Reyes' Backdating Conviction: What's Next For Criminal Defendants and Civil Litigants?

The article discusses the decision of a federal jury in San Francisco, California, in August 2007 in a stock-option grant backdating case involving former Brocade Communications Systems Inc. chief executive officer Gregory Reyes. The jury convicted Reyes on all 10 criminal counts relating to his alleged backdating of stock-option grants to employees of Brocade. It is noted that the conviction is likely to spill over into civil backdating litigation in that the plaintiffs' bar will be more inclined to file new lawsuits.