This is the first of a series of trend reports tailored for our
clients and friends to help companies stay a step ahead of legal
issues that may affect their businesses. In this issue, we
scrutinize financial analyst reports to identify potential
litigation trends in the financial services industry. For the most
recent three-month period, the following potential trends have been
identified:
Further Mortgage Fraud Investigation/Enforcement
On January 27, the Justice Department announced a new task force
focused on investigating and prosecuting fraud in connection with
the mortgage crisis. Eleven subpoenas have already been served. The
focus of the new investigation is on origination conduct
— specifically, fraud in packaging and pooling mortgages
for securitization purposes — and will also extend to
tax-related issues. This investigation could lead to a wide variety
of litigation, including class actions, whistleblower proceedings,
and commercial litigations among
