As U.S. law has become less willing to entertain certain types of lawsuits on behalf of worldwide classes of plaintiffs, litigants have looked for other forums that might allow the prosecution – or at least the resolution – of claims on a global, classwide basis, ideally through opt-out classes. The Netherlands has emerged as an option in recent years because the Dutch Act on Collective Settlement of Mass Claims (the “WCAM”) authorizes the settlement, but not the prosecution, of classwide claims on an opt-out basis.

On September 28, 2016, the Amsterdam District Court dismissed a collective action by Vereniging VEB NCVB (“VEB”) – the Dutch shareholders’ association – seeking a declaratory judgment against BP plc on behalf of investors who had purchased, sold, or held BP shares before and shortly after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. The court ruled that the fact that investors might have held securities in the Netherlands was insufficient, in and of itself, to confer jurisdiction on Dutch courts in the absence of other factors connecting the lawsuit and the underlying claims to the Netherlands.

Some commentators have wondered whether the BP decision will influence Dutch courts’ continued willingness to adjudicate collective settlements under the WCAM. But the collective-action statute under which VEB sued is different from the collective-settlement statute under which the Amsterdam Court of Appeal has declared collective settlements binding on worldwide groups of allegedly injured persons, and the jurisdictional analysis under each of the two statutes is also different.  Accordingly, the BP decision need not necessarily affect the Amsterdam Court of Appeal’s willingness to issue binding declarations in appropriate collective settlements under the WCAM.

Dutch Collective Actions

Collective actions in the Netherlands are governed by Article 3:305a of the Dutch Civil Code. Article 3:305a allows a foundation or association – not an individual plaintiff – to seek declaratory relief on behalf of allegedly injured persons.  The statute does not authorize a damages remedy (although the Dutch government is currently considering proposals to change that aspect of the statute).  Allegedly injured persons who wish to recover money damages must either sue individually or wait to use any declaratory relief obtained in the Article 3:305a proceeding as a predicate for their own subsequent damages actions.  (Alternatively, any declaratory relief obtained in the collective action can be used to encourage the defendant to enter into a WCAM collective settlement, as described below.)

The parties to a collective action are structured in the familiar manner. The foundation or association is the plaintiff; the party against whom it seeks relief is the defendant.  The court’s jurisdiction depends on whether the defendant can be sued in the chosen forum.

The European Union’s Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012 (effective January 2015) (the “Brussels Regulation”), which is part of Dutch law, prescribes the bases for jurisdiction. Article 4 provides that “persons domiciled in a Member State shall, whatever their nationality, be sued in the courts of that Member State.”  Under Article 5, persons domiciled in a Member State may also be sued in courts of another Member State, but only in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation.

One such exception to domicile-based jurisdiction – the one invoked in the BP case – is for tort claims. Article 7(2) states that “[a] person domiciled in a Member State may be sued in another Member State . . . in matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict, in the courts for the place where the harmful event occurred or may occur.”  VEB argued that the harm to BP investors had occurred in the Netherlands because investors had held their securities in the Netherlands and had therefore suffered the loss of stock value in that country.

The Amsterdam District Court rejected that argument, relying in part on the European Court of Justice’s (the “ECJ’s”) recent decision in Universal Music International Holding BV v. Schilling (Case No. C-12/15, June 16, 2016).  The ECJ there held that the Brussels Regulation’s reference to “the ‘place where the harmful event occurred’ may not be construed as being, failing any other connecting factors, the place in a Member State where the damage occurred, when that damage consists exclusively of financial damage which materialises directly in the applicant’s bank account and is the direct result of an unlawful act committed in another Member State.”  The ECJ also noted that the concept of “‘matters relating to tort, delict or quasi-delict’” under current Article 7(2) “do[es] not concern ‘matters relating to a contract’ within the meaning of [current Article 7(1)(a)].”

Based on the Universal Music decision, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that the harm to the BP investors on whose behalf VEB had sued had not occurred in the Netherlands.  That conclusion, in the court’s view, was reinforced by the unavailability of a damages remedy under the Dutch collective-action statute.

Dutch Collective Settlements (the WCAM)

Dutch collective settlements are different from Dutch collective actions. The WCAM is codified in sections 7:908-7:910 of the Dutch Civil Code and Articles 1013-1018 of the Dutch Civil Procedure Code, not under the collective-action provisions of Article 3:305a.

