Maya Saxena

Founding Shareholder
  • Bio
  • Admissions & Affiliations
  • Publications & Events

Bio

Widely recognized as one of the nation’s top securities litigators, Maya Saxena, Co-Founder of Saxena White P.A., has accomplished something remarkable. Under her direct leadership, since its founding in 2006, Ms. Saxena has grown the Firm into a national powerhouse. Instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of investors, Ms. Saxena has led trial teams in numerous major securities and shareholder actions and protected shareholders by prosecuting important corporate governance actions and obtaining meaningful reforms. Having built one of the nation’s only woman- and minority-owned securities class action firms representing institutional investors, her emphasis on diversity and inclusion has become a model for the legal industry.

Ms. Saxena has been practicing exclusively in the securities litigation field for nearly 25 years, representing institutional investors in shareholder actions involving breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of the federal securities laws. Recently, Ms. Saxena played a key role in obtaining a $240 million settlement on behalf of Wells Fargo & Company. The cash payment from Defendants’ insurers represents one of the largest insurance-funded monetary components of any shareholder derivative settlement. Ms. Saxena also led the litigation team that recovered $210 million from Wilmington Trust—one of the largest settlements in 2018. Other prominent recoveries for injured investors include: Rayonier, Inc. ($73 million settlement), SIRVA, Inc. ($53.3 million settlement), HD Supply ($50 million settlement—one of the largest ever achieved in the Northern District of Georgia), Aracruz Celulose ($37.5 million settlement), Perrigo Company plc ($31.9 million), and Sunbeam (settled with Arthur Andersen LLP for $110 million—one of the largest settlements ever with an accounting firm—and a $15 million personal contribution from former CEO Al Dunlap).

Prior to forming Saxena White, Ms. Saxena served as the Managing Partner of the Florida office of one of the nation’s largest securities litigation firms, successfully directing numerous high-profile securities cases. Ms. Saxena gained valuable trial experience before entering private practice while serving as an Assistant Attorney General in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. During her time in that role, Ms. Saxena represented the State of Florida in civil cases at the appellate and trial levels and prepared amicus curiae briefs in support of state policies at issue in state and federal courts. In addition, Ms. Saxena represented the Florida Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies in civil forfeiture trials.

Ms. Saxena is a frequent speaker at educational forums involving public pension funds and advises public and multi-employer pension funds on how to address fraud-related investment losses. She is an active member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA), and co-chairs its Securities Litigation Committee. As part of her professional endeavors, Ms. Saxena writes numerous articles on protecting shareholder rights, and works closely with other NAPPA members to author, update, and publish a white paper on post-Morrison international securities litigation.

For her professional achievements, Ms. Saxena is frequently recognized by top industry publications. She was named a Law360 2021 Securities MVP, one of only five attorneys chosen in the area. Ms. Saxena was also named a “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer” by Lawdragon for the last several years. The National Law Journal named Ms. Saxena one of the “Elite Women in the Plaintiffs Bar” in 2023. She was recognized in the South Florida Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” as one of the top lawyers in South Florida and has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list for over a decade. Ms. Saxena has repeatedly been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®.  She has also been named a Florida “Legal Elite” by Florida Trend magazine and a “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation.

Ms. Saxena graduated from Syracuse University summa cum laude in 1993, with a dual degree in policy studies and economics, and graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1996.

Admissions & Affiliations

  • United States Supreme Court

  • State of Florida

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Publications & Events

Education
  • Pepperdine University School of Law, JD
  • Syracuse University, BA