Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act
Latest action · May 19, 2008 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 19, 2008
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 to require plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney to provide sworn, signed certifications that identify any actual or promised payment by the attorney to the plaintiff, beyond the plaintiff's pro rata share of any recovery.
Requires similar plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney certifications regarding: (1) legal representations; (2) contributions; and (3) conflicts of interest.
Requires the court, in exercising discretion over the approval of lead counsel, to employ a competitive bidding process as one of the criteria (unless the court determines that such a process is not feasible).
Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to certain congressional committees on average hourly fees in securities class actions.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee | Referred May 19, 2008 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 19, 2008Introduced in Senate
- May 19, 2008Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4376-4377)
- May 19, 2008Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4376 | John Cornyn R-TX | May 19, 2008 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3931 | Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act | Related bill | Mar 25, 2008 |
| HR 5463 | Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act | Related bill | Mar 25, 2008 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to protect investors by fostering transparency and accountability of attorneys in private securities litigation.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector.
- Campaign funds
- Civil actions and liability
- Class actions (Civil procedure)
- Commerce
- Competitive bidding
- Conflict of interests
- Congress
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Evidence (Law)
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Frivolous lawsuits
- Government Operations and Politics
- Law
- Lawyers
- Legal advertising and soliciting
- Legal ethics
- Legal fees
- Political action committees
- Securities fraud
- Securities industry
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 19, 2008Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
