Stacey Myers Garrett

Head of Privacy and Cybersecurity Litigation and Advisory

Co-Head of Financial Services Litigation and Regulatory

Long Beach

(562)-436-2000

Stacey joined KYL in 1991 and is a shareholder in its Long Beach office. Stacey is a civil trial attorney with more than thirty years of experience in complex litigation, primarily involving securities and financial disputes. Stacey also founded and leads the firm’s privacy and data security practice, in which she represents clients in privacy litigation and helps clients comply with international, federal, and state privacy laws, and regulatory reporting obligations.

Stacey’s securities and financial services practice focuses on representing broker-dealers, banks, and financial institutions in matters such as securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, lending disputes, and class actions, as well as defending and advising these clients in disputes asserting claims of invasion of privacy and failure to comply with federal and state privacy laws and regulations. Stacey has served as lead or co-lead counsel in 11 trials and approximately 50 arbitration hearings conducted by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) under the supervision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). In addition to evidentiary hearings, Stacey has handled and resolved hundreds of disputes by way of successful motions and settlements. She also has conducted extensive factual investigations and guided clients with respect to those findings; written, argued and prevailed on dispositive and discovery motions in both court and arbitration; and has represented clients in regulatory proceedings, settlement negotiations and mediations. While primarily civil, many of Stacey’s matters involve issues that overlap with criminal statutes, including securities fraud, wire fraud and racketeering.

Stacey also founded and leads the firm’s data privacy and cybersecurity practice. In this area, Stacey advises clients regarding their compliance obligations under international, federal and state privacy laws and regulations. Stacey also defends claims alleging invasion of privacy, improper use of biometrics, and wiretapping, and advises clients regarding compliance with data collection disclosures, consumer rights laws, and obligations to consumers and regulators after a data security event or data breach. Stacey also creates and implements comprehensive privacy and data protection programs for clients, and creates and leads privacy training for clients’ employees, in-house legal personnel and executive teams.

Stacey also participates in the firm’s attorney development programs, recruiting, hiring, training, and mentors junior lawyers in legal analysis, persuasive writing, ethics and trial advocacy.

Stacey Myers Garrett information

J.D., University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly known as University of California Hastings College of the Law) (1991)
- Magna cum laude (top 10%)
- Order of the Coif (top 10%)
- Hastings Law Journal (1989-1991); Note and Article Editor (1990-1991).
B.S. (Journalism, News-Editorial), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (1987)
- Summa cum laude

State Bar of California (1991 – present)
State Bar of Nevada (1993 – present)
United States District Courts in California (1991 – present)
United States District Courts in Nevada (1993 – present
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States

International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) (2018 to present).

- CIPP/US (Certified Information Privacy Professional, U.S. – private sector)
- CIPP/E (Certified Information Privacy Professional, Europe)
- CIPM (Certified Information Privacy Manager)
- CIPT (Certified Information Privacy Technologist)

Examples of cases in which Stacey was lead counsel or played a significant role include (in reverse chronological order):

Obtained FINRA arbitration award granting expungement of two customer disputes from high-profile wealth advisor, upon arbitrators’ unanimous finding that claims were clearly erroneous and false (Oct. 2, 2025 (co-counsel)).
Defeated customer’s claim that he was unable to close certain short positions due to an alleged failure of online broker-dealer’s trading platform (Jan. 29, 2025).
Defeated customer’s claim that broker-dealer failed to register customer’s shares with transfer agent following issuer’s voluntary corporate action and customer’s election of shares in reorganized company (Jan. 23, 2025).
Favorably resolved dispute arising out of customers’ claim that they were unable to sell securities issued shortly after merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), and resolved issues relating to Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Act Rule 144 governing restricted stock (Sept. 2024).
Defeated customers’ claim for $23 million after broker-dealer closed 475 naked call option contracts after market turned sharply against customers’ positions and accounts lacked sufficient equity to maintain positions (April 29, 2023).
Defeated customer’s claim for $2.1 million after broker-dealer liquidated securities in response to a Covid-era, intra-day margin call on customer’s concentrated and highly leveraged account, after firm increased collateral requirement overnight and customer claimed that registered representative promised that he would have more time to meet the margin call (Jan. 24, 2023).
Defeated customer’s claim of invasion of privacy in violation of the federal Right to Privacy Act (12 U.S.C. § 3403, et seq.) and other federal statutes, and successfully confirmed award to judgment in federal court. (Dec. 20, 2021).
Defeated customer’s $4.8 million claim that its retail account had been wrongfully frozen in response to court enforcement of judgment procedures against beneficial owner of limited partnership (June 29, 2021).
Defeated putative class action on a motion to dismiss based on plaintiffs’ claim that they were unable to place negatively priced orders to sell expiring crude oil futures contracts during an unprecedented market event in April 2020, when crude oil traded below zero. (June 11, 2021 and June 24, 2021).
Defeated customer’s two-part claim that broker dealer violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act as a result of disputed transfers from customer’s brokerage account, and that broker dealer failed to execute trailing stop orders to sell options contracts (May 17, 2021).
Successfully obtained order dismissing $12 million claim against national securities broker-dealer and obtained order recommending expungement of the complaint from registered representatives’ record (March 2018).
Defeated $493 million claim against national securities broker-dealer in a 37-day securities arbitration before the American Arbitration Association in which the customers alleged churning, fraud, and failure to disclose in connection with variable pre-paid forward purchase contracts, over-the-counter collars, and Waste Management, Inc. stock (Nov. 1, 2017).
Defeated borrower’s $29 million claim against a community bank after a 29-day bench trial in Superior Court in which plaintiffs claimed that bank committed fraud and breached contracts to provide various multi-million dollar agricultural and farm equipment loans as it had done in the past, and caused plaintiffs’ multi-county farming operations to fail. Also successfully obtained judgment in favor of the bank on its $650,000 counterclaim. (Jan. 2015).
Successfully dismissed borrowers’ $1 million claim that national bank failed to properly approve and fund construction costs relating to their construction loan (Oct. 2014).
In a jury trial, successfully represented national bank on its counterclaim in a wrongful foreclosure and fraud case, and obtained order awarding bank its attorneys’ fees and costs (April 2013).
Defeated elderly customer’s $1.5 million claim that the financial consultant failed to properly manage his fee-based, discretionary equities account after customer obtained a securities-backed line of credit and spent the equity from the account. The arbitrators also recommended that the complaint be expunged from the registered representatives’ record (March 2011).
Defeated customer’s $3.8 million claim against national securities broker-dealer and its employee; also obtained order expunging complaint from employee’s record and obtained order requiring customer to pay $1 million in sanctions (July 2008).
Was a member of the defense team that defended a national securities broker-dealer in a 250-member class action culminating in a six-week jury trial. (October 2002).

