In the following guest post, Brian Baney, Senior Vice President, Head of Management and Professional Liability Claims, Ascot Group, Peter Trochev, Senior Vice President, Financial Institutions, Ascot Group, Elan Kandel, Member, Bailey Cavalieri LLC and James Talbert, Associate, Bailey Cavalieri LLC, survey the current risk environment for private equity firms. I would like to thank the authors for allowing me to publish their article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is the author’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: The State of Private Equity in 2023: Is a Maelstrom on the Horizon?Advocacy Group Sues Shell’s Board for Insufficient Climate Change Action
In what it calls the “world’s first” of its type, the environmental advocacy group ClientEarth has filed a shareholder derivative action against the board of Shell plc, claiming that the company’s directors have failed to take sufficient steps to protect the company from the future impacts of climate change. The action seeks to compel the board to “strengthen its climate transition plans, in the best interests of the company in the long term.” A copy of ClientEarth’s February 9, 2023 press release about the new lawsuit can be found here. The group’s statement of FAQ’s can be found here.
Continue Reading Advocacy Group Sues Shell’s Board for Insufficient Climate Change ActionNew Zealand
The D&O Diary’s antipodean sojourn continued this week with a quick visit to the pleasant and prosperous country of New Zealand. Readers who saw my description of our recent Australia visit know we enjoyed beautiful summer weather while we were there. Although I would never had thought it possible, the summer weather in New Zealand may have been even better, as the pictures below show.
Continue Reading New ZealandLabor Supply Disruption Contributes to Recently Filed Securities Suit
In my recent round-up of the top D&O stories of 2022, one of the stories I identified was the contribution of macroeconomic factors to the filings of securities class action lawsuits during the year. Among the macroeconomic factors I identified, beyond interest rate increases, economic inflation, and supply chain disruption, was the disruption to the labor force following, or perhaps resulting from, the pandemic. A recently filed securities suit shows how these kinds of factors can translate into securities litigation.
Continue Reading Labor Supply Disruption Contributes to Recently Filed Securities SuitFirst COVID-Related Securities Suit Filing of the Year
Readers will recall that in my recent wrap-up of top D&O liability and insurance issues of 2022, I included on the list the continuing prevalence of COVID-related securities class action lawsuit filings. Now, even though the coronavirus pandemic is about to enter its fourth year, the COVID-related lawsuits continue to be filed. In the first COVID-related lawsuit filing of 2023, a plaintiff shareholder has filed a securities class action lawsuit against the vaccine development company Invivyd, Inc. (formerly known as Adagio Therapeutics, Inc.). A copy of the January 31, 2023, complaint against the company can be found here.
Continue Reading First COVID-Related Securities Suit Filing of the YearGuest Post: The Midas Curse? How Cryptocurrency Has Impacted Directors and Officers
In the following guest post, Jonathan Meer answers the question of how the crypto asset meltdown has translated in to D&O claims. Jonathan is a Partner in the Wilson Elser law firm’s New York office. I would like to thank Jonathan for allowing me to publish his article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to the blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Jonathan’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: The Midas Curse? How Cryptocurrency Has Impacted Directors and OfficersSummer Down Under
The D&O Diary was on assignment this past week in the Asia Pacific region, with the first stop in the great country of Australia. It is always great to be in Australia, but the Southern Hemisphere Summer is a particularly good time to be there. After a day or two of clouds and some rain on arrival, the weather turned particularly glorious, as reflected in the pictures below.
Continue Reading Summer Down UnderCornerstone Research: Securities Suit Filings Declined in 2022
According to the latest report from Cornerstone Research, the number of securities class action lawsuit filings declined slightly in 2022 relative to 2021, although the number of “core” securities suit filings increased slightly compared to 2021. The report, which is entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2022 Year in Review,” and which was published in conjunction with the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, notes that the number of new lawsuits involving Section 11 allegations rose 2022, likely due to the surge in IPOs during 2021. A copy of the report can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s February 1, 2023 press release about the report can be found here.
Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Securities Suit Filings Declined in 2022New York City Bar Securities Litigation Enforcement Institute
On February 8, 2023, the Securities Litigation Committee of the New York City Bar will be hosting a daylong webinar entitled Securities Litigation Enforcement Institute 2023. The webinar will be co-chaired by Greg Markel of the Seyfarth Shaw law firm and Brad Karp of the Paul Weiss law firm. This institute will consist of a number of panels covering important and interesting areas related to developments in securities litigation, derivative litigation, Delaware Law, ESG and importantly the activities of the SEC. I will be participating in a session during the Institute on the topic of Securities Litigation Filing Trends. With me on the panel, which will be moderated by Greg Markel and Brad Karp, will be Sasha Aganin of Cornerstone Research. Information about the webinar, including directions on how to register, can be found here.
Guest Post: AI Financial Trading; A Brave New World for Insurers
In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Professional Liability Claims at Bowhead Specialty, takes a look at the challenges that financial trading based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) could mean for D&O, Professional, and Cyber insurers. 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 blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.
Continue Reading Guest Post: AI Financial Trading; A Brave New World for Insurers