange student herself.
Lesley speaks German and Danish, and is proficient in French.
PRACTICES & SERVICES
RECOGNITION
- Ranked in Tier 1 by Chambers USA
- Selected in 2023, 2024, and 2025 as Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers
- Selected as "Super Lawyer" by Thomson Reuters
- Selected to Lawdragon's 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers Guide
- Selected to The National Trial Lawyers list of the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers
- Selected to The National Law Journal Elite Women of the Plaintiffs Bar
- 2018 California Lawyer of the Year (CLAY) Award
- Named as Top 10 Influential Plaintiff-Side Antitrust Lawyers in California
EDUCATION
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D.
Harvard College, A.B., magna cum laude
University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Harvard College, A.B., magna cum laude
University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
ADMISSIONS
Delaware
California
U.S. Courts of Appeals:
California
U.S. Courts of Appeals:
- Ninth Circuit
- N.D. Cal.
- E.D. Cal.
- C.D. Cal.
- S.D. Cal.
- E.D. MI