Short Seller Defense

Our renowned Short Seller Defense practice advises public companies and their boards of directors in predicting, defending against, and responding to short attacks. We utilize analytical and investigative tools and apply a multi-disciplinary approach to these engagements, bringing together partners from our Investigations and White Collar Defense, Securities and Capital Markets, Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense, SEC Enforcement, and Securities Litigation practices. We are one of the only law firms that has a dedicated Short Seller Defense practice. Reflecting our commitment to this practice, our firm does not represent short sellers.

We have extensive experience defending public companies against short attacks and have represented companies and their boards of directors against all major short sellers. We have represented companies in responding to short reports from: Hindenburg Research, Muddy Waters Research, Citron Research, Spruce Point Capital Management LLC, Greenlight Capital, SpringOwl Asset Management LLC, Stanphyl Capital Partners LP, Fuzzy Panda Research, Pershing Square Capital Management LP, Lemelson Capital Management, Amvona, Culper Research, Phase 2 Partners LLC, The Bear Cave, J Capital Research, Anonymous Analytics, and Kerrisdale Capital, among others.

When there is a short attack, a company’s board of directors often forms a special committee of independent directors to investigate the claims contained in the short report. We regularly serve as counsel to these special committees and investigate the claims in the short report to assist directors in meeting their fiduciary duties. Attorneys in our premier Investigations and White Collar Defense practice lead these engagements working closely with lawyers in our Shareholder Activism & Takeover Defense practice. We regularly interface with the SEC and DOJ in connection with these engagements and have several partners that are alumni of these agencies. Our lawyers are Chambers-ranked and include the only lawyer to receive Law360’s National MVP of the Year for White Collar three times—this same lawyer is also a two-time winner of NACD’s governance award for advice to boards.

Highlights About Our Practice

• Our team has extensive experience defending companies against short attacks.
• In defending against short attacks, we bring together the best of our corporate and litigation capabilities to provide world class advice in these situations.
• We are adept at rapidly responding to short reports and helping companies prepare responses that resonate with investors.
• We also interface with regulators, as appropriate, to fight back against these attacks, and we have the only lawyer to have convinced the SEC to bring an enforcement action against a short seller.
• Plaintiff-side law firms often publicly announce investigations into a company after the release of a short report—we have extensive experience in successfully defending companies in related securities class action and derivative lawsuits.
• SEC enforcement and/or DOJ investigations often follow short seller reports—we have extensive experience advising companies in these matters and obtaining successful results.
• We frequently serve as counsel to special committees of boards of directors to assist independent directors in investigating the claims contained in a short seller report.