About the SSLA project

The SSLA Dataset

Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics tracks and collects data on private, shareholder securities litigation and public enforcements brought by the Securities Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. The SLA dataset includes all traditional class actions, SEC actions and DOJ criminal actions filed since 2000. These cases allege material misstatements or omissions of material information that adversely affect the valuation of a publicly-traded company’s securities. Full-time SLA analysts gather nearly 2,000 datapoints for each case through sophisticated machine and human searches of various sources, including press releases, court filings, company financial statements and SEC enforcement releases. Examples of the data collected include plaintiffs, defendants, judges, mediators, plaintiff and defense firms, key litigation events, real-time case statuses, settlement timing, settlement dollar amounts and contributions by defendants and / or their insurers, attorneys’ fees and expenses, and imposed SEC / DOJ penalties. SSLA is thus able to generate and manage a thorough and accurate database of securities litigation with the capability of detailed queries and in-depth analytics useful to practitioners in the D&O insurance industry, from underwriting and claims units to D&O brokers, as well as attorneys on both sides of the litigation table, and institutional investors.

Michael Klausner

Nancy and Charles Munger Professor of Business and Law, Stanford Law School Co-Founder, Securities Litigation Analytics

Michael Klausner teaches and writes in the areas of corporate law, corporate governance, and financial regulation. His research has included theoretical and empirical analyses of corporate governance, takeover defenses, standardization of contracts and corporate governance documentation, and bank regulatory reform. His most recent work includes empirical studies of officer and director liability, the securities class action litigation process, and a proposal for a market-oriented Community Reinvestment Act. Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1997, he was a professor of law at New York University School of Law, a White House Fellow and deputy associate director in the Office of Policy Development in the White House, and a corporate law practitioner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong. He clerked for Justice William Brennan of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge David Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Jason Hegland

Fellow, Stanford Law School Co-Founder & Executive Director, Securities Litigation Analytics

Jason Hegland oversees the entire development and operation of the Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics program - from new research and content of the database, to its technical specifications and accessibility to outside practitioners. Together with Prof. Klausner, Jason has published several papers in practitioner and academic journals highlighting the real-world applications of the SLA database, and is a frequent panelist at industry conferences and executive education programs. Before teaming with Mike and turning his attention to securities litigation and corporate governance in 2007, his early research interests focused on operations management / information systems and entry mode selection strategies for firms wishing to enter foreign markets.

Dionna Rangel 

Administrative Coordinator, Securities Litigation Analytics 

Email: drangel@law.stanford.edu

Dionna Rangel provides support to Jason Hegland, and oversees all administrative functions for the Stanford Securities Litigation Analytics program. She coordinates meetings, manages scheduling, assists with new account setup, and serves as the central point of internal and external communication.