Fourth Circuit Issues Decisive Opinion Affirming Dismissal of Securities Class Action Against MacroGenics
Biotech companies are often faced with a dilemma – they need to raise capital to develop novel therapies, and in doing so, they often express honest optimism about interim and topline results from their drugs in development. But they cannot be reasonably expected to disclose all results or interpretations of […]
DOJ Issues Further Guidance, Warnings on Ephemeral Messaging Apps
At the March 2023 American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime, senior Department of Justice officials offered their most expansive guidance yet about the dangers of using ephemeral messaging for company communications. Officials noted that when conducting an investigation, DOJ prosecutors will consider a company’s use of ephemeral and […]
Oklahoma Firefighters Pension & Retirement Systems v. Six Flags:
Fifth Circuit Opinion Reviving Securities Class Action Creates Tension with Other Circuits on Key Issues
Introduction On January 18, 2023, the Fifth Circuit unanimously reversed the Northern District of Texas’s dismissal of a securities class action contending that Six Flags and two of its executives misled investors by projecting impossible timelines for opening new theme parks in China, which were anticipated to be highly profitable. […]
Considering Texting About Work? Beware.
As the rise in remote work has led to an increased reliance on mobile devices to stay connected – with cellphones at our fingertips virtually 24/7 – the use of third-party messaging applications to communicate about work has become commonplace. From WhatsApp to Telegram, corporate executives, financial services professionals and […]
Buyer (and Seller) Beware: SEC Adopts Final Rules on 10b5-1 Trading Plans
The Securities and Exchange Commission has long focused on pursuing potential insider trading violations, and its recent enforcement efforts serve as a stark reminder that the Commission has made insider trading cases a priority. Consistent with these efforts, on December 14, 2022, the SEC unanimously voted at an open meeting […]
US Supreme Court to Hear Direct Listing Appeal
On December 13, 2022, the US Supreme Court granted Slack’s petition for a writ of certiorari, which urged the Court to review the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that shareholders in a direct listing have standing to sue under Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933. The Court’s opinion […]
The ‘State’ of Delaware
At the Berkeley Fall Forum on Corporate Governance in November 2022, Cooley partner Sarah Lightdale and University of California, Berkeley professor Stavros Gadinis co-moderated a panel with Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick and Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Court of Chancery, where they discussed notable developments in […]
In re Nektar Therapeutics: Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Securities Class Action Arising from Failure of Clinical Drug Trial
Summary On May 19, 2022, a panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action accusing Nektar Therapeutics and several of its executives of misleading investors about the results of a clinical drug trial. The court held that even if Nektar […]
Delaware Advance Notice Decisions Highlight Move Toward Enhanced Scrutiny of Board Actions, Even Where Conflicts Exist
Like US constitutional law, Delaware courts apply a tiered standard of judicial review to actions taken by the board of directors of corporations: In the constitutional arena, the failure to satisfy the strict scrutiny standard applied in First and Fourteenth Amendment cases led one constitutional scholar to remark that “strict […]
SEC’s Proposed Rules Highlight Continued Focus on Cybersecurity
On March 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed new rules which, if adopted, would require public companies to promptly disclose material cybersecurity incidents and, more generally, to provide more detailed disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance practices. The rules – the latest in a series […]