Shareholder Derivative Litigation: Besieging the Board

Ralph C. Ferrara is the Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. office of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP. His practice includes a wide range of business regulatory and corporate governance matters; representing corporations and individuals in complex securities class and shareholder derivative actions; advising corporate clients on Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and disclosure requirements; representing corporations and individuals in government investigations and enforcement proceedings; and conducting corporate internal investigations and counseling corporate officers, committees and boards on these matters. Mr. Ferrar has argued on five occasions before the United States Supreme Court, and he has appeared in each of the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal and represented clients in state and federal courts across the country. From 1978-1981, Mr. Ferrara served as General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to that, Mr. Ferrara was a trial attorney, special counsel, and branch chief in the Commission's Division of Enforcement, where he participated in numerous court proceedings. During his career with the Commission, Mr. Ferrara also has acted as Executive Assistant or Special Counsel to three Chairmen, Assistant General Counsel, and Special Counsel to the Chairman. Kevin T. Abikoff is a partner, member of the Executive Committee and Co-Chairman of the Securities Litigation Practice Group of Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP in Washington, D.C. He concentrates on securities class action litigation and enforcement, shareholder derivative litigation, internal investigations (including shareholder derivative investigations for board committees), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act counseling and enforcement, and corporate governance counseling and compliance. Mr. Abikoff is author of Corporate Governance: Avoiding and Responding to Misconduct and co-author of Shareholder Derivative Litigation: Besieging the Board, both published by Law Journal Press. He has written numerous articles on securities, anti-corruption and corporate governance issues and is a frequent lecturer on these and other topics. Prior to joining Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Mr. Abikoff was Senior Vice President and General Counsel Corporate and Compliance of American General Corporation. Ms. Gansler is Associate Vice President in FINRA's Office of Emerging Regulatory Issues. Previously she was Senior Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission.