Todd G Cosenza

May 19, 2020 | Corporate Counsel

In Part I, we discussed securities law claims that may arise from a company's failure to meet its own ESG-related standards. Here, in Part II, we focus on potential claims that a company's ESG disclosures mask poor financial performance, as well as other legal risks associated with ESG.

By Todd G. Cosenza and William J. Stellmach

7 minute read

May 15, 2020 | Corporate Counsel

While many companies have proclaimed their commitment to environmental, social, and governance issues for years, the pandemic's pervasive effect on American workers, customers, and society has heightened the existing pressure on companies to focus on profit maximization and the creation of tangible shareholder value.

By Todd G. Cosenza and William J. Stellmach

8 minute read

October 30, 2013 | New York Law Journal

Todd G. Cosenza writes: Governor Cuomo's noble public service alone would be a sufficient reason to award him the New York Law Journal Lifetime Achievement Award. But beyond that, I know that he takes great pride in his work as an attorney over the past 18 years at Willkie, and even more in his family and their accomplishments.

By Todd G. Cosenza

4 minute read

September 12, 2008 | New York Law Journal

Todd G. Cosenza, a senior associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, writes that rior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in , Southern District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan had denied motions brought by various secondary actors (including two major financial institutions) seeking to dismiss plaintiffs' Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) claims. Notwithstanding the lack of any actionable misrepresentation or omission attributable to those actors on which plaintiffs could rely, Judge Kaplan found that the reliance element in a scheme case could be satisfied by showing that defendants' conduct was a "substantial" cause of the investors' injury.

By Todd G. Cosenza

10 minute read

April 24, 2013 | New York Law Journal

Todd G. Cosenza, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, reviews recent Southern District decisions that represent important expansions of 'Morrison v. National Australia Bank' outside of the context of traditional equity and debt securities, and demonstrate that district courts will attempt to discern a clear, affirmative intent in a statute's text that it applies extraterritorially before expanding the statute's reach to conduct and trades that take place abroad.

By Todd G. Cosenza

10 minute read

June 11, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Todd G. Cosenza and Christopher J. Miritello, associates at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, write that a litigant may employ several tactics to avoid transfer and inclusion of an individual case in proceedings before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, including generating some "activity" in the case to bolster arguments to the MDL Panel that the action is either "unique" and/or "too far advanced" for transfer. Such requests, while expedient from a tactical perspective, are often premature or unnecessary, resulting in costs and burdens that deplete the court's and the parties' resources - precisely those consequences the MDL scheme is intended to prevent. A small but significant change to the MDL system would address this unintended consequence of the current scheme.

By Todd G. Cosenza and Christopher J. Miritello

14 minute read

March 31, 2010 | New York Law Journal

Todd G. Cosenza, a senior associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, reviews the important jurisdictional issues raised by the Vivendi, Credit Suisse, and Fortis securities class actions, and the factors that led to the divergent results in those cases.

By Todd G. Cosenza

13 minute read