Laura Krabill

Laura E. Krabill

Partner
Philadelphia

Laura E. Krabill concentrates on complex commercial matters with an emphasis on securities and corporate governance litigation, including securities class actions, shareholder derivative actions, special litigation and demand review committee investigations, and other contract and tort actions involving securities and fundamental corporate transactions.

Laura regularly advises corporate boards and special litigation and demand review committees in addressing derivative litigation and shareholder demands. She has led investigations by special litigation committees of Fortune 500 companies resulting in reports that have served as the basis for resolving the demands and dismissing derivative claims that committees determined were unwarranted and not in the best interests of the companies. She has also litigated numerous derivative actions challenging fundamental corporate transactions or purported beaches of fiduciary duties, including one of the most recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decisions affirming dismissal of a derivative action based on a special litigation committee report.

Experience 

Representative Matters

  • Mariano v. CVI Invs., Inc., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 12474 (2d Cir. Apr. 20, 2020) -- affirming dismissal of fraud and breach of contract claims against client in connection with the client’s purchase of stock and warrants in a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction
  • Hudson Bay Master Fund Ltd. v. Patriot Nat’l, Inc., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56635 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2019) – granting summary judgment on behalf of client in excess of $21.6 million against public company for dishonoring warrants purchased in PIPE transaction
  • Braun v. Herbert, 180 A.3d 482 (Pa. Super. 2018) – affirming dismissal of derivative action based on the report of a special litigation committee and rejecting challenges by shareholder to the composition and procedures employed by the SLC

Professional Highlights

Professional Activities

American Bar Association

Pennsylvania Bar Association

American Inns of Court

Ballard Spahr's Diversity Council

Law and Policy in International Business Journal, past Staff Member

Recognition & Accomplishments

The Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation (Philadelphia), 2011-2024, Litigation - Intellectual Property (Philadelphia), 2013-2024, Litigation - Patent (Philadelphia), 2014-2024, and Securities Litigation (Philadelphia), 2012-2015, 2017-2023

Selected as one of The Legal Intelligencer's "Diverse Attorneys of the Year," 2013

Publications

Co-author, "Damage in ERISA Stock Drop Cases: Drop Preconceived Notions," Bloomberg BNA Benefit Practitioners' Strategy Guide, February 2015

Co-author, "Pennsylvania's Strong Protections for Corporate Boards," Insights Magazine: Corporate Governance, February 2012

Co-author, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Fraud," Financial Fraud Law Report, September 2011

Co-author, "Fraud Prevalent in Reverse Merger Companies with Operations in China," BoardMember.com, July 8, 2011

Co-author, "Drop Preconceived Notions: Outlook on Damage in ERISA Stock Drop Cases," Pension & Benefits Daily, June 22, 2010, and July 26, 2011

Credentials 

Education

Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 1995)

North Carolina State University (B.S., summa cum laude, electrical and computer engineering 1991)

Admissions

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Patent Bar