New securities class action lawsuits in the first half of 2025 were filed at a pace that projects to a year-end total number of filings level with 2024’s full-year total.Continue Reading First Half Securities Suit Filings on Pace to Match Last Year’s Filings Total
As part of my day job, I attend a lot of insurance conferences, including some in foreign venues. A frequent feature of these conferences is expert conjecture about areas of emerging liability risk. In recent years, one frequently discussed area of concern has been emerging liability issues arising from the use of GLP-1 drugs. Many readers will be familiar with the branded GLP-1 products such as Ozempic, for treatment of type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy, for weight loss treatment. There already are, in fact, growing numbers of product liability claims concerning GLP-1 drugs, as discussed below.
I have long wondered whether D&O claims relating to GLP-1 drugs might also emerge. In an interesting development last week, plaintiff shareholders filed two separate GLP-1-related securities class action lawsuits against telehealth platform Hims & Hers Health, when the company’s share price plunged after Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, pulled its agreement allowing Hims to distribute the drug on its platform. Although the allegations in the new lawsuits against Hims are arguably specific to Hims, the lawsuits nevertheless are securities suits relating to GLP-1 drugs. As discussed further below, I continue to believe that issues relating to GLP-1 drugs are a potential area of emerging D&O risk. Continue Reading Thinking About GLP-1 Drugs and D&O Risk
For a variety of reasons, alternative fundraising vehicles are currently gaining in popularity. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, takes a closer look at Equity Crowdfunding and RegA offerings and related potential liability issues. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s guest post. Continue Reading Guest Post: GoFundMe Securities
The Trump administration has made it clear that combatting “illegal DEI” is a priority. Indeed, on the first full day after his inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order targeting “Illegal DEI” in the private sector. In early February, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo directing the U.S. Department of Justice’s positions with respect to DEI. Now, the newly appointed head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division has issued a separate memo identifying the division’s priorities, with DEI topics given precedence, clearly marking DEI as a DOJ Civil Division enforcement authority, with important implications for companies. Continue Reading Department of Justice Civil Division Targets “Illegal DEI”
As I have noted in recent posts (most recently, for example, here), the proliferation of AI in many industries is changing the way business gets done. According to a new study, AI could also be changing the language companies use to report to regulators and to communicate with their investors, in ways that potentially could increase the companies’ securities class action litigation exposure.Continue Reading Tone Portrait: Artificial Intelligence and MD&A
As I have noted in previous post on this site (most recently here), the Trump Administration’s tariff and trade policies not only pose potential operating and financial challenges to many businesses, but they may also present companies with corporate liability exposures as well. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, considers the liability risks that companies may face under the current tariff regime. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Whiplash
In recent months, a number of companies have been hit with AI-washing securities class action lawsuits alleging that the defendant companies overstated their AI-related capabilities or opportunities (such as, for example, the securities suit filed late last week against Tempus AI, as discussed here). While there have been quite a number of AI-washing related securities suits, I have long though that the larger and longer-term AI-related securities litigation risk is not as much with respect to allegations that companies overstated their AI capabilities, as from allegations that companies understated their AI-related risks.
In a new securities class action lawsuit that reflects these latter kinds of risk, last week a plaintiff shareholder sued online platform Reddit, alleging that the company misled investors by downplaying the impact on the company’s site traffic and ad revenue from Google’s adoption of artificial intelligence search results. As discussed below, these kinds of AI-risk related allegations could represent a potential new area of AI-related securities litigation risk. A copy of the June 18, 2025, complaint against Reddit can be found here.Continue Reading Reddit Downplayed Impact of Google’s AI-Related Changes, Suit Alleges
In recent weeks, the business pages have been full of stories concerning the genomic testing company 23andMe, in particular with respect to privacy issues and the company’s bankruptcy. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, considers potential D&O liability issues that recent developments involving the company could raise. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: 23andMe and D&O Liability
In the latest AI-washing related securities class action lawsuit to be filed, a plaintiff shareholder has filed a securities suit against AI-based health care company Tempus AI, alleging, among other things, that the company overstated its AI capabilities. The lawsuit comes after the company’s share price declined following the publication of a short seller report critical of the company and its management. A copy of the June 12, 2025, complaint against Tempus AI can be found here.Continue Reading AI-Washing Securities Suit Filed Against Tempus AI
On May 12, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division announced significant changes in its policies on investigating and prosecuting white collar crime. In its memo announcing the new policies, and in subsequent statements, the agency signaled its intent to refine enforcement priorities, encourage self-disclosure, and increase efficiency in investigations. In the following guest post, Michael W. Peregrine and Ashley Hoff of the McDermott Will & Emery law firm review the agency’s new policies and consider the policies’ potential director and officer liability implications. I would like to thank Michael and Ashley for allowing me to publish their article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Michael and Ashley’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: New DOJ White Collar Enforcement Policy Pressures Caremark Obligations