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Kevin M. LaCroix is an attorney and Executive Vice President, RT ProExec, a division of RT Specialty. RT ProExec is an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on management liability issues.

Evan Bundschuh
Burkhard Fassbach

In the following guest post, Evan Bundschuh and Burkhard Fassbach share and analyze their research into the geopolitics-related Form 10-K disclosures of 26 large-cap U.S.-listed public companies, as well as 52 small-cap and mid-cap companies, in order to assess the level and significance of public companies’ disclosure statements pertaining to geopolitics. Evan is Vice President at GB&A, a retail insurance brokerage in New York, and Burkhard is a D&O lawyer in private practice in Germany. My thanks to Evan and Burkhard for allowing us to publish their article on this site. Here is their article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: Geopolitical Risk Mapping in the 2025 Filing Season

As readers know, in May, the SEC proposed a rule that would provide companies currently subject to the agency’s quarterly reporting requirements with the option to instead file interim reports semiannually. Following the agency’s announcement of the proposed rule, the proposal has been subject to public comment. The comment period is now closed, although apparently some late filed comments are still being made public. What does the commentary show?  The filed comments show that while public reaction to the proposal has varied, the filed comments were almost exclusively negative.

Continue Reading Commentators Respond to SEC’s Semiannual Reporting Proposal
John McCarrick

Those who follow Directors’ and Officers’ indemnification and advancement issues know that there are a host of recurring questions surrounding executives’ advancement rights, including whether there are duration or amount limits on a company’s advancement obligations. In the following guest post, John McCarrick, a partner at the Robinson & Cole law firm in New York, takes a look at these issues in the context of recent high-profile dispute involving executives at JPMorgan. Our thanks to John for allowing us to publish his article guest post on this site. Here is John’s article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: When D&O Advancement Becomes a Blank Check

Since the dawn of time, one of the biggest D&O insurance coverage issues has been allocation – that is, the division of loss between covered and noncovered claims or between covered and noncovered parties. After a series of developments in the mid-90s, including the standardization of policy allocation language, litigated allocation disputes became less frequent (though to be sure, allocation is still very much an issue in many D&O insurance claims.) However, in recent years, there has been a series of Delaware court decisions revisiting both allocation issues and what has become the standard D&O insurance allocation provision.

In the latest example of the reemergence of litigated allocation disputes, a Delaware court has held that the “Larger Settlement Rule” should be used to resolve an allocation dispute, notwithstanding the presence in the applicable allocation provision of relatively standard “relative exposures” language. With this latest decision, and in light of the other recent Delaware allocation decisions, some differentiating principles can be discerned, as discussed below.

A copy of the Delaware Superior Court’s June 18, 2026, decision in the Hemisphere Media Group case can be found here. The July 10, 2026, LinkedIn post of Geoffrey Fehling of the Hunton Andrew Kurth law firm discussing the court’s allocation decision in the Hemisphere case can be found here.

Continue Reading Del. Court: “Larger Settlement Rule” Applies to Insurance Allocation Dispute

The third episode of The D&O Diary Podcast Series is now live. Building on our June 30, 2026, post discussing first-half federal court securities class action lawsuits, this episode explores the factors and  trends driving the number of current suit filings.

In this podcast, we discuss the overall increase in the total number of federal court securities suits during the first six months of 2026; the continued emergence of AI-related securities litigation; and the significant role that stock manipulation and promotion-related claims in the number of securities suits that have been filed so far this year. We also examine what these developments may mean for public companies, directors and officers, and D&O insurers in the months ahead.

Continue Reading The D&O Diary Podcast Series – Episode 3: Securities Class Action Suit Filing Trends
Thomas Boley

In the following guest post, Thomas Boley, an associate at the Wiley Rein LLP law firm, takes a closer look at the Up-C corporate structure, and considers the claims that can arise due to the issues the corporate structure can present, as well as the insurance coverage issues that these claims may involve. Our thanks to Thomas for allowing us to publish his article as a guest post on this site. Here is Thomas’s article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: D&O Risks in Up‑C Dilution Claims

One of the much-discussed concerns in the insurance industry about artificial intelligence (AI) is the risk of “silent AI” – that is, the seepage of AI-related matters into various insurance coverages that were not intended (at least not consciously) to provide coverage for these kinds of exposures. A new shareholder derivative lawsuit filed against the board of Microsoft provides an illustration of these kinds of concerns in operation. The new derivative suit is a follow-on to prior underlying litigation in which copyright holders allege Microsoft used the holders’ copyright materials to develop its AI products. The new derivative lawsuit alleges that Microsoft’s directors violated their duties to the company by knowingly allowing copyright infringement, causing harm to the company.

The new lawsuit, discussed below, shows how a matter that would not typically be covered under a D&O policy (copyright infringement) can translate into a potentially covered matter (a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit), and it also shows how AI-related exposures can seep into D&O insurance coverage, as well. A copy of the June 30, 2026, lawsuit filed against certain of Microsoft’s directors and officers can be found here.

Continue Reading New Microsoft Derivative Lawsuit: “Silent AI” and D&O Exposure

In recognition of the Independence Day holiday in the U.S., and in what has become an annual tradition, we are reprising Kevin’s 2012 essay about Time and Summer, which can be found here. Have a great Fourth of July holiday. Thank you to all of our loyal readers.

The current Trump administration’s tariff policies have created operating challenges for many companies, challenges that in at least some cases have translated into securities class action lawsuits. In the latest example, the solar panel company First Solar has been hit with a tariff-related securities class action lawsuit after the company experienced complications in its international operations due to the tariffs. A copy of the new First Solar securities class action lawsuit can be found here.

Continue Reading Solar Panel Company Hit with Tariff-Related Securities Suit