On April 1, 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers issued this year’s version of its annual study of securities class action litigation (here). The PwC report differs in certain particulars from previously released studies of the 2008 securities lawsuit filings, but the overall findings are directionally consistent with the prior reports. The PwC report also adds some
Heightened Securities Lawsuit Filing Pace Continues in 1Q09
Largely driven by litigation in the financial sector arising from the ongoing credit crisis, the heightened pace of securities filings continued during the first quarter of 2009.
There were a total of 57 separate, new securities class action lawsuits filed during the first quarter. The 57 new securities lawsuits represents an annualized pace of
A Comprehensive Look at FCPA Settlements
A recurring theme on this blog has been the growing threat of civil litigation following in the wake of increased Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement activity. (Refer for example, here.) A recent study both establishes both the overall scale of FCPA enforcement activity and quantifies the magnitude of the FCPA follow-on securities litigation.
2008: The Year in Review
2008 was a remarkably eventful year, from the dramatic developments during the fall that rocked the financial markets to the changing of the guard in the Presidential election. Many of the events had a profound impact in the world of D&O insurance. In all likelihood, significant developments will continue to emerge during 2009 that will
NERA Releases 2008 Canadian Securities Class Action Trends Study
As a result of recent legislative changes, Canadian securities litigation filings increased substantially in 2008, according to a January 26, 2009 Report by NERA Economic Consulting entitled "Trends in Canadian Securities Class Actions: 1997-2008" (here). A January 26, 2009 press release describing the report can be found here.
According to the
FCPA Year-End Update
I encourage those that questioned my inclusion of FCPA issues in my list of top ten 2008 development to refer to the January 5, 2009 memo from the Gibson Dunn law firm entitled "2008 Year-End FCPA Update" (here).
As the memo puts it, 2008 was ‘by any measure …a monster year in
The Top Ten Blog Posts of 2008
Because of the dramatic events in the financial and credit markets, 2008 will undoubtedly go down in history as a dark and difficult year. 2008 was a challenging year for bloggers, too. So much happened of such significance that trying to find the time to comment and the words to express it all were almost overwhelming blogging
Another Round of Madoff Investor Litigation
UPDATE: A regularly updated list of all Madoff investor litigation, including in particular Madoff "feeder fund" litigation, can be accessed here.
As further proof that the losses associated with the Madoff fraud scheme will trigger a wave of litigation, on December 23, 2008, plaintiffs’ lawyers initiated a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York
NERA Releases Year-End Securities Litigation Report
Securities lawsuit filings reached a six-year high in 2008, according to a year-end report released today by NERA Economic Consulting. The report, entitled "2008 Trends in Securities Class Actions" (here), was written by NERA economists Stephanie Plancich and Svetlana Starykh, and reports that through December 14, 2008, there were 255 securities class
Securities Litigation: More than Just Subprime
As the year end approaches, various commentators will be issuing their retrospectives on the year’s securities litigation activity. The lead story undoubtedly will be that the wave of subprime and credit crisis-related lawsuits continued to flood in during the year. With some 94 new subprime and credit crisis related securities lawsuits so far in 2008