Photo of Kevin LaCroix

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.

Shabnam Karim
Simon Lamb

The current war in Iran has enormous implications for the global and regional Middle East economy. The war also has important insurance implications, including with respect to D&O insurance in the Middle East region. In the following guest post, Shabnam Karim and Simon Lamb examine the ways that the current military, political, and diplomatic circumstances in the region are affecting both corporate risk exposure and the D&O insurance underwriting and claims environment. Shabnam is a partner and Simon is an associate at the Norton Rose Fulbright law firm’s Dubai office. We would like to thank Shabham and Simon for allowing us to publish their article on this site. Here is Shabnam and Simon’s article.

Continue Reading Guest Post: Middle East D&O Claims Exposures in a Time of Tension

As followers of the financial markets know, in recent months, trouble has been brewing in the private credit sector. In at least some cases, the problems in the private credit markets have translated into D&O claims, including both securities class action lawsuits (for example, here) and shareholder derivative lawsuits (here). In the latest example of a private credit-related D&O claim, a shareholder plaintiff has filed a securities class action lawsuit against one of KKR’s private credit ventures, alleging that the firm overstated asset valuations and the effectiveness of its restructuring efforts. A copy of the May 4, 2026, securities class action lawsuit complaint can be found here.

Continue Reading Yet Another Private Credit Firm Hit With Securities Suit

It was 20 years ago this week – on May 6, 2006 – that The D&O Diary published its first blog post. Two decades and literally thousands of blog posts later, The D&O Diary is still at it, still a “Periodic Journal,” still publishing “Items of Interest from the World of Directors and Officers Liability, With Occasional Commentary.”  

Continue Reading The D&O Diary Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

One of the perennial D&O insurance issues involves the question whether “disgorgement” amounts awarded in SEC proceedings represent “penalties” for which insurance coverage is precluded. In the latest example of a case involving these issues, the Delaware Superior Court recently held, in reliance on the statutory provisions defining the SEC’s authority to seek monetary remedies, that the disgorgement amounts and prejudgment interest awarded against the media company Clear Channel are not “penalties” for which coverage is precluded. As discussed below, the court’s analysis of the issues, and its reference to the relevant statutory provisions, is both detailed and instructive.

Continue Reading Del. Court: SEC Disgorgement Not a “Penalty” for Which Coverage is Barred
Evan Bundschuh
Burkhard Fassbach

In the following guest post, Evan Bundschuh and Burkhard Fassbach share and analyze their research into the AI-related Form 10-K disclosures of 26 U.S.-listed public companies, in order to assess the level and significance of public companies’ disclosure statements pertaining to artificial intelligence. 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: Mapping AI Risks: Insights from 2025 10-K Filings

In a rare trial in a securities class action lawsuit, a federal jury has ruled that hedge fund Armistice Capital and certain of its executives had not, as the plaintiffs alleged, committed insider trading or engaged in a pump-and-dump scheme in selling over $200 million in vaccine company Vaxart stock during the COVID-19 pandemic. The jury specifically held that the plaintiffs had not proven that the defendants had engaged in a scheme to defraud and had not proven their insider trading allegations.

Continue Reading Rare Securities Class Action Lawsuit Trial Results in Defense Verdict

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an increasingly important part of business strategy for many companies. As AI has become increasingly important in the corporate world, some commentators suggest that corporate boards not only need AI fluency but in fact need a specialized AI expert.  These suggestions about board expertise may present challenges for many boards, as boards seek to balance a host of competing objectives and interests. An April 15, 2026, memo from the Debevoise & Plimpton law firm (here) takes a pragmantic approach, proposing that the appropriate AI governance framework “will differ for each company and should align with the company’s strategic needs and relationship to technology.”

Continue Reading AI and Corporate Governance: Do Boards Need an AI Expert?

In recent months, securities class action litigation patterns involving AI-related disclosures have emerged and developed, as has been documented on this site (most recently, for example, here). There has of course been a great deal of other kinds of AI-related litigation, including lawsuits involving intellectual property issues, privacy and data-collection concerns, discrimination and bias claims, and a variety of different kinds of tort allegations.

In a shareholder derivative lawsuit recently filed against the board of software firm Adobe, these two lines of AI-related litigation crossed; the plaintiff shareholder alleges that the defendants violated their board duties by knowingly permitting the company to train its artificial intelligence tools using material copyrighted by others and in a way that subjected the company to IP-related litigation. As discussed below, the new lawsuit illustrates how the broader range of AI-related litigation can translate into follow-on D&O claims, representing yet another area of AI-related D&O risk.

Continue Reading AI-Related IP Litigation Triggers Follow-On D&O Lawsuit
Tirana

The D&O Diary’s European travels continued earlier this week with a first-time ever visit to Albania, the rugged country on the Adriatic and Ionian coasts of the Balkan Peninsula, tucked between Montenegro and Greece. The country still retains many vestiges of its 20th century communist era, but it is modernizing quickly, and it remains a topographically diverse, naturally beautiful country.

Continue Reading Albania
The Bay of Kotor

The D&O Diary’s European assignment continued last week with a long weekend visit to Montenegro. Montenegro is a small country with rugged mountains and an interesting history, tucked along the Adriatic coast on the Balkan peninsula. It was my first time in the country, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I discovered was a pleasant surprise. It turns out, Montenegro is an absolute gem.

Continue Reading Montenegro