Registration Open07:00 AM - 06:30 PMContinental Breakfast07:30 AM - 08:30 AMWelcoming Remarks from the Chairs08:30 AM - 09:00 AMSecurities Litigation: Class Actions, Derivative Suits and Enforcement Proceedings in 200709:00 AM - 10:45 AMThe field of securities class action litigation was very active in 2007. Significant case law developments, including important new Supreme Court decisions, have altered the landscape in this ever changing field. New cases and enforcement actions involving options backdating and sub-prime lending also emerged in the past year. This panel takes a look at the important trends from the past year and projects what it may mean for the months ahead.
Attendees will:* Develop an understanding of the important trends in securities class action lawsuits.
* Gain insight into SEC Enforcement action and priorities.* Become acquainted with the significance of securities case law developments.
* Become acquainted with options backdating, sub-prime lending and other developing areas of securities litigation.
Refreshment Break10:45 AM - 11:00 AMHot Topics in D&O Claims: Does a Soft Market mean Hard Coverage Positions?11:00 AM - 12:30 PMImportant case law developments have raised important implications for D&O claims resolution and case management. Legal developments involving policy interpretation and coverage disputes will affect litigants' interests and future claims activity. This panel is intended to identify the significant claims developments and explore the significance of these developments for existing and future claims.Attendees will:* Expand knowledge of important trends affecting claims frequency and claims resolution.* Learn experts views on emerging coverage issues such as Section 11 settlements, SOX* Learn whistleblower coverage, and rescission issues.* Explore claims resolution issues arising from insurance program structure, such as Side A issues, excess coverage issues, and defense expense coverage issues.Luncheon with Keynote Address by William H. Donaldson, 27th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission12:30 PM - 01:45 PMWilliam H. Donaldson became the 27th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2003. As Chairman, Mr. Donaldson oversaw the regulation of U.S. securities markets, ensured compliance with and enforcement of securities laws and through corporate governance mandates sought to ensure the protection of investors' interests. Mr. Donaldson arrived at the Commission with more than 40 years of experience working at the highest levels of business, government and academia. He served as Chairman and CEO of the investment banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, which he co-founded; Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange and Chairman, President and CEO of Aetna. Mr. Donaldson helped found the Yale University School of Management, serving as the graduate school's first dean and professor of management studies. In February 2007, Mr. Donaldson joined Perella Weinberg Partners as Chairman of its advisory council. Mr. Donaldson is the former Chairman of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a past Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and a former trustee of the Aspen Institute, the Marine Corps University Foundation and the Ford Foundation. He has received numerous awards, including honorary degrees and was designated businessman of the year by the Associated Press in 1970. Mr. Donaldson is a Marine Corps Veteran, a graduate of Yale University, and Harvard University School of Business where he received an MBA with Distinction. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Industry Focus: Private Equity02:00 PM - 02:45 PMMany of the recent developments in the financial markets and in the securities litigation arena have involved the activities of private equity investors. The involvement of private equity creates a unique set of risks and exposures, requiring unique and involving insurance solutions. This panel will explore the issues arising from private equity investment and develop this related risk exposures.
Attendees will:*Learn the circumstances and events that are creating heightened liability exposures for private equity firms and their managers.
* Develop an understanding of the emerging claims involving private equity firms and of the consequences for private equity risk and exposure.
* Hear experts discuss alternative insurance and other risk management structures available to manage private equity firms liability exposures.
Industry Focus: Life Sciences02:45 PM - 03:30 PMEven as securities filings generally have declined since mid-2005, securities class action filings against pharmaceutical companies have remained steady. Pharmaceutical companies remain the target of significant securities lawsuit activity. This panel will explore the unique factors affecting the lawsuit exposure as well as the resulting practical implications.
Attendees will:* Develop an understanding of the unique industry circumstances and factors driving heightened frequency in the pharmaceutical sector.
* Learn from experts about the risk factors relevant to underwriting, claims management, and risk management in the pharmaceutical sector.
* Expand knowledge of factors that are likely to affect future claims frequency and severity exposure in the pharmaceutical sector.
Refreshment Break03:30 PM - 03:45 PMView from the Top: The State of the D&O Marketplace03:45 PM - 05:00 PMLeading insurance industry executives discuss D&O coverages in the context of the Property & Casualty Industry. The D&O insurance sector is a more volatile class of business relative to other P&C lines. The panelists will discuss the respective company's perspectives of the required return on capital for the volatility. The session will include an in-depth talk covering emerging D&O exposure and D&O underwriting decision making process. Other topics will explore technical price monitoring, use of capacity, industry and mitigation strategies of containment of contagion exposures.
Attendees will:* Hear leading insurance industry executives discuss the D&O product line in the context of the Property & Casualty Industry.
* Listen as experts give opinions on the outlook for mergers and acquisitions in the P&C industry.
