Webcast: Shareholder Litigation Developments and Trends

April 28, 2021

Shareholder lawsuits are not only complicated to litigate, but due to the high financial stakes, these actions can be among the most threatening to a company and its directors and officers.  It has been twenty-six years since Congress enacted the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and since that time, private actions under the federal securities laws have continued to be filed at a steady pace. Over the last decade, the U.S. Supreme Court and the State Supreme Courts have issued multiple decisions impacting the way shareholder actions are litigated and decided. This one-hour briefing will highlight recent developments and trends in this constantly evolving and complex area of the law.

We will discuss:

  • Shareholder actions filing and settlement trends, including COVID-19-related shareholder action trends
  • The potential impact on class certification in stockholder class actions from the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending decision in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System
  • The proliferation of parallel federal and state securities class action lawsuits since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Cyan v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, and the effectiveness of companies’ response through the adoption of federal forum provisions in their corporate charters

View Slides (PDF)



PANELISTS:

Jennifer L. Conn is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Ms. Conn is a co-author of PLI’s Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide, Second Edition. She has extensive experience in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters, including those involving securities, financial services, accounting malpractice, antitrust, contracts, insurance and information technology. She is also a member of Gibson Dunn’s General Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation, Appellate, and Privacy, Cybersecurity and Data Innovation Practice Groups.  In addition, Ms. Conn is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia University School of Law, lecturing on securities litigation.

Alexander K. Mircheff is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Mr. Mircheff is a co-author of PLI’s Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide, Second Edition. His practice emphasizes securities and appellate litigation, and he has substantial experience representing issuers, officers, directors, and underwriters in class action and shareholder derivative matters. Mr. Mircheff has handled matters across a variety of industries, including biotech, financial services, accounting, real estate, entertainment, engineering, manufacturing, and consumer products. He is also a member of Gibson Dunn’s Securities Litigation, Appellate, Class Actions, Labor and Employment and Litigation Practice Groups.

Robert F. Serio is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Securities Litigation Practice Group. Mr. Serio is also a co-author of PLI’s Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide, Second Edition. His practice involves complex commercial and business litigation, with an emphasis on securities class actions, shareholder derivative litigation, SEC enforcement matters and corporate investigations. He is also a member of the Appellate, Class Actions, FCPA, and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups.


MCLE CREDIT INFORMATION:

This program has been approved for credit in accordance with the requirements of the New York State Continuing Legal Education Board for a maximum of 1.0 credit hour, of which 1.0 credit hour may be applied toward the areas of professional practice requirement.

This course is approved for transitional/non-transitional credit. Attorneys seeking New York credit must obtain an Affirmation Form prior to watching the archived version of this webcast. Please contact [email protected] to request the MCLE form.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP certifies that this activity has been approved for MCLE credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1.0 hour.

California attorneys may claim “self-study” credit for viewing the archived version of this webcast. No certificate of attendance is required for California “self-study” credit.