Securities Litigation

Pillsbury’s Securities Litigation practice has been nationally ranked by Chambers USA, a leading independent guide that interviews clients to compile its rankings.

As Chambers noted, “Pillsbury offers a multidisciplinary approach when it comes to securities regulatory matters, with its financial services, securities litigation and corporate investigations groups working seamlessly together to offer clients a well-rounded service.”

For decades Pillsbury successfully has defended companies and their personnel in securities class actions, derivative suits and corporate governance disputes. We have defended securities cases in federal and state courts around the country and regularly practice in the leading jurisdictions for securities litigation, including New York, California and Delaware.

Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies with years of experience in the securities markets to small high-tech companies new to public ownership. We represent issuers, underwriters and auditors, as well as directors, officers and major shareholders. Our clients come from a multitude of industries, ranging from banking and biotech to computers, energy, finance, health care, insurance, Internet, media, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, real estate, securities underwriting and telecommunications.

We have a strong record of success at all stages of litigation. We have won many motions to dismiss and for summary judgment. We have extensive experience with the leading arbitral tribunals, including FINRA. While securities trials are quite rare (well under 1% of cases are tried), our team includes accomplished trial lawyers with superb track records in front of judges and juries. Our team also includes appellate attorneys who have experience in the Supreme Court and all circuits of the US Court of Appeals as well as the appellate courts of the leading states.

In addition to defending lawsuits, we work with our corporate and transactional lawyers to advise companies on disclosure issues and to conduct internal investigations for audit committees and special litigation committees. Our internal investigations cover the gamut from investigations prompted by accounting firms under section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to investigations instigated by whistleblowers emboldened by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This work gives us a very practical understanding of how information flows within corporations and how companies deal with their auditors and the investment community.

Our team, whose members includes alumni of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff, enjoys an excellent reputation with the SEC. We have extensive experience responding to formal and informal inquiries and proceedings brought by the Commission’s Division of Enforcement and have a strong record of convincing the SEC’s staff to conclude investigations without enforcement action.

Because securities class actions can lead to grand juries and criminal prosecutions, our team includes white-collar criminal defense attorneys. Among our attorneys are former Assistant U.S. Attorneys from two of the jurisdictions where federal criminal securities cases most frequently are brought—New York and California.