REPORTED DECISIONS

Dale Burns, et al. v. Prudential Securities, Inc., 167 Ohio App. 3d 809 (3rd Dist. 2006)
Dale Burns, et al. v. Prudential Securities, Inc., 450 F. Supp. 2d 808 (N.D. Ohio 2006) (newly published Supreme Court decision of Merrill Lynch v. Dabit, 547 U.S. 71 (2006) did not constitute a “motion, order or other paper” for removal purposes under section 1446(b)(3) and therefore does not create a new 30-day window for removal).
Dale Burns, et al. v. Prudential Securities, Inc., 218 F. Supp. 2d 911 (N.D. Ohio 2002) (removal of case to federal court under Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1988 (SLUSA) on the morning of trial was timely, but case was remanded to state court because plaintiffs’ pre-trial statements did not sufficiently allege fraud to make claim a “covered class action”).
Dale Burns, et al. v. Prudential Securities, Inc., 145 Ohio App. 3d 424 (3rd 2001) (Court of Appeals affirmed trial court order certifying plaintiff class).
Dale Burns, et al. v. Prudential Securities, Inc., 116 F. Supp. 2d 917 (N.D. Ohio 2000) (removal based on Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1988 (SLUSA); remanded because district court determined that case was not a “covered class action”).
In re Superior Stamp & Coin Co. (Adams v. Anderson), 223 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2000) (earmarking doctrine provided defense to debtor’s preference action and did not allow debtor to avoid portion of payments funded by bank loans specifically made for purpose of paying specific creditor)
In re Weisberg (Wolkowitz v. Shearson Lehman Bros., Inc.), 136 F.3d 655 (9th Cir. 1998) (securities broker’s post-petition sale of securities to meet margin calls did not violate the automatic stay and margin payments could not be recovered by trustee)
Steven D. Clark v. Prudential Securities, Inc., et al.., 44 Cal. App. 4th 1498 (1995) (appellate court reversed order of trial court denying arbitration, finding that plaintiffs failed to show fraud in the inception of arbitration agreements) review granted and opinion superseded by Clark v. Prudential Securities, Inc., 47 Cal. Rptr. 2d 63 (Feb. 22, 1996)

