Miranda Wheeler
Associate
Overview
Miranda Wheeler is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Newport Beach office. Ms. Wheeler's practice focuses on complex litigation in state and federal courts. She has second-chaired jury trials and arbitrations, appeared and argued before numerous courts, and won in trial, in arbitration and on the papers.
Ms. Wheeler predominantly splits her practice between business litigation and real estate disputes and capital markets. She also has experience with forfeiture proceedings, product liability actions and constitutional tort litigation. She represents clients in all industries, including finance, real estate, technology, healthcare, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, sports, entertainment, energy, construction and insurance.
In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Wheeler maintains an active pro bono practice, spanning civil rights actions, adoption proceedings, domestic violence petitions, guardianship applications and asylum applications.
Prior to rejoining Holland & Knight, Ms. Wheeler was an attorney at another global law firm in its Los Angeles office.
While in law school, Ms. Wheeler served as the Managing Editor of the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal. She also completed a judicial externship for the Honorable Victoria S. Kaufman of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
Representative Experience
- Served as second-chair trial counsel in a three-week jury trial regarding a shareholder dispute; won a complete defense verdict for the company, its directors and its officers; the judgment was affirmed on appeal
- Served as primary drafter of motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract dispute; the motion was granted in its entirety
- Secured a multimillion-dollar settlement for an individual defendant in a federal securities class action involving fraudulent/preferential transfer cryptocurrency claims
- Represented a public figure in a federal forfeiture action involving hundreds of millions of dollars of stock and a related shareholder dispute in state court
- Represented a major enterprise software company in a securities dispute
- Represented a major software company in a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit
- Represented a technology company in a securities dispute involving breach of fiduciary duty and fraud claims
- Represented a healthcare company in a putative securities class action
- Served as second-chair trial counsel in a five-week jury trial regarding a breach of the purchase and sale agreement of a winery and the surrounding land; secured a favorable settlement for the plaintiff prior to judgment
- Served as second-chair counsel for a two-day arbitration regarding a real estate partnership dispute; won a partial award and attorneys' fees as the prevailing party
- Represented a major real estate investment company in litigation involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud claims
- Represented a major real estate investment company in litigation involving claims for breach of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and nuisance
- Advised a major real estate investment company regarding an easement dispute
- Served as the primary drafter of two motions for summary judgment in the first two cases to be prepared for trial in a major nationwide pharmaceutical litigation; both motions were granted in their entirety on several independent grounds in favor of a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company and its subsidiary
- Part of national coordinating counsel for multiple major companies in litigation regarding their cosmetic talc products
- Secured a favorable settlement in an automotive tort dispute
- Represented a major building company in a dispute involving tort and breach-of-contract claims
- Lead attorney for a prisoner in a civil rights action asserting constitutional tort claims against prison guards for excessive force and failure to protect; secured a favorable settlement for the client
- Represented foster parents in a successful adoption proceeding
- Volunteered at the Public Law Center's domestic violence clinic and guardianship clinic
- Represented an asylum seeker in asylum application process
Credentials
- University of Southern California Gould School of Law, J.D.
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Philosophy, with distinction
- California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
- Public Law Center Advocates, Pro Bono Committee Co-Chair, 2022-2024