14 Dec 2022 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST
Morrison Foerster is delighted to host the New York State Bar Association Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Securities Litigation Committee's 2022 Securities Litigation Annual Review at our midtown Manhattan office—Wednesday, December 14.
The Securities Litigation Annual Review presents a day of networking and educational programming on the most groundbreaking developments in securities litigation.
The event will be led by the co-chairs of the NYSBA Commercial and Federal Litigation Section Securities Litigation Committee, Jim Beha (Partner, Morrison Foerster) and Jane O'Brien (Partner, Paul Weiss).
Program:
8:15 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.–Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.–Securities Litigation in New York's Commercial Division
The opening panel will discuss trends and developments in securities litigation in New York's Commercial Division since the Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Cyan v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, which confirmed that state courts may exercise jurisdiction over claims brought under the federal Securities Act.
10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.–Emerging Trends in SPAC Litigation
The recent surge in companies going public through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) has brought a concurrent surge in SPAC-related securities litigation and enforcement actions. By some counts, more than 20% of all federal securities class action filings since 2021 relate to SPAC transactions. The second panel will bring together distinguished members of the plaintiffs- and defense-bar, as well as former regulators and prosecutors to discuss the latest trends in SPAC litigation and enforcement actions.
10:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.–Break/Snacks
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.–Ethical Issues in Securities Litigation
Federal securities fraud complaints frequently rely on statements from confidential witnesses (CWs), anonymous company insiders who purport to have personal knowledge of wrongdoing at public companies. Plaintiffs' use of statements from anonymous CWs and defendants' efforts to identify and take discovery from CWs raise myriad ethical issues. Our third panel will discuss the recent case law concerning the use of CWs and provide practical guidance for practitioners to avoid common ethical pitfalls when dealing with CW allegations.
12:10 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.–Goldman Sachs, Class Certification, and "Price Impact"
The Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System—clarifying the evidence that securities class action defendants may present at the class certification stage of litigation—has been called one of the Supreme Court's most significant securities law decisions in recent decades. The program will conclude with a discussion of the Goldman Sachs decision featuring Kannon Shanmugam and Audra Soloway of Paul Weiss, who briefed and argued the case on behalf of Goldman Sachs before the Supreme Court.
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.–Lunch and Networking Reception
