MADRID, Spain, Sept. 30, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Financial Litigation Network (IFLN), an organization of attorneys representing investors in 20 countries, issued a statement on Friday, September 27, urging regulators and legislators to develop common business protocols, strengthen investor protections and establish joint action procedures.
The IFLN issued its statement at the end of a three-day inaugural conference during which its members exchanged information and views about the many different legal frameworks affecting business, financial, and securities transactions available to investors in their respective jurisdictions. IFLN observed that there is virtually no commonality in investor protection mechanisms for cross-border transactions.
The statement emphasized the benefits to all market participants of combining similar business, financial, and securities claims into a single coordinated proceeding, including easing the burden on the courts, increasing confidence in global capital markets and offering definitive, uniform resolutions for all parties.
"After Morrison our clients in the United States and internationally will need to seek redress more than ever in courts outside the United States. Yet these judicial systems are presently ill equipped to handle large volumes of similar shareholder claims," said IFLN Vice-Chairman Lawrence Sucharow, of Labaton Sucharow LLP, based in New York.
Vice-Chairman Glen De Valerio, of Berman De Valerio, based in Boston, added, "As our clients, who invest globally, are increasingly impacted by financial litigation outside the United States, the IFLN helps us develop relationships with attorneys in other jurisdictions so we can provide needed advice."
"The Madrid Statement on Investor Protection" by the International Financial Litigation Network, follows:
WHEREAS, the International Financial Litigation Network (IFLN) consists of lawyers from 20 countries representing participants in the capital markets, both individuals and institutions;
WHEREAS, our clients -- pension funds, banks, hedge funds, private equity funds and individual investors -- place their money and trust in globalized and cross-border transactions;
WHEREAS, our clients rely on legal and regulatory frameworks in multiple jurisdictions to transact business and safeguard their investments against fraud and other unlawful behavior that may cause them financial harm or infringe upon their shareholder rights;
WHEREAS, these jurisdictions offer vastly different regulatory protections and legal procedures;
WHEREAS, a more efficient, coordinated process would increase confidence in capital markets and encourage investment that can only facilitate the continuing recovery from the financial crisis; and
WHEREAS, more efficient and uniform business regulatory frameworks, and more common judicial procedures would reduce administrative burdens on the courts, increase the probability of prompt, consistent resolution of legal claims, and reduce uncertainty to defendants facing uncoordinated claims in multiple jurisdictions;
THEREFORE, the International Financial Litigation Network calls upon regulators, legislators and the courts in their jurisdictions to (i) strengthen protections for investors, (ii) promote coordination and consistency among jurisdictions in its business regulation and remedies and (iii) enhance, when appropriate, legal mechanisms that allow plaintiffs with similar claims to pursue their rights through a coordinated proceeding.
For more information, please contact Javier Bleichmar at (800) 321-0476 or (212) 907-0887, or via email at jbleichmar@labaton.com.