The WCAM may be used only to settle claims on a classwide basis, not to prosecute them. The statute allows a foundation (not a private plaintiff) representing allegedly injured persons to enter into a contract (a settlement agreement) with the party that allegedly inflicted the injury.  Pursuant to that contract, the alleged wrongdoer agrees to provide compensation to the group of persons represented by the foundation, subject to court approval.  The party providing compensation need not yet have been sued.  The foundation and the compensating party can make a contract even without pending litigation.

The contracting parties then present the contract to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal – which has exclusive jurisdiction over WCAM proceedings – and ask the court to declare the contract binding on all of the allegedly injured persons on whose behalf the contract was made. The allegedly injured persons – whom U.S. lawyers would view as the “class” – are treated as defendants under Dutch law, because the contracting parties have effectively filed a petition against them to extinguish their potential claims in consideration for the proposed settlement relief.  The contracting parties send notice of the proposed settlement to the class, and class members may object to it and appear before the court.  If the Court of Appeal declares the settlement binding on the class, any class members who wish to opt out of the class and preserve their rights may do so.  Those who do not opt out will be bound by the court’s judgment and can share in the settlement relief if they are otherwise eligible.  The contract may authorize the compensating party to terminate the settlement if too many class members opt out (a U.S.-style “blow” provision).

The WCAM was initially used several times for matters tied to the Dutch legal system, but it assumed a truly international scope in two global securities settlements: one involving Royal Dutch Shell (an Anglo-Dutch company) in 2009, and another involving the former Converium Holding AG and its parent (both Swiss companies) in 2012.  (Yet another global settlement was signed in March 2016 in the Ageas litigation.)  The Shell and Converium settlements involved significant numbers of non-Dutch shareholders.  In fact, only about 3% of the class members in the Converium case were Dutch.  But the Amsterdam Court of Appeal approved both settlements and upheld jurisdiction over the global classes.

The jurisdictional analysis in both cases turned not on the tort provision of the Brussels Regulation invoked in the BP action, but on separate jurisdictional bases.

  • For Dutch class members, jurisdiction existed under Article 4 of the current version of the Brussels Regulation, which provides that domiciliaries of a Member State can be sued in the courts of that state.
  • For domiciliaries of other European Union countries, two jurisdictional bases existed:
    • Article 8(1) says that, in multi-defendant cases, domiciliaries of a Member State can be sued in a state where at least one defendant is domiciled if “[t]he claims are so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together to avoid the risk of irreconcilable judgments resulting from separate proceedings.”  This provision applies in WCAM settlements because the class members are considered to be defendants, not absent plaintiffs.  Under Article 8(1), the petitioners’ claims for a binding declaration against all defendants (the class members) are closely connected because the petition seeks to limit the compensating party’s liability to the entire class and depends on a single judgment that binds the whole class (other than a relatively de minimis number of potential opt-outs, if the contract provides for a “blow” provision).  Thus, it is theoretically possible that, as long as at least one class member is Dutch, all non-Dutch EU class members may also be sued in the Netherlands.
    • Article 7(1)(a) says that, for matters relating to a contract, a domiciliary of a Member State may be sued in another Member State if that other state is the place where the contract will be performed. WCAM contracts can be structured to be performed in the Netherlands, as they were in the Shell and Converium cases.
  • For domiciliaries of Lugano Convention countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), the Lugano Convention has provisions similar to those of the Brussels Regulation.
  • For domiciliaries of other countries, Article 6 of the Brussels Regulation says that the Member State’s law (i.e., Dutch law) applies. Article 107 of the Dutch Civil Procedure Code authorizes jurisdiction over codefendants if sufficient connectivity exists between or among the claims – so Article 107 is similar to Article 8(1) of the Brussels Regulation.
    • The Converium court also upheld jurisdiction as to non-EU/EVEX class members for two other reasons: One or more petitioners – such as the foundation that was a party to the settlement – were domiciled in the Netherlands, and the matter was sufficiently connected to the Dutch legal order.

WCAM proceeding thus can be and have been used for global settlements with relatively little connection to the Netherlands. The Converium decision expressly recognized that the Netherlands is the only national legal system in the EU that authorizes opt-out collective settlements. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal also observed that, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in National Australia Bank v. Morrison, which limited non-U.S. shareholders’ ability to file securities claims in the United States, the international legal system needs a non-U.S. forum with jurisdiction to render a settlement binding on persons who cannot be included in U.S. class-action settlements.

Where Does the Netherlands Go From Here?