Avoiding unintended attorney fee exposure in Section 998 offers: lessons from the 9th Circuit, Daily Journal (co-author with Peter R. Boutin and Tara Leuenberger) (Oct. 14, 2025)
KYL Privacy Alert: Beware of Phishing Email from “FINRA-Online.com” Domain (March 16, 2021) https://www.kyl.com/beware-of-phishing-email-from-finra-online-com-domain/
KYL Privacy Alert: The California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act – aka “California Consumer Privacy Act 2.0” (Nov. 10, 2020) https://www.kyl.com/the-california-privacy-rights-and-enforcement-act-aka-california-consumer-privacy-act-2-0/
KYL Privacy Alert: 5 Takeaways from California’s “Final” CCPA Regulations (Sept. 14, 2020) https://www.kyl.com/5-takeaways-from-californias-final-ccpa-regulations/
KYL Privacy Alert: Taking Employee Temperatures Poses Hot Button Employment and Privacy Issues (May 19, 2020) https://www.kyl.com/taking-employee-temperatures-poses-hot-button-employment-and-privacy-issues/
KYL Privacy Alert: CCPA Proposed Regulations Modified – Again (March 12, 2020) https://www.kyl.com/ccpa-proposed-regulations-modified/
“10 Privacy Predictions for 2020” (Feb. 6, 2020) https://mitratech.com/resource-hub/blog/10-privacy-predictions-2020/
KYL Privacy Alert: California Attorney General Issues Modified California Consumer Privacy Act Regulations (Feb. 7, 2020) https://www.kyl.com/california-attorney-general-issues-modified-california-consumer-privacy-act-regulations/
KYL Privacy Alert: Suffering from CCPA Compliance Nightmares? 10 Steps to Taming the Beast that Keeps General Counsel Up at Night,” Corporate Compliance Insights (Jan. 29, 2020)
Did You Ring in the New Year with Confetti … and a New CCPA Privacy Policy? (Jan. 7, 2020) https://mitratech.com/resource-hub/blog/new-year-ccpa-privacy-policy/
For the CCPA, New AG Regulations are a “How-To” Manual (Dec. 3, 2019) https://mitratech.com/resource-hub/blog/ccpa-compliance-new-ag-regulations/
The CCPA: Why the Employee and B2B Amendments Do Not Eliminate Compliance Obligations (Nov. 25, 2019)
How Two New CCPA Amendments Impact Business Compliance Obligations (Nov. 6, 2019)
Countdown to California’s New Privacy Act, Corporate Compliance Insights (Sept. 26, 2019)
Data Privacy: Why Is It So Big Now? And Why Should Legal Teams Pay Attention? (e-book published with Mitratech and Keesal, Young & Logan, Aug. 2019)
KYL Client Alert: SEC: Victims of Cyber Scams May Also Face Enforcement Actions (Oct. 30, 2018)
Data Privacy Law: Challenges and Practical Solutions for Businesses in 2018 (October 18, 2018), Lawdragon
U. – U.S. Privacy Shield May Be Eliminated as of September 1, 2018 (co-author with James Kritenbrink) (July 18, 2018)
Strengthening Trust and Market Share with Strong Privacy and Data Security Practices Western Independent Bankers magazine (July 2018)
KYL Privacy Alert: California Lawmakers Approve Groundbreaking Privacy Law (June 28, 2018)
KYL Client Alert: Why U.S. Companies Should Care and Five Tips Toward GDPR Compliance (May 25, 2018)
Are U.S. Records Retention Requirements on a Collision Course with the GDPR’s “Right to Erasure?” (May 2018), Cybersecurity Law & Strategy; Law.Com
KYL Client Alert: Privacy and Data Protection Claims in Arbitration (Mar. 26, 2018)

Recognized on “Lawdragon’s Inaugural 500 Leading Litigators in America” (2022, 2024 and 2025) (*list was not published in 2023)
AV® Preeminent™ peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell (highest level of professional excellence) (2010–2025)
Southern California Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) (2005–2025)
(recipients selected based on peer recommendations, evaluations, independent research and verification of license; designation limited to 5% of attorneys in California)
Lawdragon, “Lawyer Limelight: Stacey Myers Garrett,” (Aug. 26, 2019)
“Best Attorney” (California), Best Attorneys of America (2018) (Lifetime Charter Member)
Southern California Women’s Edition Super Lawyers List (Thomson Reuters) (2011–2020) (based on peer recommendations, evaluations, independent research and verification of license; designation limited to 5% of attorneys in California)
Southern California Rising Star (Thomson Reuters) (2004)
(based on a combination of age or years in practice (40 years of age or younger, or 10 years or fewer in practice), or years in practice, peer recommendations, evaluations, independent research and verification of license; designation limited to 2.5% of attorneys in California)

Ins and Outs of Third-Party Privacy Contracts” (Jan. 28, 2020) (speaking engagement at PrivacyOC)
Countdown to 2020: A Survivor’s Guide to the California Consumer Privacy Act,” (Sept. 4, 2019) (speaking engagement, Mitratech Interact conference, Austin, Texas)
Data Privacy Law: Challenges and Practical Solutions for California Businesses in 2018” (July 25, 2018) (speaking engagement, Continuing Legal Education seminar)
Navigating Data Privacy for Legal Teams Webinar (June 19, 2019) (presented jointly with Mitratech)
Adding Value in 2018: Privacy and Data Security in the Financial Services Industry (May 31, 2018) (speaking engagement, Western Independent Bankers Women in Banking Forum)

Volunteer attorney scorer, Mock Trial Program, Los Angeles County Superior Court (high school and middle school students) (sponsored by the LA County Bar Association, the Daily Journal Corporation, and the American Board of Trial Advocates Foundation) (2025)
Guest speaker at City of Long Beach Data Privacy Community Workshop, hosted by City of Long Beach Technology & Innovation department (2024)
Chair and host for the Long Beach Branch NAACP Law Day, designed to introduce students of color and underserved students from local middle, high school, and colleges to law as a career (2024)
St. Bernadette’s Children Project in Lima, Peru (2023 volunteer and current supporter)
Guest speaker at California State University, Long Beach in an upper-level Journalism class entitled “Culture and Politics of the Internet” (JOUR 360) (course instructor Gwen Shaffer, Ph.D) (2022 and 2023)