Largely (although not exclusively) driven by last summer’s enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, we have entered a watershed period of corporate governance reform. Processes already now afoot have wrought a transformation in the relations between corporate boards and corporate shareholders. Even further changes lie ahead. In this post, I take a look at where we
FDIC Failed Bank Litigation Progresses – Slowly
The FDIC’s pursuit of litigation against directors and officers of banks that have failed as part of the current round of bank failures has been moving forward, albeit at a deliberate pace. The agency’s litigation efforts advanced a couple of steps in recent days, as the agency filed an additional lawsuit and publicly announced that
Second Circuit Holds Rating Agencies Cannot Be Held Liable as ’33 Act Underwriters
In a May 11, 2011 opinion (here), a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of rating agency defendants in litigation filed under the Securities Act of 1933 and involving mortgage-related securities issues by Lehman Brothers and IndyMac and the Residential Asset Securitization Trust (RUST). The Second Circuit affirmed the District Court’s
SEC Cracking Down on Non-U.S. Reverse Merger Companies
One of the most noteworthy stories over the past several months has been the flurry of accounting fraud allegations involving Chinese companies that obtained listings on U.S. securities exchanges through a reverse merger with a publicly traded domestic shell company. The emergence of these allegations has certainly been one of the securities class action litigation
The Word is “Whistleblower”
A number of different organizations generate annual publicity for themselves by designating a word (or words) of the year. We are not yet half way through 2011 but I am already prepared to propose my own candidate for this year’s word of the year – the word is “whistleblower.” From the provisions of the Dodd-Frank
Big Pharma Bribery Probe Gains Momentum, Spurs Civil Litigation
Since late last year, reports have been circulating that the U.S. government is investigating whether drug companies paid bribes overseas to increase sales and to obtain regulatory approvals. Some firms have now announced that they have reached settlements with enforcement authorities. And now the first civil lawsuit relating to these investigations has been filed, as
Dodd-Frank Rulemaking Delays: Bad, and Likely to Get Worse
You may have seen May 2, 2011 Wall Street Journal article entitled “Overhaul Grows and Slow” (here), which described the backlog developing as regulators struggle to meet the rule-making deadlines mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. The article itself was interesting enough, but if you really want to appreciate the daunting task regulators face, you
Are Short Sellers Fabricating the Accounting Fraud Allegations Involving U.S.-Listed Chinese Firms?
The wave of new securities class action lawsuits involving accounting scandals at U.S-listed Chinese firms is already a well-established phenomenon. But in the latest twist on the tale, Deer Consumer Products, one of the U.S.-listed Chinese companies most recently sued based on allegations of accounting fraud, has gone on the warpath and is
A Blogger’s Reflections
In a few days I will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the day I published my first post on this blog. I had no idea what was going to follow after that first post, but having come so far after so long, it seemed appropriate on this occasion to reflect on the enterprise. It has
Guest Post: Securities Fraud Class Certification — Supreme Court Oral Argument in the Halliburton Case
I am pleased to reprint below as a guest post a detailed article about the oral argument this past week before the United States Supreme Court in the case of Erica P. John Fund v. Halliburton Co., No. 09-1403. This guest post was submitted by my friend Kimberly M. Melvin. Kim is a partner in the Wiley