Corporate & Securities Law

Collective redress, four events (well, five)

By Werner R. Kranenburg

In the next few weeks four events will take place, so there’s three dates for your diary. The fifth one has already taken place on the 8th of October, a programme in King & Spalding LLP’s University e-Learn Series, entitled The Globalization of U.S. Securities Class Actions and U.S. Securities Law Enforcement (details). The handout (62 slides) is still available online.

Looking forward then, the 14th annual Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP sponsored Forum for Institutional Investors is on next week in New York, 23-24 October. This year’s theme is Protecting Shareholder Value, The Credit Crisis and Beyond. (programme)

Next up is the ERA’s Collective Redress, Towards a system of class actions in Europe? (ERA is short for Europäische Rechtsakademie, Academy of European Law based in Trier and Brussels.) This event takes place in Florence, 30-31 October, under the patronage of the Ordine degli Avvocati di Firenze and the University of Florence. ERA itself is supported by the European Union. (programme, register) The programme takes a very European approach, first setting the scene by way of comparative analysis between the US and Europe,
then discussing several national systems - England, the Netherlands, Germany among them - before
concluding with ‘Expectations for a collective redress mechanism at EU-level’, the latter being presented by
representatives of the European Commission (Dirk Staudenmayer) and European Parliament (Diana Wallis MEP).

Next month the American Bar Association hosts two events of note on the same day, 7 November, with thanks to ClassActionBlawg.com for the notice. And not only the same day, the most interesting discussions are even held the same time at 4pm and on the same topic!

That topic is Class Actions Sans Frontières as one panel is called, or about ‘actions brought in the US and Europe on behalf of purported worldwide classes’ according to the details of the other. Panelists in New York include Lynda J. Grant of Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll PLLC (based in New York) and in Miami Gerard J. Meijer of NautaDutilh NV (Rotterdam) and Peter J. Rees of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (London). Also note Miami’s 2pm litigation funding panel which will ‘examine… new techniques for funding major litigation and debate their practical as well as ethical impact.’

• Miami: The Next Big Wave of Cross-Border Litigation (programme, register)
• New York: 12th Annual National Institute on Class Actions (programme, register)

Full post as published by With Vigour and Zeal on October 19, 2008 (boomark / email).