Corporate and Securities Disputes

Your business is unique – your litigation strategy should be too

Our Corporate and Securities Litigation team uses industry and sector-specific experience to tackle your most challenging legal and regulatory issues consistent with your business goals and strategies.

Our team are dedicated to resolving clients’ most complex and sensitive business disputes across the globe. We have extensive experience in advising companies, investors, shareholders and directors on transactional, shareholder and boardroom disputes, and we offer commercial solutions to minimize the effects of disputes on business with maximum efficiency.

We advise at all stages from (and frequently before) the inception of your dispute and, where it supports your strategic objectives, seek to avoid legal proceedings by way of negotiation and alternative dispute resolution. Our global team has comprehensive experience of representing clients before all of the world’s major commercial courts and arbitral institutions.

Besides strategic, pre-litigation advice and alternative dispute resolution, our practice is recognised for advancing clients’ interests across the full range of corporate contentious issues. These include corporate governance/shareholder activism, injunctions/interim relief, shareholder/joint venture disputes and derivative actions, M&A disputes, including breach of contract/warranty and misrepresentation cases, civil fraud claims, directors’ and officers’ liability suits, collective redress claims – class actions/group litigation, and regulatory interventions, internal investigations and white-collar crime.

“Our global team has comprehensive experience representing clients before all of the world’s major commercial courts and arbitral institutions.”

We’re one of the largest law firms in the world, with more than 1,400 disputes lawyers. Our geographical footprint – with 90 offices across 40 jurisdictions – enables us to deploy large, cross-border teams with specific local and sectoral knowledge to advise our clients wherever their disputes arise. We work seamlessly with our transactional lawyers to provide a holistic approach to corporate dispute resolution.

We act for public and private companies operating across our key industry sectors: financial services; infrastructure, construction and transport; energy and natural resources; industrials; technology; consumer goods; media, sport and entertainment; life sciences; insurance; and real estate. In addition, we represent private equity houses, financial institutions, hedge funds and investment advisors, boards and audit committees, individual officers, directors and shareholders.

We regularly provide risk management advice to pre-empt litigation and minimize the risk of disputes arising and/or becoming entrenched in litigation or arbitration. This advice includes government relations, regulatory and securities matters, internal investigations and white-collar crime, and PR and crisis communications strategies.

How we have delivered for our clients

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Advising an international investment firm, Equitix, in a dispute with the shareholders of a company providing services to hospitals further to the acquisition of the majority of the shares.
Advising a leading multinational oil and energy company in relation to various actions for damages (in the range of EUR19 million) against a former general director for a high-risk and prejudicial transaction.
Representing a major shareholder in an international commodities producer in a dispute with the company and another shareholder relating to the company’s response to the unilateral termination of a long-term electricity contract by a supplier, with damages estimated at USD2 billion.
Advising a major international bank as shareholder in a JV company in connection with injunctive and other actions taken to prevent the sale of core assets of the JV business by management, pending outcome of the dispute.
Representing a global beverage manufacturer in a USD1 billion dispute arising from the exercise of a call option over the shares of its joint venture partner in light of that partner's change of control, including advice in connection with the related expert determination clause.

Representing a leading aerospace and defense contractor in consolidated securities and derivative litigation in the Southern District of New York. We obtained dismissal of the stockholder derivative action and, after intensive litigation relating to allegations falsely attributing to a confidential witness, we negotiated a favorable settlement of the related securities class action.
Representing a wireless communications company in a securities action pending in the Southern District of California, alleging accounting improprieties and inadequate internal controls. Representing a mobile services company and related individuals in a securities class action in the Western District of Washington and in related state court stockholder derivative action. After we prevailed on a motion to dismiss the securities class action, the stockholder derivative action was voluntarily dismissed.
Representing multiple US-listed companies with operations in China and their officers and directors as well as underwriters in securities class actions involving allegations of violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933.
Representing the underwriters in related class actions in the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of Alabama asserting securities violations in connection with three securities offerings by a large insurance company that is based in New York.
Representing a network equipment company in a securities class action pending in the Southern District of California alleging accounting improprieties and fraud in connection with a secondary offering.
Representing the underwriters in consolidated class actions in the Western District of Oklahoma concerning statements in securities offerings and other filings by an oil and gas exploration company and related royalty trusts.
Representing the former chief executive officer of a government sponsored enterprise in consolidated securities class actions in the Southern District of New York asserting claims for securities law violations after the enterprise was placed in government conservatorship.
Representing the underwriters in a class action asserting claims based on alleged misstatements and omissions in the registration statement for an offering by a large regional bank holding company of trust preferred securities. The court dismissed the action with prejudice after plaintiffs’ misrepresentation of information allegedly provided by a confidential witness was revealed.
Representing one of the world’s largest financial institutions in multi-district litigation involving allegations of late trading and market timing in the mutual fund industry, in the District of Maryland Defense of investment advisors in a number of actions throughout the United States asserting claims for purported “death spiral” securities fraud, including a number of actions in which we obtained dismissal of plaintiffs’ complaints.
Representing one of the nation’s largest homebuilders and several individual officers in a consolidated action asserting claims for securities fraud in the Northern District of Texas.

Representing the former CEO of a publicly traded utility company in a trial alleging criminal violations of the federal securities laws, resulting in a deadlocked jury.
Representing a former securities trader under allegations of securities fraud, TARP Fraud, and making false statements to the United States government.
Representing the former CFO and general counsel of a public company in an SEC investigation involving alleged accounting improprieties.
Representing the former general counsel of a public company in SEC action and grand jury investigation involving alleged accounting improprieties.
Representing a multinational issuer in SEC, congressional and Department of Justice inquiries, and in related securities class actions filed in the Southern District of New York, arising from a financial restatement.
Representing a former fund manager of a major mutual fund company in investigations and civil litigation relating to alleged market-timing trading in mutual fund shares.
Representing a broker-dealer in investigations by the New York Attorney General and the SEC concerning market timing and after-hours trading in shares of open-end mutual funds.
Representing a brokerage firm in a FINRA investigation of the Association’s trade reporting rules.
Representing a former COO and CFO of a public company in investigations by the SEC and a grand jury into alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Representing a corporate officer in an SEC investigation of possible Investment Company Act violations. Although the SEC took action against other officers, it took no action against our client.
Representing an issuer under SEC investigation regarding MD&A disclosures. After presentation to SEC staff, the matter was closed with no action.
Representing an issuer in a NASDAQ delisting inquiry, in which the delisting panel granted our client an exception to listing requirements which permitted it to execute transactions that brought it back into compliance.