Securities Litigation

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has been defending securities class actions nationwide since 1984. Since 1999, we have represented more issuers and have completely prevailed in more cases than any other law firm in the country.

The members of our department are some of the most experienced and respected securities lawyers in the nation. We participated in the enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which heightened the standards for pleading a securities fraud claim in federal courts. We have been instrumental in developing the Reform Act's interpretation in the First and Ninth Circuits, as well as numerous district courts across the nation. Our attorneys also have participated in many of the major, precedent-setting securities cases involving insider trading, the bespeaks caution doctrine, and materiality.

Our experience extends well beyond class action litigation. We represent companies and audit committees in internal investigations involving complex accounting fraud and potential restatements. We also represent companies in both formal and informal governmental proceedings. Attorneys at the firm have extensive experience counseling clients on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), including advising on FCPA compliance programs, conducting internal investigations, and representing companies in investigations led by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice, and other enforcement authorities. In addition, our practice includes derivative lawsuits and mergers and acquisitions litigation. In 2003, we convinced a federal court that California's statutory insider-trading laws do not apply to the directors of a Delaware corporation. In 2002, we successfully represented Hewlett-Packard in the well-publicized trial brought by Walter Hewlett to enjoin the company's merger with Compaq Computer.