Robert L Hickok

August 29, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

In addition to potential private lawsuits and state attorney general investigations, public companies must be prepared for potential investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and potential securities litigation, including class actions and stockholder derivative suits.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Thomas H. Cordova

11 minute read

May 27, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

This article explores the reasons for using confidential witnesses, the required disclosures regarding the confidential witness at the pleading stage, and ways in which courts have confronted the messy factual issue of a "recanting" confidential witness.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Whitney R. Redding

15 minute read

February 24, 2022 | The Legal Intelligencer

SEC litigations and administrative proceedings related to crypto have skyrocketed from 18 in the five-year period from 2013 to 2017 to 79 in the last four years.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Julian N. Weiss

14 minute read

November 29, 2021 | The Legal Intelligencer

In deciding that an investor purchasing through a direct listing could establish standing under Section 11, the Ninth Circuit departs from past precedent and abandons the previously strict tracing requirement courts have historically interpreted under Section 11.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Bianca DiBella

7 minute read

August 30, 2021 | The Legal Intelligencer

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to determine whether state courts must stay discovery in lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities law while motions to dismiss are pending.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Brian Callaway

7 minute read

May 28, 2021 | The Legal Intelligencer

In cases of multiple corrective disclosures, plaintiffs cannot always choose the most advantageous bounce-back period for calculating statutory damages caps.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Sam Hatcher

7 minute read

February 25, 2021 | The Legal Intelligencer

When a public company discloses bad news, often its stock price declines and shareholders' investments similarly decline.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Julian N. Weiss

8 minute read

December 01, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

After nearly a decade in operation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or commission) voted to amend the rules governing its whistleblower program, which Congress created in 2010 to assist the SEC in discovering and prosecuting securities law violations by providing "monetary incentives for individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC."

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Kaitlin Meola

8 minute read

September 01, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

Standing alone, the Halliburton II decision offers a deceivingly simple rule for lower courts to apply when deciding whether to certify a class where the plaintiffs invoke, and the defendants attempt to rebut, the fraud-on-the-market theory.

By Robert L. Hickok, Whitney R. Redding and Jay A. Dubow

11 minute read

May 28, 2020 | The Legal Intelligencer

A consistent theme has emerged in the SEC's COVID-19 response: the commission wants to offer flexibility to account for unavoidable difficulties that have arisen due to the pandemic, but the law still applies.

By Robert L. Hickok, Jay A. Dubow and Whitney R. Redding

14 minute read