One of the most interesting and significant developments in the corporate and securities litigation arena has been the rise of collective investor litigation outside the United States, as I have discussed in prior posts. This rising tide of litigation has not only included increased numbers of legal actions in a number of different jurisdictions but also has included several substantial settlements, including among others the massive settlements in the Fortis case and in the RBS case. In an updated report July 2019 report entitled “Global Securities Litigation Trends: July 2019 Update” (here), the Dechert law firm takes a detailed look at the “sea change” that has taken place in collective investor litigation in recent years, as a result of which, according to the report, we have entered “a new era of global securities litigation.” Continue Reading
Why Corporate America Needs a Strong D&O Insurance Market
Paul Ferrillo
In the following guest post, Paul Ferrillo takes a look at the current state of the D&O insurance market and provides his views on the importance of a healthy D&O market for corporate America. Paul is a shareholder in the Greenberg Traurig law firm’s Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Crisis Management Practice. I would like to thank Paul for his willingness to allow me to publish his article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Paul’s article. Continue Reading
Ontario-Based Firm is Latest Canadian Cannabis Company Hit with U.S. Securities Suit
One of the things that happened both in the lead up to and in the wake of the October 2018 legalization of cannabis-based products in Canada is that a number of Canada-based cannabis companies listed their shares on U.S. securities exchanges. From the outset, D&O insurers have regarded the cannabis companies as a distinct risk and as a tough class of business. Earlier on, there were relatively few claims to substantiate these concerns. However, there have now been a number of securities class action lawsuits filed against U.S.-listed Canadian companies, with the latest lawsuit filed just this week. Continue Reading
Massive GDPR Fines Have Serious Implications for Corporate Risk
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation went into effect with great fanfare in May 2018, along with great trepidation about the potential fines regulators might impose for violation of the regulation’s requirements. In the following months, regulators imposed relatively few fines, for relatively modest amounts. However, just in the last several days, the U.K. privacy regulator has announced the potential imposition of two massive GDPR fines, underscoring the regulation’s potential huge impact. The newly announced fines, involving British Airways and Marriott International, have a number of serious implications for other companies, for the future of GDPR enforcement, and for the significance of privacy issues generally as an area of corporate risk. Continue Reading
A Visit to an Old Friend in Paris
The D&O Diary’s European assignment last week concluded with a weekend stopover in Paris. With the warm, sunny weather that prevailed, the visit to Paris was every bit as wonderful as you might suppose. In addition to the obvious draw of visiting Paris in July, another reason for the visit was to check in on an old friend who has been going through some tough times lately.
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Guest Post: Your Expert Witness May Not Be an Expert – At Being an Expert Witness
Richard M. Leisner
In the following guest post, Richard M. Leisner, a senior member in the Trenam law firm in the firm’s Tampa office, takes a look at a recent Sixth Circuit decision that, as Richie puts it, “has important lessons for both expert witnesses and attorneys who hire experts.” I would like to thank Richie for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Richie’s guest post. Continue Reading
London Climate Change Conference
An unusual sight: the Lloyd’s building in the sunshine
The D&O Diary was on assignment in London this past week, primarily to participate in an event organized in connection with the Mayor of London’s Climate Action Week conference. It was a great week in London, primarily because of the conference, but also because of the unusually pleasant weather. It was also interesting being in London for the Fourth of July holiday. Continue Reading
Of Time and Summer, Once Again
In recognition of the Independence Day holiday in the U.S., and in what is now an annual tradition, I reprise my 2012 essay about Time and Summer, which can be found here. Have a great Fourth of July holiday. (Perhaps ironically, I will be spending the Fourth of July holiday in London this year.) Thank you to all of my loyal readers.
Guest Post: Some Additional Thoughts on Easing Late Notice Consequences under Renewal Policies
John F. McCarrick
In a recent post, I expressed a variety of opinions about claims notice issues arising in connection with D&O insurance renewals. Apparently, my commentary and proposals triggered enough of a reaction from my good friend John McCarrick that he felt compelled to write a response. John is a partner at the White & Williams law firm and chair of the firm’s Financial Lines Group. John is also one of the most widely respected professionals in the D&O insurance industry, and so I am pleased he took the time to write a response to my article and pleased to publish his response here. Here is John’s response. Continue Reading
Guest Post: Buckle up Directors: Cybersecurity Risk and Bankruptcy Risk Are Not Mutually Exclusive
Paul Ferrillo
Christophe Veltsos
In the following guest post, Paul Ferrillo and Christophe Veltsos consider the implications of the recently announced bankruptcy of the corporate parent of a medical billing company following a high-profile date breach at the billing company. Paul is a shareholder in the Greenberg Traurig law firm’s Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Crisis Management Practice. Chris is a professor in the Department of Computer Information Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato where he regularly teaches Information Security and Information Warfare classes. I would like to than Paul and Chris for their willingness to allow me to publish their article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Paul and Chris’s article. Continue Reading
