Securities Fraud & Shareholders Derivative Actions

Whatley Drake & Kallas is placing a major emphasis on developing its practice in the Securities Fraud and Shareholders Derivative area. The firm has some of the most experienced lawyers in the country practicing in this area.

The firm is active in Securities Fraud litigation on behalf of classes of investors, institutional investors, including government as well as private pension funds, and individual investors. The firm has worked to protect investors and stockholders from securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation, racketeering and other financial misdeeds.

With the passage of the Securities Reform Act (PLSRA) and the conservative interpretation of claims under Rule 10(b)(5) on aiding and abetting, it has become even more important for state and local government pension plans to be separately and aggressively represented. Those plans are exempted from many of the provisions of the Securities Reform Act. As a result, state and local governmental pension plans may bring claims under the state securities laws, which generally allow claims for aiding and abetting, creating broader theories of liability than are sometimes accepted by the federal courts under the federal laws. Whatley Drake & Kallas is working on a number of cases to develop additional theories under state law on behalf of state and local governmental pension plans so that they will recover a greater percentage of their losses.

Whatley Drake & Kallas has been active in a number of class securities cases and represents many investors in claims of securities fraud, both in court and arbitration. The firm currently serves as co-lead counsel in the Wholdings Securities Fraud Litigation and liaison counsel in the HealthSouth Securities Fraud Litigation, among others. Lawyers at Whatley Drake & Kallas have actually tried securities claims to conclusion in judicial and arbitration proceedings.

The firm also handles a number of derivative cases. As the law of securities fraud has become more favorable to defendants, the firm has been attempting to expand recoveries through derivative theories.