MANAGING D&O RISKS – SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISTS DRIVING LITIGATION

R&C: Reflecting on the last 12 months or so, have you seen an increase in the number of shareholder campaigns that result in some form of litigation, or potential litigation?

Morrison: We have seen an increase in the amount of shareholder litigation in general. There has been a marked increase, for example, in the number of federal class action securities filings in 2017. Over the past 18 months, the area of securities fraud class actions has been more active than it had been at any point since the enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For example, according to Cornerstone’s 2017 Midyear Assessment, plaintiffs filed 226 new federal class action securities fraud cases in the first six months of 2017, representing a 135 percent increase above the historical semi-annual average of 96 filings. There has also been an increase in the proportion of shareholder litigation that is attributable to institutional investors.

Jan-Mar 2018 Issue

Beazley Group plc

Jenner & Block

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

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