State and federal regulators have become increasingly more aggressive in defining and imposing sanctions for securities law violations. At the same time, firms continue to face arbitrations and law suits, including class actions. Awareness and understanding of the legal and regulatory environment is critical to every professional in this arena. With this in mind, IQPC hosted a conference in New York City on 17-18 May 2007 that featured a range of leading enforcement officials, judges, and industry experts from around the country. Conference participants addressed topical issues such as developments and trends in securities litigation, effective settlement strategies, handling SEC and NASD enforcement actions, and conducting internal investigations.

NERA Senior Vice President Dr. Vinita Juneja chaired the first day of the conference, and Senior Vice President Dr. David Tabak chaired the second. NERA also participated in two panels. In "Options Backdating Litigation and Investigation," Dr. Juneja provided extensive information on issues in options backdating, including an overview of accounting implications, consequences, and restatement of tax effects. The presentation offered a legal perspective on backdating cases and D&O exposure and addressed how to handle investigations and ensuing class action, derivative, and ERISA litigation. In "Recent Developments in Arbitration and Mediation of Broker-Dealer Disputes," Dr. Tabak and his co-panelists discussed legal and financial analyses and approaches to examining traditional and newer aspects of broker-customer disputes.