Because Dutch collective actions and Dutch collective settlements are authorized under different statutory schemes and involve different jurisdictional bases, no apparent reason exists why the two types of proceedings cannot continue along their separate tracks. The ECJ’s decision in Universal Music, which proved persuasive to the Amsterdam District Court in the BP case, need not apply to WCAM settlements. The ECJ addressed tort jurisdiction based on alleged harm to the plaintiffs, not jurisdiction over contractual claims or jurisdiction over interrelated claims against a group of defendants. The ECJ made clear that it was not considering the Brussels Regulation’s contract-based jurisdictional provision.

WCAM proceeding thus can be and have been used for global settlements with relatively little connection to the Netherlands. The Converium decision expressly recognized that the Netherlands is the only national legal system in the EU that authorizes opt-out collective settlements. The Amsterdam Court of Appeal also observed that, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in National Australia Bank v. Morrison, which limited non-U.S. shareholders’ ability to file securities claims in the United States, the international legal system needs a non-U.S. forum with jurisdiction to render a settlement binding on persons who cannot be included in U.S. class-action settlements.

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Photo of Jonathan Richman Jonathan Richman

Jonathan Richman represents a variety of companies in securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, internal investigations, SEC investigations, corporate governance, insider trading, D&O insurance and related matters. Many of those matters involve international elements, including representations of non-U.S. issuers in U.S. litigation and…

Jonathan Richman represents a variety of companies in securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, internal investigations, SEC investigations, corporate governance, insider trading, D&O insurance and related matters. Many of those matters involve international elements, including representations of non-U.S. issuers in U.S. litigation and in landmark non-U.S. collective settlements under Dutch law in the Netherlands. Jonathan’s clients have included Hewlett Packard, Royal Dutch/Shell, Zurich Insurance Group, Halliburton, Waste Management, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Jonathan writes extensively on topics ranging from securities and insider-trading law, corporate governance and fiduciary issues to non-U.S. law on collective actions. His articles have been published in major legal publications.

Jonathan is the past co-head of the Firm’s Securities Litigation Group.

Class Action and SEC Enforcement Experience

  • Royal Dutch/Shell
  • Global Crossing
  • Waste Management
  • Zurich Insurance Group
  • Vestas Wind Systems A/S (class action only)
  • JBS S.A. (class action only)
  • Henry Schein, Inc. (class action only)
  • YRC Worldwide Inc. (class action only)
  • Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (class action only)
  • Roka Bioscience, Inc. (class action only)
  • Fifth Street (class action only)
  • Vida Longevity Fund (class action only)
  • Former CEO of Lumber Liquidators (class action only)
  • Individual defendant in Third Avenue securities class actions
  • American General (class action only)
  • Metropolitan Life (class action only)
  • New York Life (class action only)
  • Leucadia/Jefferies merger litigation (class action only)
  • Realty Income/American Realty merger litigation (class action only)
  • ARCP/ARCT III merger litigation (class action only)
  • Aberdeen/Artio merger litigation (class action only)
  • PhotoMedex/LCA-Vision merger litigation (class action only)
  • RCS Capital/Summit Financial merger litigation (class action only)
  • First American/First Advantage merger litigation (class action only)
  • SEC inquiry involving CMBS servicing
  • SEC inquiry involving issuer’s confidentiality notice for internal investigations
  • Various SEC, CFTC, and FINRA inquiries involving trading issues

Shareholder Derivative Litigation

  • Hewlett-Packard
  • Royal Dutch/Shell
  • Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
  • Halliburton Company
  • Waste Management, Inc.
  • Henry Schein, Inc.
  • YRC Worldwide Inc.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
  • Fifth Street
  • Vida Longevity Fund
  • Former CEO of Lumber Liquidators
  • Individual defendant in Third Avenue derivative litigation

Department of Justice Proceedings

  • Royal Dutch/Shell
  • Global Crossing
  • Property and casualty insurers

Miscellaneous

  • Advising outside directors of for-profit educational institution on litigation and regulatory investigations
  • Providing advice and training sessions for clients on insider-trading issues
  • Representing Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico in pending litigation arising from Puerto Rico bankruptcy

