This last year has witnessed some of the most significant developments in securities class action jurisprudence in decades, led by the U.S. Supreme Court's very prominent interest in securities cases, and its decision to grant certiorari in two important cases involving pleading standards (Tellabs) and the scope of liability under Section 10(b) (Charter Communications)--cases that will shape private securities class action litigation for decades to come. Each of these cases is discussed in greater detail below. The importance of these issues is underscored by the aggressive lobbying that the plaintiffs' bar has undertaken to attempt to influence the Securities and Exchange Commission to support the granting of certiorari in the recent decision of the Fifth Circuit in the Enron litigation reversing the trial court's grant of class certification. Ironically, the SEC, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed an amicus brief earlier this year in the Tellabs case, supporting a fairly rigorous pleading standard under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

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