Securities & Corporate Governance Litigation

Securities cases, particularly class actions, put companies at tremendous risk and can be extremely disruptive—even when the company mounts a successful defense. To weather the storm in these "bet-the-company" cases, company management must have complete confidence in the experience and skills of their legal counsel, so they can stay focused on the company’s day-to-day business.

Perkins Coie’s Securities & Corporate Governance Litigation practice has extensive experience in litigating complex, high-stakes cases for securities issuers and their officers and directors, as well as for investment advisors, underwriters and other professional services firms. We have served as lead counsel for regional and national clients in a variety of actions, including:

• Shareholder class actions alleging securities fraud;
• Shareholder derivative actions alleging breach of fiduciary duty;
• Actions arising from mergers, acquisitions, and other contests for control;
• Proceedings before the SEC;
• Investigations by various federal agencies and self-regulatory organizations;
• Professional negligence litigation involving audits of financial statements.

We also have extensive experience assisting CPAs and accounting firms in a variety of complex matters involving accounting, auditing, and securities law issues. This experience includes:

• SEC investigations and regulatory actions;
• State accountancy and other regulatory board matters;
• Shareholder class action litigation;
• Civil litigation following restatement of financial statements;
• Litigation arising from bankruptcy reorganization.

Comprehensive, high value service

Clients rely on us to provide cost-efficient representation. We understand the distinctive legal issues and business implications of every case. This caliber of experience ensures comprehensive representation regardless of the action or jurisdiction, as well as exceptional value from efficient staffing and resource allocation.

Related services

We have assisted corporations and executives with internal and external investigations involving the SEC and securities regulatory agencies.

We also represent securities brokers and dealers in litigation, in arbitration proceedings conducted under the auspices of self-regulatory organizations such as the National Association of Securities Dealers, and in regulatory investigations following allegations of wrongful sales practices.

As with all types of litigation, our attorneys make prevention the highest priority, providing guidance on corporate disclosure, financial reporting and corporate governance, as well as assisting with internal investigations and audits to identify potential sources of exposure.