Defense Counsel

Can We Talk?

By Doug Greene on January 10, 2020

Posted in D&O Insurance, D&O Insurance Brokers, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Litigation Strategy, Plaintiffs' Bar, Securities Class Action, Securities Class Action Statistics

Last month, D&O insurance lawyer John McCarrick and D&O insurance executive Paul Schiavone published a guest post on Kevin LaCroix’s blog, The D&O Diary, titled “Is it Time to Revisit the Scope of D&O Coverage?” John and Kevin’s post has triggered response posts from four policyholder advocates: Kevin of RT ProExec (response…

Putting “Litigation” Back in “Securities Litigation”

By Doug Greene on November 19, 2019

Posted in Class Certification, Damages Analysis, Defense Counsel, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy

D&O Discourse is a forum for discussion of key issues in securities and governance litigation, to help improve litigation outcomes for public companies and their directors and officers, and D&O insurers and brokers, in specific cases and overall.

This post discusses a fundamental, structural, and deepening problem with securities class action defense: the lack of…

D&O Discourse is Back!

By Doug Greene on November 6, 2019

Posted in Context Analysis, Cyan, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Delaware Courts, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy, Motions to Dismiss, Safe Harbor, Scienter Analysis, Securities Class Action, Shareholder Derivative Action, Statements of Opinion, Supreme Court

Hi, everyone:

When I moved to BakerHostetler to lead its firmwide Securities and Governance Litigation Team, I decided to take a break from publishing D&O Discourse — the blog I started in 2012 to provide in-depth opinion on key issues of law and practice in the world of securities and corporate governance litigation. That…

D&O Discourse’s 5th Anniversary

By Doug Greene on October 31, 2017

Posted in Class Certification, Cyber Security, D&O Discourse News, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Falsity Analysis, Plaintiffs' Bar, Supreme Court

In my law practice, I defend particular clients in particular securities and governance cases. My mission is to get them through the litigation safely and comfortably.

But I’ve always had a broader interest in securities law and practice as well. After Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, I read and chronicled…

Wrap-up: “Who is Winning the Securities Class Action War—Plaintiffs or Defendants?”

By Doug Greene on May 30, 2017

Posted in D&O Insurance, D&O Insurance Brokers, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy, Securities Class Action, Supreme Court

I am grateful for the enthusiastic feedback I’ve received on my three-part blog post “Who is Winning the Securities Class Action War—Plaintiffs or Defendants?” I especially appreciate the time Kevin LaCroix took to write a post addressing my post in his leading blog, The D&O Diary.

With the benefit of 25 years’ experience…

Who Is Winning the Securities Class Action War—Plaintiffs or Defendants? (Part III)

By Doug Greene on May 15, 2017

Posted in D&O Insurance, D&O Insurance Brokers, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy, Plaintiffs' Bar, Securities Class Action, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

This is the third of a three-part post that analyzes why plaintiffs are winning the securities class action war and what defendants can do about it.

At stake is a system of securities litigation that sets up one side or the other to win more cases in the long term. It has real-world consequences for…

Who is Winning the Securities Class Action War—Plaintiffs or Defendants? (Part II)

By Doug Greene on May 8, 2017

Posted in Class Certification, D&O Insurance, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy, Plaintiffs' Bar, Securities Class Action, Summary Judgment, Supreme Court

This is the second of a three-part post evaluating who is winning the securities class action war.

Part I explained that this war is not just a scorecard of wins and losses, but rather a fight for strategic positioning—about achieving a system of securities litigation that sets up plaintiffs or defendants to win more cases…

Who is Winning the Securities Class Action War—Plaintiffs or Defendants?

By Doug Greene on May 1, 2017

Posted in D&O Insurance, Defense Counsel, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy, Plaintiffs' Bar, Safe Harbor, Scienter Analysis, Securities Class Action

The securities class action war is about far more than the height of the pleading hurdles plaintiffs must clear, the scorecard of motions to dismiss won and lost, or median settlement amounts. It is a fight for strategic positioning—about achieving a system of securities litigation that sets up one side or the other to win…

3 Key Securities Litigation Developments of 2016

By Doug Greene on December 27, 2016

Posted in 2nd Circuit, 7th Circuit, 9th Circuit, Class Certification, Cyber Security, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Falsity Analysis, M&A Litigation, Motions to Dismiss, Plaintiffs' Bar, SEC, SEC Enforcement, Securities Class Action, Securities Class Action Statistics, Settlement, Statements of Opinion, Supreme Court

Following is an article I wrote for Law360, which gave me permission to republish it here:

Among securities litigators, there is no consensus about the importance of developments in securities and corporate governance litigation. For some, a Supreme Court decision is always supreme. For others, a major change in a legal standard is the most…

Lessons Learned in London

By Doug Greene on November 30, 2016

Posted in Cyber Security, D&O Insurance, D&O Insurance Brokers, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Plaintiffs' Bar, Securities Class Action, Supreme Court

Earlier this month, I spent a week in the birthplace of D&O insurance, London. In addition to moderating a panel at Advisen’s European Executive Risks Insights Conference, I met with many energetic and talented D&O insurance professionals, both veterans and rising stars, to discuss U.S. securities litigation and regulatory risks. Themes emerged on some key…

Doug Greene

Doug is one of the most experienced and successful securities and governance litigators in the United States. He defends and counsels clients in securities class…

Doug is one of the most experienced and successful securities and governance litigators in the United States. He defends and counsels clients in securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, shareholder challenges to mergers and acquisitions, SEC investigations, and internal investigations.