Today I’m presenting on a panel at the ABA Business Law Section meeting in L.A. regarding recent Delaware cases on indemnification and advancement for officers and directors. Jim Wing of Holland and Knight will discuss how most other states have very different approaches. He has prepared a chart that compares how each of the 50 states treat the topic. Nancy Adams, Leslie Kurshan, and Kara Altenbaumer-Price will address the importance of having D&O insurance coverage as well. The consensus among our panel is that most D&Os pay far too little attention to what coverage or rights they may or may not have in this area until it’s too late (i.e., after they are sued.)

Yesterday I attended a panel presentation that included Vice Chancellor Parsons, Mike Pittenger and Jay Dubow, among others, who discussed issues related to multi-forum litigation in M&A deals. The statistics for 2013 they reported are that 94% of deals worth more than $100 million are the subject of litigation, often in more than one state.