Publications

  • Author, “Court Preliminarily Enjoins Florida’s ‘Stop Woke Act,’” National Law Review (Aug. 22, 2022)
  • Author, “Blockchain Meets Morrison:  Court Rejects Blockchain Class Settlement Because of Concerns About Adequacy of Representation,” National Law Review (Aug. 16, 2022)
  • Author, “Delaware Supreme Court Allows Use of ‘Reliable’ Hearsay to Support Books-and-Records Demand,” National Law Review (July 20, 2022)
  • Author, “Divided Delaware Supreme Court Decision Highlights Issues About Director Independence in Derivative Actions,” National Law Review (June 30, 2022)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Securities Claim Alleging Failure to Disclose SEC Investigation,” National Law Review (May 25, 2022)
  • Author, “Ninth Circuit Upholds Delaware-Forum Bylaw That Precludes Assertion of Federal Proxy Claim,” National Law Review (May 13, 2022)
  • Co-author, “SEC Defeats Motion to Dismiss Insider Trading Complaint Alleging Novel ‘Shadow Trading’ Theory, The Corporate Lawyer, vol. 59, no. 3 (Feb. 2022), at 1
  • Co-author, “Seventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Derivative Action Based on Forum Clause as Applied to Federal Claim,” National Law Review (Jan. 21, 2022)
  • Author, “California Federal Court Holds U.S. Securities Laws Inapplicable to Unsponsored, Unlisted ADR Transaction Preceded by Purchase of Common Stock Outside the U.S.,” National Law Review (Jan. 10, 2022)
  • Co-author, “SEC Pursues ‘Shadow Trading’ Insider Trading Case,” Corporate Governance Advisor, vo. 29, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 2021), at 29
  • Co-author, “SEC Investor Advisory Committee Considers Recommendations to Tighten Rules for Insiders’ Trading Plans,” National Law Review (Sept. 7, 2021)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Holds that Accurately Reported Financial Statements Are Not Actionable and that Materiality Has a Half-Life,” National Law Review (Aug. 27, 2021)
  • Author, “First Circuit Adopts Prevailing Standard for Applicability of Federal Securities Laws to Foreign Investors, But Rejects Second Circuit’s Narrower Test,” National Law Review (May 11, 2021)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Upholds Insider Trading Conviction, Finding Sufficient Confidentiality Duty and Personal Benefit,” National Law Review (Apr. 7, 2021)
  • Co-author, “Second Circuit Reaffirms that Federal Securities Laws Do Not Apply to Predominantly Foreign Transactions,” National Law Review (Jan. 26, 2021)
  • Author, “Corporate Scienter Requires Link Between Employees with Knowledge and the Alleged Misstatements,” National Law Review (May 26, 2020)
  • Author, “Delaware Supreme Court Rules that Corporate Charters Can Require Litigation of Federal Securities Act Claims in Federal Court,” National Law Review (Mar. 18, 2020)
  • Author, “California Federal Court Holds that U.S. Securities Laws Apply to Unsponsored, Unlisted ADRs,” National Law Review (Jan. 30, 2020)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Holds that a ‘Personal Benefit’ Is Not Required for Insider Trading Under Criminal Securities Statute,” National Law Review (Jan. 2, 2020)
  • Co-author, “When Passive Investors Drift into Activist Status,” CCR Corp. Deal Lawyers (Nov.-Dec. 2019)
  • Author, “Delaware Supreme Court Rejects Presumption of Confidentiality for Books-and-Records Productions,” National Law Review (Aug. 8, 2019)
  • Author, “Supreme Court Raises Questions About Private Rights of Action Under § 14 of Securities Exchange Act,” National Law Review (Apr. 24, 2019)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Rejects Securities Claims Based on Generic Statements About Ethics and Compliance,” Securities Reform Act Litigation Reporter, vol. 47, no. 1 (April 2019), at 54
  • Author,” Supreme Court Holds that Persons Who Do Not ‘Make’ Misstatements Can Nevertheless Be Liable for Other Securities-Fraud Violations,” National Law Review (Mar. 29, 2019)
  • Author, “The importance of documenting corporate actions: Delaware Supreme Court requires production of emails in books-and-records request,” Westlaw Journal Mergers & Acquisitions (Feb. 2019)
  • Author, “First Appellate Decision Holds that SEC Can Bring Extraterritorial Enforcement Action Based on Conduct or Effects in United States,” National Law Review (Jan. 24, 2019)
  • Author, “Insider Trading for Dummies: Judge Rakoff Tries to Simplify the Law,” National Law Review (Dec. 10, 2018)
  • Co-author, “Fortis Case Confirms Viability of Dutch Settlement Law,” Law360 (July 27, 2018) (with Professor Ianika Tzankova)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Again Holds That Tipper/Tippee Liability Can Arise from a Gift of Inside Information Even Without a Close Personal Relationship,” National Law Review (June 29, 2018)
  • Author, “Supreme Court Rules That Federal Courts Are Not Bound to Give Conclusive Effect to Foreign Governments’ Statements About Their Laws,” National Law Review (June 14, 2018)
  • Author, “Supreme Court Prohibits Stacking of Successive Class Actions Beyond Limitations Period,” National Law Review (June 14, 2018)
  • Author, “Supreme Court Rules That State Courts Can Adjudicate Class Actions Under the Securities Act of 1933,” Securities Arbitration Commentator (April 11, 2018)
