Editor’s Desk

A recent survey by the London-based insurance brokerage firm McGill and Partners highlights the increasing regulatory scrutiny of corporate directors and officers, and their growing concern about personal liability. The cost of mounting a defense in regulatory litigation can be millions, and if an individual director or officer is found guilty, D&O insurers are typically off the hook. In this issue of Today’s General Counsel, Kenneth A. Rosen and his colleagues write about the risk of personal liability, especially in the case of insolvency. Claims against officers and directors have become common in bankruptcy, and regulators are eager to impose personal liability on “control persons” when taxes remain unpaid. In other articles, Tim Anderson and Ryan Gaudet discuss the impact of uncommon data sources on discovery, and J. Randall Boyer shows how a lawsuit filed under the California Consumer Privacy Act highlights the importance of conducting internal investigations in a way that shields them from discovery. In her column this month, Andrea Bricca writes about what’s at stake in the General Counsel’s relationship with the Chief Marketing Officer. In consumer-facing industries there are legal risks, as well as risks to the brand itself. Bob Nienhouse, Editor-In-Chief bnienhouse@TodaysGC.com