Legal actions involving financial accounting errors and irregularities have risen to the forefront in recent years. In civil litigation, accounting firms, corporations and financial service entities are now confronted with increasingly sophisticated claims pursued by a litany of plaintiffs, including stockholders, bondholders, lenders, creditors and bankruptcy trustees. The potential pitfalls associated with these civil proceedings often are compounded appreciably by well-coordinated criminal and regulatory investigations and enforcement actions.

At Drinker Biddle, we recognize that accounting-based representations require exceptional proficiency in untangling the interwoven civil and criminal challenges that have emerged in today’s legal environment. Accordingly, our practice is comprised of a nationally recognized, multidisciplinary team of trial lawyers that are highly experienced in the areas of securities litigation, class action defense, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, state regulatory board matters, white collar criminal litigation, professional negligence and malpractice claims and appellate advocacy.

Drinker Biddle has a longstanding track record of success in accounting litigation, winning many cases on motions to dismiss, summary judgment, at trial and on appeal. These results are realized through careful design. We understand that the ability to provide informed counsel and achieve a successful outcome requires more than simply knowing the law, while possessing a superficial familiarity with the accounting and auditing processes. It demands a fluency with industry terminology, the ability to decipher complex financial statements and workpapers and an in-depth understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). Our trial lawyers have attained this acumen through years of experience litigating accounting and auditing-related issues and, in some instances, through their prior professional careers in the accounting and auditing industry.

Our trial attorneys have been engaged in virtually every type of accounting and auditing-related representation as shown by our representative cases. Our clients have included each of the “Big Four” accounting firms, several national and regional firms and their auditors, as well as public corporations, their officers and directors and numerous financial service entities and their professionals.