  • Author, “Fourth Circuit Upholds Disclosure of Government Subpoena as Evidence of Loss Causation,” National Law Review (Feb. 24, 2018)
  • Author, “Revisiting Preclusion Principles in Derivative Actions,” Law360 (July 28, 2017)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Requires Increased Scrutiny of Securities Class Actions Involving Off-Exchange Transactions,” National Law Review (July 8, 2017)
  • Author, “Dutch Court Denies Approval of Collective Settlement Unless Changes Are Made as to Allocation of Compensation and Fees,” National Law Review (June 19, 2017)
  • Author, “Utah Court Bites Bullet with Dodd-Frank Jurisdiction Ruling,” Law360 (Apr. 13, 2017)
  • Author, “Non-Use Agreement Need Not Precede Disclosure of Confidential Information,” National Law Review (March 21, 2017)
  • Author, “Watch the Napkin: First Circuit Affirms Insider-Trading Conviction,” National Law Review (Feb. 28, 2017)
  • Author, “Dueling Shareholder Class Actions Could Raise Due Process Issues,” Law360 (Jan. 30, 2017)
  • Author, “Supreme Court Reaffirms Personal-Benefit Requirement for Insider Trading,” WestLaw Journal: Securities Litigation & Regulation and WestLaw Journal: White-Collar Crime (Dec. 22, 2016)
  • Author, “Rakoff Addresses Tippee Liability in SEC v. Payton,” Law360 (Dec. 2, 2016)
  • Author, “Dutch Collective Actions vs. Collective Settlements,” National Law Review (Oct. 18, 2016)
  • Author, “Judgment Recognition and the Reach of US Securities Laws,” Law360 (Oct. 3, 2016)
  • Author, “Executives Face SOX Disgorgement Uncertainty After Jensen,” Law360 (Sept. 8, 2016)
  • Author, “Wine, Steak and a Taste of the ‘Personal Benefit’ Tension,” Law360 (June 6, 2016)
  • Author, “Proskauer Explains Supreme Court’s Clarification of Jurisdiction Under Securities Exchange Act,” The CLS Blue Sky Blog (May 24, 2016)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Reinforces Liability Standard in Securities Cases Based on Statements of Opinion,” Business Law Today (Mar. 2016)
  • Author, “The Netherlands Returns as a Collective Settlement Forum,” Law360 (Mar. 15, 2016)
  • Author, “How Morrison v. Australia Bank Was Applied in Petrobras,” Law360 (Feb. 16, 2016)
  • Author, “New York Court Certifies Classes in Petrobras Securities Litigation,” National Law Review (Feb. 3, 2016)
  • Author, “Delaware Court of Chancery Rejects Another Disclosure-Only M&A Settlement and Warns of ‘Increasingly Vigilant’ Scrutiny,” National Law Review (Jan. 25, 2016)
  • Author, “What To Expect from High Court’s New Insider Trading Case,” Law360 (Jan. 19, 2016)
  • Author, “Second Circuit Upholds Common-Interest Privilege for Borrower’s Sharing of Legal Advice with Consortium of Lenders,” Transaction Advisors (Dec. 2015)
  • Author, “What Jarkesy Means for SEC Admin Court Challenges,” Law360 (Sept. 30, 2015)
  • Author, “A Farewell to Alms? Peppercorn Settlements of M&A Litigation,” National Law Review (Sept. 21, 2015)
  • Author, “Seventh Circuit Rejects Court Challenge to Pending SEC Administrative Proceeding,” com (Aug. 27, 2015)
  • Author, “9th Circuit Rebuffs Newman,” Law360 (July 8, 2015)
  • Author, “Proskauer Discusses Supreme Court’s Omnicare Decision, Clarifying Liability for Statements of Opinion in Registration Statements,” The CLS Blue Sky Blog (Mar. 24, 2015)
  • Author, “U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Bright-Line Test for Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Securities Laws,” Bloomberg BNA World Securities Law Report, vol. 20, no. 9 (Sept. 2014)
  • Author, “Whistleblower Anti-Retaliation Provision Does Not Apply Outside the U.S.,” Westlaw Journal Securities Litigation & Regulation, vol. 20, issue 9 (Sept. 4, 2014)
  • Author, “So Much for Bright-Line Tests on Extraterritorial Reach of US Securities Laws?,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation (Sept. 2, 2014)
  • Co-author, “Defending Directors: Cram Sheet,” Wolters Kluwer Law & Business (October 23, 2012)
  • Author, “Delaware Chancery Court Issues Decision on Collateral Estoppel in Derivative Suits,” Westlaw Journal Delaware Corporate, vol. 26, issue 25 (June 25, 2012)
  • Author, “SEC Issues Report on Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Securities Laws,” VCExperts on-line publication (June 2012)
  • Co-author, “Fraud? Foreign Purchase? Forget It! ‘Foreign-Cubed’ and Other Foreign-Issuer Cases After Morrison,” of Secs. & Commodities Reg., vol. 44, no. 4 (Feb. 23, 2011)
  • Author, “Supreme Court Clarifies Statute of Limitations in Securities-Fraud Actions,” Derivatives Financial Prods. Rpt., 11, no. 10, at 23 (June 2010)
  • Author, “Transnational Class Actions and Judgment Recognition,” Class Action Litigation Report (June 25, 2010)
  • Co-author, “Pushing the Limits of U.S. Securities Laws: ‘Foreign-Cubed’ (‘F-Cubed’) Cases,” 42 SRLR 10 (March 8, 2010)
  • Co-author, “Assignees Have Discovery Obligations When Asserting Assignors’ Claims,” Journal of Payment Systems Law (June/July 2005)
  • “Punitive Damages: Past, Present and Future,” International Commercial Litigation (July/August 1995)
  • Co-author and editor, Takeovers: Attack and Survival (1987)
  • Co-author, “New Life for State Takeover Statutes?,” New York Law Journal (July 27, 1987)
  • Co-author, “Damages in Defamation Actions,” Damages in Tort Actions (1985)
  • “Facial Adjudication of Disciplinary Provisions in Union Constitutions,” Yale Law Journal (1981)

