Did Stoneridge Kill Scheme Liability?

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Stanford Law School
5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

(MCLE Credit Available)

In January 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Stoneridge Investment v. Scientific-Atlanta, labeled by commentators “the most important securities case in a generation.” At issue was whether third party vendors, whose conduct played into a public company’s scheme to defraud investors, could be liable to those investors in a private securities fraud class action. The Stoneridge decision lived up to its billing, establishing important principles concerning the scope of Section 10(b) and private rights of action.

How will Stoneridge affect the enforcement priorities of the SEC?  What action might Congress take in response to the case?  Might firms who do business with or advise public companies do anything different to fit within the Stoneridge rule? Professor Joseph Grundfest will moderate a discussion of the decision and its implications with a panel of experts, including a member of the defense team who briefed Stoneridge, and the SEC’s Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Adjudication. 

Panelists:

• Timothy S. Bishop, Mayer Brown LLP
• Professor Jay Brown, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
• Andrew N. Vollmer, Deputy General Counsel of the SEC
• Steven N. Williams, Cotchett, Pitre, and McCarthy

Reception: 5:30 - 6:15 p.m., Stanford Law School, Crocker Garden
Presentation: 6:15 - 7:30 p.m., Stanford Law School, Room 190