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Adam F. Shearer
Counsel
Adam F. Shearer
Counsel
Adam Shearer represents individuals and businesses in complex civil litigation and criminal matters, including thorny cases involving securities, antitrust, fraud, bribery, tax controversies, and employment disputes. Adam’s clients face a range of challenging legal problems and have a diverse set of goals. He has helped his clients win at trial, and has helped them avoid litigation altogether by getting the best settlement possible before a case is even filed.
Adam thrives at listening to his clients, diagnosing their legal issues, and crafting a results-oriented path to achieve their objectives.

Adam joined the firm after three years as a law clerk at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, first serving the Hon. Joseph C. Spero (2011-2012) and then the Hon. Jacqueline Scott Corley (2012-2014). Prior to clerking, Adam was a Public Interest Fellow at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in San Francisco. Adam is a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law, where he interned for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Complex and Affirmative Litigation team, and volunteered for the Tenants’ Rights Workshop.

​Adam was a member of the trial team that won an acquittal for the former global head of foreign exchange of a multinational investment bank. Our client was accused of orchestrating a $6 billion front-running scheme against a large information technology company. At the close of the government’s case, the Court granted our Rule 29 motion on all counts, recognizing that no reasonable jury could convict based on the evidence presented.

​Adam also represented a major California utility in a first-of-its-kind federal prosecution stemming from alleged regulatory violations. After motion practice and trial, the company achieved dismissal or acquittal on 22 of 28 counts, including allegations which could have resulted in fines in excess of $1 billion.

Adam currently represents the former CEO of a major consumer financial institution in a complex web of litigation and investigations stemming from accusations of fraud, including securities actions, shareholder derivative claims, regulatory inquiries, and criminal investigations.

Adam also represents a major social media technology company in various employment matters.  In one such case, he won complete dismissal of a discrimination suit before a state agency.

In addition, he worked on a successful petition for habeas relief on behalf of the firm’s longtime client, an inmate who has been on death row for nearly thirty years. After almost two decades of litigation, the Court held that our client was unconstitutionally denied his Sixth Amendment right to a competency hearing before his criminal trial, and ordered our client released or re-tried. The decision was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In addition to his legal practice, Adam serves on the board of directors for the AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP), which provides free and low-cost legal services to those living in the Bay Area with HIV/AIDS. In his spare time, Adam can be found exploring Lake Tahoe, attending Bay Area sports events, or practicing his French.

T: 415.749.1800
F: 415.749.1694
E: administrator@clarencedyer.com

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