Director and Officer Liability

Throughout the life of the firm, HBD has had a well-developed practice in the area of directors and officers liability. 

Frequently, a substantial corporation’s financial crisis or collapse spawns an array of actions against its officers and directors by a variety of claimants (both governmental claimants and private plaintiffs), often in multiple forums (including federal district court, state courts and bankruptcy courts). HBD’s well-rounded breadth of experience has equipped our lawyers with the rare skill set that has enabled us to successfully represent numerous officer and director clients in such challenging circumstances, providing them with strategically-coordinated defenses on multiple fronts. HBD has represented officer and director clients in class actions, derivatives suits, and private party litigation, as well as in investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U. S. Department of Justice. We have defended our clients against claims by shareholders, creditors, bankruptcy trustees and others, alleging claims for securities and common law fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, insider trading, usurpation of corporate opportunity, fraudulent transfer, conflict of interest and many other theories of liability. Further, we have extensive experience in interfacing with insurance companies and handling the intricacies involved in the application of directors and officer liability insurance in the various contexts described above.

In addition to providing defense legal services, we have also represented officer and director clients in asserting claims in wrongful termination suits and whistleblower actions under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other laws. The depth of our experience in the directors and officers liability arena has also served us in good stead in representing parties asserting claims against officers and directors. Further, HBD has both conducted and defended internal corporate investigations concerning the conduct of officers and directors.