Directors & Officers (D & O) Liability


Book Description

In recent years several cases concerning the liability of directors and officers have courted controversy. Arguments raised in such discussions oscillate between two extremes: on the one hand, the need for governing bodies to give a space to entrepreneurial discretion and on the other hand to ensure the protection of investors in and creditors of a company from the consequences of disadvantageous decisions by those bodies. In light of the geographical dispersal of the above stakeholders, the study offers a comparative insight into the liability of directors and officers in 10 key European jurisdictions (in particular, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Switzerland) and 4 non-European jurisdictions (namely Brazil, Israel, Turkey and the United States). Amongst other things it investigates existing company law principles on the topic and examines their interaction with tort law and other fields with a view to suggesting principles for better stakeholder protection. National reports are complemented by an economic analysis and insurance, conflict of laws and comparative reports. The study also benefits from case study analyses.







Model Rules of Professional Conduct


Book Description

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.







Ensuring Corporate Misconduct


Book Description

Shareholder litigation and class action suits play a key role in protecting investors and regulating big businesses. But Directors and Officers liability insurance shields corporations and their managers from the financial consequences of many illegal acts, as evidenced by the recent Enron scandal and many of last year’s corporate financial meltdowns. Ensuring Corporate Misconduct demonstrates for the first time how corporations use insurance to avoid responsibility for corporate misconduct, dangerously undermining the impact of securities laws. As Tom Baker and Sean J. Griffith demonstrate, this need not be the case. Opening up the formerly closed world of corporate insurance, the authors interviewed people from every part of the industry in order to show the different instances where insurance companies could step in and play a constructive role in strengthening corporate governance—yet currently do not. Ensuring Corporate Misconduct concludes with a set of readily implementable reforms that could significantly rehabilitate the system.




Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigations


Book Description

There's never been a greater likelihood a company and its key people will become embroiled in a cross-border investigation. But emerging unscarred is a challenge. Local laws and procedures on corporate offences differ extensively - and can be contradictory. To extricate oneself with minimal cost requires a nuanced ability to blend understanding of the local law with the wider dimension and, in particular, to understand where the different countries showing an interest will differ in approach, expectations or conclusions. Against this backdrop, GIR has published the second edition of The Practitioner's Guide to Global Investigation. The book is divided into two parts with chapters written exclusively by leading names in the field. Using US and UK practice and procedure, Part I tracks the development of a serious allegation (whether originating inside or outside a company) - looking at the key risks that arise and the challenges it poses, along with the opportunities for its resolution. It offers expert insight into fact-gathering (including document preservation and collection, witness interviews); structuring the investigation (the complexities of cross-border privilege issues); and strategising effectively to resolve cross-border probes and manage corporate reputation.Part II features detailed comparable surveys of the relevant law and practice in jurisdictions that build on many of the vital issues pinpointed in Part I.







Directors' and Officers' Liability Insurance


Book Description

Directors' and officers' liability insurance was at one time considered essential only for large public corporations. Now, no public limited company anywhere in the world should be without it. Large private companies, charities, financial institutions, pension funds and all executive directors need to consider the risks. It is a widely held isconception that legal action cannot be taken against individual directors of limited liability companies. Directors' and officers' liability insurance is one of the fastest growing areas in the world insurance market. Company directors are facing increasingly onerous resonsibilities as shareholders demand higher standards of corporate governence. Recent years have seen more stringent laws on environmental liability and directorial responsibility for pollution is now a global concern. This new edition will answer the questions: - Just what are the personal liability risks facing directors? - How can they protect themselves against the increasing possibility of being sued? - What are the latest developments?Ian Youngman cuts through the jargon and explains the intricacies of this kind of cover and how it relates to other forms of insurance. He includes examples of claims, as well as profiles of insurers specialising in this area. He also assesses the current and likely future status of D & O cover in all the world markets.




Directors’ Liability: A Worldwide Review


Book Description

This acclaimed reference book for international business lawyers first appeared in 2006, with a second edition in 2010. Now in its third edition, and once again published in conjunction with the International Bar Association, this comparative study of a crucial issue in corporate law gives practitioners a powerful and decisive tool for ascertaining and comparing the law affecting directors’ liability in today’s globalizing economies. Covering nearly fifty jurisdictions worldwide (including eight not previously covered), the third edition affords senior lawyers in major firms the opportunity to provide concise, detailed, and easy-to-understand summaries on his or her home law on directors’ liability. Authors whose research appeared in earlier editions have updated their chapters, and the case law summarized and analysed now reflects published cases through the end of March 2016. The contributions describe the relevant law in force in each particular jurisdiction, along with an insightful discussion of trends and future prospects. For each of the different jurisdictions the authors detail and explain such factors as the following: - national legal theories of director liabilities; - recent cases dealing with directors’ liability; - corporate governance; and - indemnification and insurance. Where applicable, coverage also includes the legal implications of jurisdictional variations in such matters as judicial review, lawyer directorship, directors’ reliance on outside professionals, and the effect of the European Action Plan. References have been thoroughly updated throughout, and include many new online sources. This publication will be of enormous value to legal practitioners, whether in private practice or in the legal department of a globally active company, as a comprehensive and easy means of access to the law of foreign jurisdictions on directors’ liability.