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The directors’ and officers’ liability environment is always changing, but 2025 was a particularly eventful year, with important consequences for the D&O insurance marketplace. The past year’s many developments also have significant implications for what may lie ahead in 2026 – and possibly for years to come.  I have set out below the Top Ten D&O Stories of 2025, with a focus on future implications. Please note that on Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 11:00 am EST, my colleagues Marissa Streckfus, Chris Bertola, and I will be conducting a free, hour-long webinar in which we will discuss The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2025. Registration for the webinar can be found here. Please join us for the webinar.Continue Reading The Top Ten D&O Stories of 2025

After two consecutive years in which the annual number of federal court securities class action lawsuit filings increased, the number of federal court securities class action lawsuit filings decreased slightly in 2025 compared to 2024, to the lowest level since 2022. The number of federal court securities class action suit filings during past year reflected the impact of several ongoing securities lawsuit filings trends, such as the new lawsuit filings relating to artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies. The slight decline in the annual number of filings reflects the diminishing impact of certain long-term trends that waned during the year, as discussed below. Continue Reading Federal Court Securities Suit Filings Declined Slightly in 2025

It is frequently the case that securities class action lawsuits are accompanied by a parallel shareholder derivative lawsuit involving substantially similar allegations. But what happens to the derivative lawsuits when the related securities class action lawsuit is settled? An August 2025 study from Cornerstone Research analyzes the settlements of these parallel derivative lawsuits during the period 2019 through 2024. The Cornerstone Research report can be found here.Continue Reading Settlement of Parallel Derivative Actions

In a recent study about securities class action lawsuit filings in the first six months of 2025, NERA reports that first half filings represented a tale of two quarters, with the first quarter filings representing the highest quarterly number in five years, and the second quarter filings represented the lowest quarterly filing number in five years. The report, which is entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: H1 2025 Update,” and which can be found here, includes a number of other interesting observations, as discussed below.Continue Reading NERA Reports on 1H25 Federal Court Securities Class Action Lawsuit Filings

Long-time observers of securities class action litigation filing patterns know well that life sciences companies are frequent targets of securities suit, reflecting a litigation frequency pattern that has been well-established for years. While in more recent years the overall number of securities suits filed against life sciences has shown a marginal decline, in 2024, the number of securities suits filed against life sciences companies increased to the highest level in several years, according to the latest annual report from the Sidley law firm. A copy of the law firm’s recent memo, entitled “Securities Class Actions in the Life Sciences Sector: 2024 Annual Survey” can be found here. A two-page summary of the report can be found here.Continue Reading A Detailed Look at the 2024 Securities Litigation Against Life Sciences Companies

According to the latest annual report from ISS Securities Class Action Services, there were four court-approved securities class action settlements in 2024 large enough to make the firm’s list of the Top 100 U.S. Securities Class Action settlements. These settlements took place in a year in which there were 136 court-approved monetary securities class action lawsuit settlements totaling over $4.7 billion. The details of the 2024 court approved settlements, including with respect to the four largest during the year, can be found in the ISS Securities Class Action Services report entitled “The Top 100 U.S. Class Action Settlements of All-Time” (as of December 31, 2024), here.Continue Reading ISS Releases Top 100 Securities Suit Settlements List

The filing of Opioid-related securities litigation is not a new development; indeed, more than six years ago, I published a post in which I noted the outbreak at the time of a number of opioid-related securities suits against opioid drug companies. Now, in the latest opioid-related securities suits to be filed, and in the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice’s filing of a False Claims Act complaint against the company, a plaintiff shareholder has filed an opioid-related securities class action lawsuit against Walgreens Boots Alliance. A copy of the January 30, 2025, complaint can be found here.Continue Reading Walgreens Boots Alliance Hit with Opioid-Related Securities Suit

According to the latest report from Cornerstone Research, the number of federal and state securities class action lawsuits filed increased in 2024 for the second year in a row, to the highest level since 2020, even though the overall number of liability actions filings under the ’33 Act declined to the lowest level in the last ten years. As discussed below, a more detailed analysis of the 2024 securities class action lawsuit filing figures suggests that the 2024 filing activity was elevated compared to both recent and longer-term historical levels. The January 29, 2025, report, which was written in conjunction with the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, and which is entitled “Securities Class Action Filings: 2024 Year in Review,” can be found here. Cornerstone Research’s January 29, 2025 press release about the report can be found here.Continue Reading Cornerstone Research: Securities Suit Filings Increased in 2024

According to the latest annual report from NERA, and based on NERA’s inclusive counting methodology, the number of federal securities class action lawsuits was flat in 2024 relative to 2023, but the number of “traditional” securities class action suits increased in 2024 for the second year in a row. In addition, the number of case resolutions (including both settlements and dismissals), increased in 2024, reversing a six-year decline in the number of resolutions. NERA’s January 22, 2025 report entitled “Recent Trends in Securities Class Action Litigation: 2024 Full-Year Review,” can be found here.Continue Reading NERA Reports Securities Suit Filings Level, Dismissals Increased in 2024