The Company’s protection against vexing lawsuits

Bucharest 10 October 2018

Trainer: Ana Gabriela Atanasiu

Details

One of the biggest concerns of the companies that are currently listed on the Stock Exchange or are soon to be listed is often linked to the entry as shareholders of people that will end up encumbering the financial activity of the listed company by initiating lawsuits. This also applies to companies that are subject to a special supervision regime (regulated entities) that often have the same issue and sometimes the same fate. Lawsuits mean extra costs, extra operational and reputation danger and missed opportunities.

The seminar will analyze both the relationship between the company and its shareholders, as well as the tools that the company can use to defend itself from disputes with shareholders. Such cases of vexing litigation in Romania and abroad (including relevant ECHR case-law) will be exemplified and further analyzed with reference to the way they these lawsuits were managed by companies and dealt with in the Courts of law.

By taking part in this lecture, the representatives of the companies shall further understand the means and the limits of the protection against vexing lawsuit, how they can be averted, how they can identify activist shareholders before they promote claims against the company and how they can efficiently manage such lawsuits after they have been initiated.

Target group

The program mainly addresses to the legal representatives of listed companies, soon to be listed companies or other companies that have a medium to long term plan to list on the Stock Exchange, to the legal representatives of the companies that are subject to a special supervision regime (insurance, financial- banking) or to the companies that have shares in investment funds.

The program is also useful for the members of the general secretary office, investor relationship department and internal control department of the companies. Thereby, regarding prevention, timely detection and management of vexing lawsuits, the program also addresses to people that are in key positions such as General Secretary, IR Specialist, CFO, CRO, Censor.

In case of a company that confronts with such lawsuits, the program shall also prove useful for the CEO or for the board members that want to further understand the phenomenon that these companies are facing, and to be able to take the most suitable strategic actions in response.

Lawsuit experience or a particular job seniority are not mandatory for participating on this seminary

Course objectives

The main lecture objectives are:

- Acquiring by the participants of the capacity to independently evaluate if the company that they represent is a potential target for activist or vexing shareholders;

- Acquiring by the participants of the capacity to independently analyze the vulnerabilities in corporate governance and in their activity that can lead to lawsuits against the company;

- Informing about similar cases from Romania and from abroad and analyzing the way the companies and the Courts of Law acted on them;

- Informing about the latest tendencies regarding activist shareholders activities;

- Informing about the remedies and means of management of the activists/vexing shareholders;

- Acquiring a basic ability to apply prevention methods against vexing lawsuits;

- Acquiring of a basic ability to manage vexing lawsuits, in the case they have already been promoted.

Subjects

1. Types of companies and social events that allure activist and vexing shareholders. Case study.

2. Means of manifestation of corporate activism and its consequences on corporate management. Case study.

3. General prevention against vexing lawsuits. Efficient management of vexing lawsuits in case they already been promoted. Theoretical examples derived from practical cases.

Trainer

Ana Gabriela Atanasiu is a lawyer, PHD in commercial law at the Bucharest University, leading the legal department of the Bucharest Stock Exchange between 2015 and 2016.

The relevant professional experience of Mrs. Atanasiu includes corporative governance consultancy, consultancy regarding companies board of directors, representing an investment fund before the competent Courts of law regarding the protection of an investment of over 300 million EUR against a series of vexing lawsuits initiated by a minority shareholder, representing a real estate developer before the competent Courts of law for the protection of an investment of over 30 mil EUR against a minority vexing shareholder.