Securities Fraud Lawsuits

The current economic conditions have been a stark reminder that the free market system is subject to corrosive and destructive forces. After decades of resistance to oversight and lack of regulation of the mortgage and securities markets, it has become clear that the markets do not police themselves. Deregulation of the economic markets has put investors at serious risk to reckless and sometimes fraudulent conduct on Wall Street and elsewhere.

Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan has expressed dismay that the markets have shown themselves so catastrophically unable to manage lending and trading practices responsibly. But in the past, Mr. Greenspan also expressed concern that government regulators were no better equipped to impose discipline on Wall Street.

History has shown that relying solely on government regulators to protect consumer interests or safety is risky at best. Trial attorneys have stepped in when corporate responsibility and government regulation have failed, and their efforts are needed today in the financial sector as never before. As we've seen in the context of asbestos, big tobacco and elsewhere, trial attorneys are able to uncover fraud and other wrongdoing that industry has kept hidden from regulators. The same skills are being put to work now to uncover the fraud and reckless conduct that has resulted in the current financial situation.