On February 25, 2009, Sherrie Savett, Chair of the Berger & Montague Securities Department and a member of its Management Committee, spoke at the annual Professional Liability Underwriter’s Society (PLUS) symposium on directors and officers (“D&O”).

The symposium, held in New York City and attracting over a thousand attendees, opened with a panel on “Securities Litigation in an Eventful Year.”  Ms. Savett was joined on this panel by such experts as Professor John Coffee, of Columbia University, as well as other prominent attorneys representing both sides – plaintiff and defense – of the table.

Some of the topics covered by the panel were “The Counter Reformation:  Plaintiffs’ Legislative Priorities,” “Changes in the Plaintiffs’ Bar and Impact on Shareholders Suits Going Forward,” “Litigating the Financial Meltdown,” “Madoff Litigation:  Who is at Risk?,” “Recent Legal Developments in Pleadings Standards and Causation/Damages, Settlement Trends and Prospects,” “Developments in Delaware,” and “Predicting the ‘New’ SEC.”

The Symposium’s keynote speaker, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, spoke on the global risk of D&O liability. PLUS, which sponsored the Symposium, is a non-profit organization established in 1986 to support those involved in professional underwriting.