Venable partner Geoff Garinther was quoted in a January 1 Law360 article discussing whether the volume of lawsuits will increase or decrease in 2011 and the potential impacts for law firms. According to the article, litigation is expected to "stay on track" in the coming year, with industry watchers reportedly saying that a radical jump in the volume of lawsuits this year is highly unlikely.
Garinther said that even now, when companies do get dragged into lawsuits, they take steps to quickly clamp down on defense costs.
With regard to the impact an acceleration in SEC enforcement actions could have, Garinther said, "They have been reforming, reshaping themselves to become more nimble to deal with a new sort of financial fraud."
He added, "Now that they've taken some time to do that, I think we can expect to see them going forward into new areas, perhaps targeting bigger companies, as opposed to small shops and individuals that have been the focus for the past couple of years."
Garinther said that even now, when companies do get dragged into lawsuits, they take steps to quickly clamp down on defense costs.
With regard to the impact an acceleration in SEC enforcement actions could have, Garinther said, "They have been reforming, reshaping themselves to become more nimble to deal with a new sort of financial fraud."
He added, "Now that they've taken some time to do that, I think we can expect to see them going forward into new areas, perhaps targeting bigger companies, as opposed to small shops and individuals that have been the focus for the past couple of years."