Defense Counsel

Omnicare, Five Years Later: Strategies for Securities Defense Lawyers’ More Effective Use of the Decision

By Doug Greene on April 2, 2020

Posted in Defense Counsel, Litigation Strategy, Motions to Dismiss, Omnicare, Statements of Opinion, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

The chance to help Washington Legal Foundation with a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief in the Omnicare case was an honor. Statements of opinion are ubiquitous in corporate communications on issues as diverse as asset valuations, strength of current performance, risk assessments, product quality, loss reserves, and progress toward corporate goals. Many of these opinions…

Is Blue Apron a Silver Bullet?

By Doug Greene on March 30, 2020

Posted in 1933 Act Defense Strategy, Cyan, D&O Insurance, D&O Insurance Brokers, Defense Costs, Defense Counsel, Litigation Reforms, Litigation Strategy, Omnicare, Statements of Opinion, Supreme Court

In Salzberg, et al. v. Sciabacucchi, No. 346, 2019 (Del. Mar. 18, 2020) (“Blue Apron”), the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the facial validity of federal-forum provisions (FFPs) in a Delaware corporation’s certificate of incorporation requiring actions arising under the Securities Act of 1933 to be filed exclusively in federal court. Here is Kevin LaCroix’s…

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…

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.