Practice Areas & Industries: Holme Roberts & Owen LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

Holme Roberts & Owen LLP's (HRO's) securities trial lawyers have extensive experience in many large complex commercial cases, including RICO actions; class action securities fraud actions; derivative actions; fiduciary duty actions and lender liability cases; and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions brought by the SEC, NYSE, and NASD. Other such cases have involved bankruptcy fraud; real estate disputes between lender and developer, and buyer and seller; and numerous multimillion dollar class actions in state and federal courts.

Our clients include public and private corporations, underwriters, broker-dealers, investment companies and advisers, and other investment professionals.

At HRO, we seek to understand our clients' businesses and to find creative, cost-effective solutions to their legal problems. Because client concerns are top priority, each matter is assigned to one attorney who personally oversees staffing, budget, communication and outcome.

The benefit of hiring a regional law firm, as opposed to a national firm, is a focus on cost-effective and efficient service for our clients. Through an advanced network of computer technology, our lawyers work as if side by side, regardless of their geographic location. This offers you the ability to take advantage of the local knowledge of lawyers in the office near you while benefitting from the resources of a large regional and international firm.

To help assure a cost-efficient and effective litigation practice, the firm has developed a litigation support package using Lotus Notes. This customized application provides a flexible approach to managing the documents associated with litigation cases. Documents can be summarized, full-text indexed or imaged. On-line access to deposition transcripts is also included in the firm's litigation support package.

HRO is also committed to an ongoing, comprehensive training program for litigation associates, with such components as how to gather information and interview witnesses, discovery techniques, and deposition and trial tactics. The tactics segments involve mock deposition sessions and mock trials supervised by senior litigators who also provide appropriate feedback.

Services Available

We have successfully defended local and nationally based clients against the leading plaintiffs' securities law firms in the country. Not only are our securities litigation attorneys seasoned trial lawyers, they implement alternative dispute resolution methods, including arbitrations, mediations, and judicial settlement conferences to benefit our clients. Our attorneys have represented clients in arbitrations before the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and the National Association of Securities Dealers.

HRO brings to the table an impressive record of success in the defense of securities cases. We often have achieved these successes early in the litigation by challenging frivolous claims or by questioning the certification of improper shareholder classes. We work closely with our clients to understand each case at the beginning, not at the last minute. In that way, we are able to design and execute strategies that make sense and advance both the business and litigation objectives of our clients. We are successful in the cases that do go to trial, so whether the case is tried or settled, our track record speaks for itself.

Representation of Issuers and Underwriters

Our lawyers have extensive experience defending issuers and underwriters in securities class actions, typically following initial public offerings or after-market events impacting the price of an issuer's securities.

We have represented issuers from all major industries, including telecommunications, high technology, health care, natural resources, financial services, and manufacturing. We have also represented many of the nation's leading underwriters and investment banking firms when they have faced litigation in this region.

Our areas of expertise include the federal and state laws and regulations applicable to securities offerings and due diligence responsibilities of issuers and underwriters. Our clients frequently consult us to minimize or avoid the risk of litigation.

Shareholder Derivative Actions

HRO also represents companies and their officers and directors in shareholder derivative actions in federal and state courts. We know the substantive and procedural laws applicable to derivative lawsuits. We understand how directors' and officers' liability insurers impact these cases.

Our lawyers not only defend companies sued derivatively by shareholders, but we also have extensive experience advising special committees of corporate directors on how to fulfill their fiduciary duties. To this end, our trial lawyers often partner with the firm's corporate transactions lawyers to maximize the expertise available to our clients in these situations.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The firm's trial lawyers frequently become involved in litigation challenging proposed mergers and acquisitions and other transactions involving changes in corporate control.

We often are retained to provide advice to boards of directors and their special committees regarding their fiduciary duties in such transactions, and we counsel our clients on strategies to avoid costly litigation.

Our lawyers have represented both bidders and target companies in hostile takeover litigation, and we have handled lawsuits involving proxy contests, corporate takeovers, and corporate valuations.

SEC Enforcement Actions and Regulatory Proceedings

HRO defends clients in investigations, enforcement actions, and other regulatory inquiries and proceedings initiated by the SEC, New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and state securities administrators.

Our clients are corporate and municipal issuers, underwriters, broker-dealers, investment companies, investment advisors, and professional firms, as well as individual officers, directors and employees targeted for investigation.

We have defended our clients in a variety of matters, including cases involving allegations of insider trading, fraudulent corporate and municipal disclosure, improper trading of derivatives, and fraudulent securities underwriting and sales practices.

Representation of Broker-Dealers, Investment Companies and Advisors

HRO represents many of the largest securities firms in the country in the defense of class action litigation and individual lawsuits and arbitrations filed in the Rocky Mountain region. Our experience includes the successful defense of numerous cases arising out of the underwriting of corporate and municipal securities and the underwriting of limited partnership offerings.

In addition, we regularly try and win cases involving customers' allegations of improper sales practices and negligent supervision of registered representatives. Most often we represent these clients in arbitrations conducted by the NASD, NYSE and AAA.

Increasingly, our securities industry clients have asked us to represent them in employment law matters, including employee raiding cases, enforcement of non-compete agreements, misappropriation of client lists and other trade secrets, and wrongful termination and defamation claims arising from the severance of individual registered representatives.

Representation of Accountants and Other Professionals

Holme Roberts & Owen LLP represents accounting firms and other professionals in securities litigation matters.

Appellate Litigation

HRO is one of the only law firms in the region with a long-established appellate litigation practice.

Clients:
United International Holdings, Inc. , United Pan-Europe Communications NV