As I noted in a post last week, in a speech earlier this month in which she outlined the steps bank boards can take to address cybersecurity issues, Sarah Raskin, the second-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Treasury, laid out the reasons why banking institutions should be investing in cyber insurance. This speech
ACA Employer Mandates and Potential Liability Issues
The employer mandate provisions of the Affordable Care Act – better known as Obamacare – are among the more controversial parts of the legislation. The mandates were originally scheduled to go into effect in 2014, but after lobbying efforts from various business groups, the mandates’ effective dates were postponed. However, for many employers, the mandates
Guest Post: Unexpected Coverage: D&O Insurance and IP Litigation
An insurance coverage issue that frequently recurs is the question of coverage under a D&O insurance policy for intellectual property disputes. In the following guest post, Peter S. Selvin of the TroyGould law firm takes a look at several recent case decisions examining the question of coverage under a D&O insurance policy for IP claims.
Exceptional 2014 U.S. IPO Activity Strongest in More Than a Decade
2014 was a very strong year for IPOs globally, but in the U.S., where there were more IPOs this year than any year since 2000, this was an “exceptional” year, according to the latest quarterly global IPO report from accounting and consulting firm EY. The report, entitled “EY Global IPO Trends: 2014 Q4” can be
Corruption Allegations Lead to Securities Lawsuits
I was on a panel at a law firm event last week during which I was asked to make some predictions for 2015. Among other things, I said that I thought we would see an increase of securities class action lawsuit filings following in the wake of regulatory investigations, especially bribery investigations. I also said
Guest Post: Cyber Security: The Importance of a Battle-Tested Incident Response Plan
With all of the high profile data breaches that have taken place in recent months, cyber security is a critical topic at the top of just about everyone’s agenda. In the following guest post, Paul A. Ferrillo of the Weil Gotshal law firm takes a look at the best approach to the cyber security challenge
Top Treasury Official’s Speech Urges Adoption of Cyber Risk Insurance
Officials across a range of federal regulatory agencies have made it clear that promoting cyber security is an increasing priority. A critical part of the federal officials’ message has been the message that cyber security should be a corporate governance priority for company executives and corporate boards. For example, in a June 2014 speech,
Largest Derivative Lawsuit Settlements
My post earlier this week about the $275 million Activision Blizzard shareholder derivative lawsuit settlement – and in particular my suggestion that the Activision settlement may be the largest derivative suit settlement ever – provoked an interesting flurry of emails and conversations about the lineup of other large derivative lawsuit settlements. To address the various
Two Recent Massive Merger Objection Lawsuit Settlements Include Significant D&O Insurer Contributions
One of the great litigation curses in recent times in the corporate litigation arena has been the rise of merger objection litigation. These kinds of lawsuits, which these days arise in connection with almost every M&A transaction, often are settled for nothing more than an agreement to make additional disclosures and to pay the
Battle Builds in Delaware Over Fee-Shifting Bylaws
Earlier this year, after the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the facial validity of fee-shifting bylaws in the case of ATP Tour, Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund (as discussed here), a legislative initiative quickly emerged to restrict the case’s holding to Delaware non-stock companies. However, the initiative proved to be controversial, and the legislative proposal