Carol C. Villegas is a Partner in the New York office of Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP. Carol focuses on prosecuting complex securities fraud and consumer cases on behalf of institutional investors and individuals. Leading one of the Firm’s Securities Litigation teams and co-leading the Firm’s Consumer Protection and Data Privacy Litigation team, she is actively overseeing litigation against Boeing, PayPal, DocuSign, Catalent, Nike, Charter Communications, PowerSchool, and Amazon, among others. In addition to her litigation responsibilities, Villegas holds a variety of leadership positions within the Firm, including serving on the Firm's Executive Committee, as Chair of the Firm's Women's Initiative, and as Chief of Compliance.
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Notable recent successes in securities cases include In re Nielsen Holdings PLC Securities Litigation ($73 million settlement), Allison v. Oak Street Health Inc. ($60 million settlement), and City of Warren Police and Fire Retirement System v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ($39 million settlement). Villegas has also played a pivotal role in securing favorable settlements for investors, including in cases against DeVry, a for-profit university; AMD, a multi-national semiconductor company; Liquidity Services, an online auction marketplace; Aeropostale, a leader in the international retail apparel industry; Vocera, a healthcare communications provider; and Prothena, a biopharmaceutical company, among others. Villegas has also helped revive a securities class action against LifeLock after arguing an appeal before the Ninth Circuit. The case settled shortly thereafter.
In addition to her securities practice, Villegas has extensive experience representing consumers in high-profile data privacy litigation. Most notably, Villegas secured a historic jury verdict in a landmark data privacy case against tech giant Meta Platforms Inc., finding Meta liable for its role in the unauthorized collection and commercial use of highly personal health data from third-party app Flo Health. This is one of the first cases where a jury has held a major technology company accountable for its handling of consumer health information. Villegas currently serves as co-lead counsel in a suit alleging illegal wiretapping and surreptitious recording through Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices.
Prior to joining Labaton Keller Sucharow, Villegas served as the Assistant District Attorney in the Supreme Court Bureau for the Richmond County District Attorney’s office, where she took several cases to trial. She began her career as an Associate at King & Spalding LLP, where she worked as a federal litigator.
Villegas is an active member of the New York State Bar Association's Women in the Law Section and Chair of the Board of Directors of the City Bar Fund, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) arm of the New York City Bar Association. In 2024, she was appointed by the Court of Appeals to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, an organization that administers the bar examination to candidates seeking admission to practice law in the State of New York. Villegas is also a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA), the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR), the National Association of Women Lawyers, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. In addition, Carol previously served on Law360’s Securities Editorial Board.
Villegas is a frequent commentator on legal issues and has been featured in the Financial Times, Law360, Investment & Pensions Europe, and National Law Journal, among others.