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2011 Securities Litigation Study 
The PwC Securities Litigation Study tracks US federal securities class actions filed since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) in 1995.
In the 16 years that we’ve conducted this study, we’ve seen that litigation, like many aspects of life, comes full circle. As one crisis or event passes, another emerges, fueling a new pipeline of securities litigation and enforcement cases. The accounting scandals of the early 2000s were supplanted by the stock option debacle, which in turn gave way to the financial crisis.
In 2011, we witnessed a further slowdown in financial crisis-related cases and the emergence of new and evolving trends, such as those involving mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The growth of M&A-related cases, reported in our 2010 study, continued in 2011, with one-quarter of all securities litigation filings in 2011 citing allegations of a breach of fiduciary duty in connection with an M&A transaction. This year’s study explores explanations for this ‘new’ focus of litigation, a trend we see increasing in years ahead.
Plaintiff attorneys appear undeterred in bringing cases against foreign issuers despite the Morrison ruling in 2010, with 61 cases in 2011, doubling 2010’s filings. The increase was sparked by the emergence of another focal point: China-based companies, especially those entering US markets via reverse merger transactions. The focus on accounting and governance-related issues at China-based companies, which surfaced in 2010, built momentum in 2011 among plaintiff attorneys (who brought an additional 37 cases); the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); and the Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
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2010 Securities Litigation Study
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Reverbations continued to be felt from the 2007-2008 financial crisis, with financial services companies holding the top spot as targets of private securities class action filings for the third consecutive year. However, the trend of decreasing financial-crisis-related filings we noted in 2009 was even more pronounced in 2010, with filings against financial services firms falling from 48 percent of total cases in 2008 to 41 percent in 2009 to 22 percent in 2010.
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2009 Securities Litigation Study
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The financial crisis continued to dominate the litigation landscape in 2009 - although to a lesser degree than in 2008, according to the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Securities Litigation study released today. Governments worldwide remained focused on regulatory overhaul, stimulus plans and investigations into the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of alleged wrongdoings related to the crisis.
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2009 Securities Litigation Study - Press Release
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2009 Third quarter update
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According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' Securities Litigation Third Quarter Update released today, the activity of federal securities class action filings is down, with only 113 cases filed through September 30, 2009. The number of cases filed through the third quarter of 2009 decreased 25 percent compared to the same time period in 2008, with an average of 38 cases filed in each quarter this year. According to the report, if a similar trend continues, the total number of cases for 2009 may only reach the number of cases filed through the first three quarters of 2008.
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2008 Securities Litigation Study
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In PricewaterhouseCoopers’13th annual evaluation of private securities class action lawsuits, one thing is glaringly obvious: While 2008 was an extraordinary year for litigators, it also demonstrated how extremely vulnerable giant financial institutions and entire economies are to fissures in the financial system.
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Restatements and Materiality
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Several studies monitoring restatements have concluded that the number of restatements has dramatically increased over the past few years. Partners Grace Lamont and Steve Skalak, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, suggest that restatements will continue to be required in those circumstances where fraud, rather than error, complexity, or oversight is the root cause of inaccurate financial reporting.
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The Evolving Role of General Counsel
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Managing the Crisis: Internal and External Investigations,Dealing With Regulators, and the New World of Discovery. PricewaterhouseCoopers' Investigations partners Steven Skalak and Chuck Hacker are joined by Stephen Cutler, Mary Jo White, and Peter Lieb for a roundtable discussion. Reprinted with permission. The National Law Journal, April 2006
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A Guide to Forensic Accounting Investigation
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PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest accounting, auditing, and business advisory organization is proud to announce the publication of this major new book, which guides auditors and other financial managers through the key techniques needed to address fraud in today's corporate environment.
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