Cara M. Peterman

• Representing a higher education services provider, along with certain of its current officers, in a securities class action in Delaware federal court, a shareholder derivative action in the Delaware Court of Chancery, and an FTC action in Arizona federal court.
• Representing a global payments technology company in a shareholder derivative action alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims arising out of violations of the FTC Act.
• Representing a multinational health insurance and health care services company in an SEC investigation arising out of a significant cybersecurity incident.
• Represented Dell Technologies Inc. and certain Dell directors in Delaware litigation arising out of the company’s multibillion-dollar share exchange, and represented Dell in related books and records litigation brought by Carl Icahn.
• Represented Dell Technologies Inc. in Delaware Chancery Court in a stockholder suit challenging the sale of Pivotal Software, Inc. to VMware., Inc.
• Represented a financial services company in a securities class action filed in the Northern District of Georgia and in an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Represented The Wendy’s Company and certain of its officers and directors in a consolidated shareholder derivative action arising out of a criminal cyberattack.
• Represented the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer and certain of its officers and directors in consolidated shareholder derivative litigation alleging claims arising out of a third-party criminal cyberattack. The defendants won their motion to dismiss in a precedent-setting decision.
• Represented a communications technology company in an SEC investigation arising out of a cybersecurity incident.
• Represented the board of a warehousing and transportation company in an internal investigation following a series of cyberattacks on the company.
• Represented the board-level Special Litigation Committee of a producer and marketer of packaged bakery goods in an investigation arising out of a shareholder demand.
• Represented International Speedway Corporation and certain of its officers and directors in an action alleging breach of fiduciary duty in an acquisition of the company by NASCAR Holdings Inc.
• Represented a multinational property and casualty insurer in a Delaware shareholder derivative action alleging breach of fiduciary duty claims arising out of a related-party transaction.
• Represented one of the country’s largest postsecondary education providers in False Claims Act litigation.

Cara Peterman is a partner with Alston & Bird’s Securities Litigation Group. She represents public companies and their officers and directors in securities class actions, shareholder derivative suits, M&A litigation, and other complex commercial litigation. She also regularly represents clients in investigations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators and conducts internal, board-level investigations into alleged corporate misconduct.

Cara additionally counsels corporations and their boards on public disclosure and corporate governance matters, with a concentration on cybersecurity, data-privacy, D&O insurance, and M&A-related issues. Cara is listed in Chambers USA for Litigation: Securities – Georgia and was selected as a member of the Daily Report’s “On the Rise” class in 2021.  She speaks frequently on securities litigation trends and executive-level cybersecurity concerns.

Cara received her J.D. from the New York University School of Law and her B.A. from Northwestern University, and she is a member of the State Bars of Georgia and New York. She has served on the board of a nonprofit health care services provider.

Languages

• Spanish

Bar Admissions

• Georgia
• New York

Education

• New York University (J.D., 2009)
• Northwestern University (B.A., 2005)