Presentations

  • Practising Law Institute: “ESG 2022: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel” (June 1, 2022) (full-day program; program co-chair and panel chair)
  • Practising Law Institute: “ESG 2021: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel” (webcast, June 24, 2021) (full-day program; program co-chair and panel chair)
  • Practising Law Institute: “ESG 2020: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel) (webcast, July 24, 2020) (full-day program; program co-chair and panel chair)
  • Practising Law Institute: “ESG and Promoting Corporate Sustainability” (New York, June 25, 2019) (full-day program; program chair and panel chair)
  • The Mason Judicial Education Program, Symposium for Judges: Securities Class Action Litigation (Arlington, VA, May 5, 2019)
  • The Mason Judicial Education Program, Symposium for Judges: The Economics of Corporate & Securities Law (San Diego, April 12-14, 2018)
  • ABA Section of Litigation: “Recent Developments in Securities Class Actions” (webinar, May 11, 2017)
  • Professional Liability Underwriters Society D&O Symposium: “Behaving Badly: The Non-U.S. Corporate Scandal Wave” (New York, February 9, 2017)
  • New York State Bar Association International Section: “Hot Topics in Cross-Border Securities Litigation” (São Paulo, October 16, 2015)
  • Proskauer Hedge-Fund Breakfast Seminar on Insider Trading (New York, Feb. 5, 2015)
  • CLE International’s 9th Annual Class Action Conference: “Collective Proceedings Abroad: Evolving Approaches & Attitudes” (Washington, D.C., October 2013)
  • Practising Law Institute: “Handling a Securities Case: From Investigation to Trial and Everything in Between” (New York, April 2012)
  • Institutional Investor Educational Foundation: Corporate Governance Roundtable Forum (New York, December 2011)
  • Institutional Investor Educational Foundation Amsterdam Roundtable: “The Netherlands and the Future of European Securities Litigation” (The Hague, September 2011)
  • Summer Institute on Law & Government, American Univ. Washington College of Law: “Securities Class Actions – An Update” (Washington, D.C., June 2010)
  • ABA Section on Litigation Annual Conference: “Global Class Actions: Lasting Peace or Ticking Time Bombs?” (New York, April 2010)