* Gain insight on insurance leaders’ view of the D&O pricing and coverage trends.
* Expand knowledge of the impact of emerging D&O exposures facing the industry and its insureds.
Cocktail Reception05:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Registration Open07:00 AM - 04:45 PMContinental Breakfast07:45 AM - 08:45 AMOpening Remarks from the Chairs08:45 AM - 09:00 AMExcess D&O: What's Up With That?09:00 AM - 10:30 AMD&O Excess policies are not all created equal. With rising severity exposures the need to understand policy coverage has brought this issue to forefront of insureds. This panel will discuss the legal and practical realities of coverage and policy form provisions.
Attendees will:* Learn from experts the coverage triggers of Excess, Side A and Side A DIC policies.
* Expand knowledge of the importance of excess policy form provisions and exclusions and their implications on claim payments.
* Develop an understanding that "follow-form" policies are not equal and the relevance of negotiating coverage from exhaustion of limits, arbitration, choice of law clauses and Section 11 claims.
Refreshment Break10:30 AM - 10:45 AMLife Cycle of an IPO Company10:45 AM - 12:15 PMCompetition from the Global Capital Markets has made listing outside of the US a viable option for companies seeking to raise capital. US Securities regulations including compliance with SOX Rule 404 has brought companies to evaluate listing on exchanges outside of the U.S. The panel will discuss the stages of a company from private to an initial public offering. The exposures facing directors and officers and the D&O policy program structures.
Attendees will:* Learn from experts the IPO life cycle and the D&O coverage program structures and process.
* Expand knowledge of optimal Private Company D&O coverages and IPO Company D&O coverages.
* Gain a better understanding of the D&O exposure of IPOs and listing in US on NASDAQ or NYSE as compared to listing on AIM, Singapore or local exchanges.
* Expand knowledge D&O coverages for traditional IPO, reverse merger with public shell and other methods companies accessing the capital markets.
Luncheon with Keynote Address by William R. Berkley, Founder, Chairman and CEO of W.R. Berkley Corporation12:15 PM - 01:30 PMWilliam R. Berkley founded W. R. Berkley Corporation, a Fortune 500 property-casualty insurance holding company, in 1967 and has served continuously as Chairman of the Board and the Company’s Chief Executive. In addition, he is Chairman of many of the Company subsidiaries, including Berkley Dean & Company, an investment management company. During his career, Mr. Berkley has founded a number of public and private companies, some of which he continues to control. He serves as Chairman, Lead Director or Director on many of these enterprises, including The First Marblehead Corporation, the leading private student loan company in the United States. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the American Insurance Association. Mr. Berkley is a graduate of New York University and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He is Chairman of the Board of Overseers of the Stern School of Business at New York University, as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees at New York University. He is a Director of Georgetown University, where he helped organize and form the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Mr. Berkley is Chairman of Achievement First, a group of charter schools operating in the New York Metropolitan area. Mr. Berkley has received many awards for his business, civic and philanthropic activities, including an honorary doctor of law degree from Mercy College. In 1999, he was awarded the Medallion for Entrepreneurship by Beta Gamma Sigma, and in April 2006 he received the Charles Waldo Haskins award.
International D&O: Global Exposures01:45 PM - 03:00 PMDirectors and officers of corporations are facing increasing liabilities from global exposures. Corporate laws are expanding duties of directors and officers and the rights of shareholders in China, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, UK and Italy. The panel will discuss emerging exposures and valid D&O policy coverage.
Attendees will:* Expand knowledge of evolving liability trends outside the US that multinational corporations are facing.
* Gain insight that worldwide coverage in US based insurer D&O policies may not be able respond to local claims due to the statutory requirement of a local admitted policy.
* Learn from experts the potential civil fines, penalties and criminal proceedings facing an insured from a non licensed or non-admitted policy.
Refreshment Break03:00 PM - 03:15 PMPeeling the Onion: Underwriting and Claims Ramifications from the Sub-Prime Meltdown03:15 PM - 04:45 PMThe sub-prime meltdown has dominated the headlines, disturbed the credit marketplace, and generated a host of claims activity. Numerous claims have already arisen and other claims are likely to arise in the future. The involvement of multiple litigants and competing claims raises challenges for underwriting accounts and resolving these claims. This panel will take a look at the factors that caused the sub-prime crisis, examine the kinds of sub-prime related claims that have arisen so far, and explore the factors that will affect claims resolution.
Attendees will:* Learn from experts about the circumstances that have given rise to the sub-prime crisis and that are contributing to claims.
* Develop an understanding of the legal and coverage issues arising in the sub-prime lending-related cases that have arisen so far.
* Expand knowledge of the risk factors relevant to claims management and claims resolution of sub-prime claims, as well as identifying and underwriting sub-prime related risk.