Terry R. Weiss

With nearly 35 years of practical experience, Terry focuses his practice on representing the securities industry in the full range of legal disputes. In that capacity, he represents broker-dealers, investment advisors, prime brokers and securities industry professionals in regulatory and enforcement matters, civil litigation and arbitrations and internal investigations. Terry has served as lead counsel in over 100 arbitrations through award, and has actively supervised the handling of hundreds others. A sub-specialty is the handling of appellate matters, especially in cases impacting the securities industry. He has argued appeals before most of the federal circuit courts of appeal and a number of state courts resulting in favorable decisions for the securities industry. An important part of his practice includes the defense of enforcement matters before the various securities industry regulators, including the SEC, FINRA and the various states. Terry is also called upon to lead internal investigations that are often linked to enforcement matters or litigations.

He earned his J.D. from the Emory School of Law in 1986 and holds a B.A. in economics (High Honors) from Emory University.

Community & Professional

• ART PAPERS, Board of Directors, 2015 - Present
• American Bar Association - Editor, Broker-Dealer Litigation Survey (2008-2014), Co-Chair, Broker-Dealer Litigation Committee (2010-2011)
• Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Arbitrator, Securities Industry Panelist
• High Museum of Art, former Board Member and Director’s Circle
• Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), Outside Counsel Member

• Gray Financial Group, Inc., Laurence O. Gray, and Robert C. Hubbard, IV v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Case No. 15-13738, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Gray Financial Group, Inc., Laurence O. Gray, and Robert C. Hubbard, IV v. United States Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga., Case No. 1:15-cv-0492-LMM
• Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. v. John J. Garrett et al., 5th Cir. Ct. App., Case No. 11-20736, reversing, Morgan Keegan & Company v. John J. Garrett, et al., Civil Action No. 4:10-cv-04309 (S.D. Tex. 2011) (vacating US$9.2 million arbitration award)
• Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. v. Horace Grant, 9th Cir. Ct. App., Case No. 10-56166, affirming, Morgan Keegan & Company v. Horace Grant, Case No. CV 09-07369 SJO (C.D. Cal. 2010) (vacatur motion based on bias)
• Pack v. Benjamin Stanley, et al., Civil Action No. 1:10-cv-02200-AT (N.D. Ga. 2011) (dismissing alleged US$15 million securities suit for pleading deficiencies with no right to re-plead)
• Brown v. J.P. Turner & Company, Civil Action No. 1:09-cv-02649-JEC (N.D. Ga. 2011) In re J.P. Turner & Company, LLC, Initial Decision Rel. No. 395 (May 19, 2010 SEC LEXIS 1656) (Reg SP SEC enforcement action)
• Instituto De Prevision Militar v. Merrill Lynch, 546 F.3d 1340 (11th Cir. 2008)
• Cordova v. Lehman Bros., Inc., 526 F.Supp.2d 1305 (S.D. Fla. 2007)
• Cordova v. Lehman Bros., Inc., 237 F.R.D. 471 (S.D. Fla. 2006)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Coe, 313 F.Supp.2d 603 (S.D. W.Va. 2004)
• GCA Strategic Inv. Fund, Ltd. v. Joseph Charles & Associates, Inc., 245 Ga. App. 460, 537 S.E.2d 677 (2000)
• Cullen v. Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, Inc., 863 F.2d 851 (11th Cir. 1989)
• O.R. Securities, Inc. v. Professional Planning Associates, Inc., 857 F.2d 742 (11th Cir. 1988)

Recognition

• Chambers USA, 2012-2018
• Super Lawyers magazine, Georgia Super Lawyers, 2006, 2010 – 2018 - "Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia," 2012 - 2016
• Team Member, The American Lawyer's "Regional Litigation Department of the Year - Georgia," 2018
• The Legal 500 United States, Litigation - Securities - Shareholder Litigation, 2012 - 2017
• Georgia Trend magazine, "Legal Elite," 2009 - 2013 and 2015
• Team Member, Fulton County Daily Report, "Georgia Litigation Department of the Year," Securities Litigation, 2013
• Team Member, Law360 "Employment Practice Group of the Year," 2011 and 2013
• Team Member, Law360 "Appellate Practice Group of the Year," 2010
• Rated AV Preeminent® 5.0 out of 5
• The Best Lawyers in America© for Securities Litigation (2021-present)