Securities and Shareholder Litigation

Today’s businesses must be prepared to face the ever-increasing challenges posed by government scrutiny and activist shareholders. Haynes Boone’s Securities and Shareholder Litigation lawyers are particularly skilled in protecting clients against shareholders’ claims and successfully resolving regulators’ inquiries (up to and including litigating them in state and federal courts nationwide).

We handle all aspects of securities, corporate, and shareholder litigation, with a particular focus on:

Federal and State Securities Class Actions
SEC Litigation
Shareholder Activism, Proxy Contests, and Other Corporate Governance Disputes
Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation
Corporate Counseling and Internal Investigations

When class action cases and derivative suits are filed, we are skilled at defeating class certification and obtaining dismissals in early motions practice. If forced to discovery, dispositive motionsor trial, we are focused on delivering successful outcomes for our clients. Additionally, our team has deep experience litigating against the SEC, DOJ, and other state and federal government agencies in cases alleging securities and financial fraud, misrepresentations in public disclosures, insider trading, Regulation FD, market manipulation, and short selling violations.

Our clients range from corporations and their individual officers, directors and shareholders to institutional investors and investment funds, as well as accounting firms, stockbrokers and other financial services firms. Regardless of the industry, jurisdiction, or adverse party, clients facing high-stakes securities or shareholder litigation turn to Haynes Boone to deliver positive outcomes for some of the most complex legal problems.

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Representative Matters*

Defense of bank holding company in federal class action lawsuit arising from an alleged Ponzi scheme, obtaining complete dismissal of all claims.
Defense of insurance industry client in a multibillion-dollar class action asserting fraud claims under the securities laws, related state court lawsuits and federal multi-district litigation (MDL) proceedings, and parallel SEC enforcement action.
Defense of healthcare industry client in class action litigation involving alleged accounting manipulations, obtaining a complete dismissal of all claims.
Defense of corporate officer in shareholder litigation arising from alleged antitrust scheme. Obtained complete dismissal of all claims.
Defense of officers and directors of publicly-traded telecommunications company in federal securities litigation, related state court proceedings, and appeal to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Obtained complete dismissal of all claims.
Defense of the CFO of a publicly-traded construction company in class action litigation and parallel SEC enforcement proceedings involving alleged accounting fraud.
Defense of publicly-traded technology company and its board of directors in a Delaware class action arising from a $560 million merger transaction.
Defense of publicly-traded waste management company and its board of directors in a nationwide shareholder class action arising from a $525 million merger transaction.
Defense of Texas corporation and its board of directors in shareholder derivative litigation arising from a merger transaction.
Defense of corporate officer in shareholder derivative litigation involving alleged antitrust violations. Obtained complete dismissal of all claims.
Defense of publicly-traded restaurant company and its board of directors in a nationwide shareholder class action arising from a $650 million merger transaction.
Defense of corporate officer in federal court litigation and related SEC enforcement proceedings involving alleged accounting manipulations by a leading wholesaler in the food industry.
Represented investment bank in a $250 million NYSE arbitration proceeding involving complex international transactions.
Defense of public company and certain officers in putative class action related to disclosures regarding order backlog. Received termination letter from SEC staff and dismissal with prejudice of federal complaint under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.
Defense of underwriter syndicate in federal securities class action alleging false and misleading statements in the public offering documents of healthcare provider.
Defense of public oil and gas company, private investment firm, and officers and directors in parallel state and federal lawsuits under the Securities Act of 1933 relating to offering disclosures.
Representation of public company CFO in connection with special committee investigation related to stock repurchase program.