Website Coming Soon!

Paul R. Bessette

Retired Partner | King & Spalding

Founder | Bessette Law PLLC

Paul is a senior litigation partner who retired from King & Spalding LLP in 2024, where he served as co-chair of the Firm’s Corporate & Securities Litigation Practice.  Paul has decades of experience litigating high stakes, bet-the-company securities class action and shareholder litigation, as well as complex commercial and business litigation.  He also works regularly with board committees leading internal investigations and advising companies on governance and fiduciary duty issues.

Paul has been ranked and recognized for 20 years by Chambers, Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500, Super Lawyers and Lawdragon, among others.  He is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbel.  Client and peer reviews in Chambers say Paul “has a fast growing reputation for the quality of his representation in a wide range of securities matters.  Market sources laud his ability to engage with company directors, saying that he‘s a very strong boardroom guy with a good team around him.”’  “Practicing in this area is an art, and he is very good at it.”

Paul frequently speaks and writes on shareholder litigation, corporate disclosure, corporate governance and related topics. He has authored numerous securities-related articles for publications including ABA Business Law Today, Insights, Financial Executive, Law360, Financial fraud Law Report, The D&O Diary, Bloomberg Law Reports, National Underwriter and The Securities Reporter.

Credentials

  • Law Degree, Baylor Law School 
  • B.A./B.B.A., The University of Texas at Austin
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • California
  • New York
  • Texas

Recognitions

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
LITIGATION COUNSEL OF AMERICA, 2024
—
Recognized by Leading Lawyers of America
LEADING LAWYERS OF AMERICA, 2024
—
“Paul is great at handling complexity.” “Paul is really well-spoken advocate. He is very succinct.”
BANK 1: LITIGATION: SECURITIES, CHAMBERS 2024
—
Recommended for Securities Litigation Defense
LEGAL 500 UNITED STATES 2024 GUIDE
—
“Knowledgeable and experienced in dealing with securities litigation; very practical and efficient.”
CHAMBERS USA 2023, BAND 1
—
Recognized by Best Lawyer
THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA – 2023
—
“One of the best defense counsel in the industry–combines legal acumen, bus. awareness, communication & responsiveness.”
CHAMBERS USA, LITIGATION, 2022, BUSINESS TODAY 2023
—
“He’s very substantive and analytical as well as timely in providing information to clients. A strong securities player.”
CHAMBERS, 2021
—
Acts on behalf of corporations and their Ds&Os in high-stakes securities litigation, including enforcement actions.
CHAMBERS USA, 2020, BAND 2
—
Paul Bessette maintains a specialty in securities litigation, which includes SEC enforcement actions and class actions.
CHAMBERS, LITIGATION: SECURITIES-TEXAS 2019, BAND 2
—
“An expert in the area and knows it extraordinarily well” “Practicing in this area is an art, and he is very good at it”
CHAMBERS USA 2018, BAND 2
—
Paul “has a fast growing reputation for the quality of his representation in a wide range of securities matters.”
CHAMBERS USA, 2016
—
“Market sources laud his ability to engage with company directors”
CHAMBERS USA, 2016
—
Paul “is a very strong boardroom guy with a good team around him.”
CHAMBERS USA, 2016
—
“Strength in a full range of securities litigation matters.”
U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, 2015
—
Recognized for Securities Litigation
THE BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA, 2011–2025
—
One of “100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation”
LAWDRAGON, 2008
—
One of “3000 Leading Lawyers in America”
LAWDRAGON.COM, 2006, 2010–2011
—
Recognized by Texas Super Lawyers
SUPER LAWYERS MAGAZINE, 2007–2019
—
Recognized for Securities Litigation
SUPER LAWYERS, CORPORATE COUNSEL EDITION, 2009–2010

Insights

  • October 15, 2022 • Source: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance
    Chancery Court Decision Illuminates Contours of Director Oversight Liability
  • July 18, 2014 • Source: Business Law Today
    Halliburton Ruling: High Court Affirms Basic v. Levinson
  • April 25, 2023
    Dismissal of Securities Claims Against Utah Biotech Company Provides Guidance in Securities Cases Involving Food & Drug Administration Form 483 Inspections
  • September 26, 2022
    Delaware Chancery Court Decision Dismissing Claims Against SolarWinds Corporation’s Board Illuminates Contours of Director Oversight Liability
  • September 23, 2015
    Disclosure-Only Settlements Face Continued Scrutiny In Delaware
  • September 2, 2015
    Delaware Chancery’s In re Dole Food Co., Inc. Decision Provides Lessons For Corporations Considering Going Private
  • May 19, 2015
    Cornerstone Lets Directors Use 102(b)(7) Even Under Entire Fairness Review
  • March 31, 2015
    U.S. Supreme Court’s Omnicare Decision Leaves Open Narrowed Theory Of Liability For Statements Of Opinion Under Federal Secur
  • March 20, 2015
    Delaware Court Refuses To Enforce Fee-Shifting Bylaw Against Former Shareholder Who Was Cashed Out Before Its Adoption
  • June 24, 2014
    Supreme Court Affirms Basic In Halliburton Decision

News

  • January 3, 2022
    Trulieve Cannabis Corp Wins Dismissal with Prejudice of Securities Fraud Class Action
  • December 30, 2021
    Trulieve Cannabis Corp. Wins Dismissal of Securities Fraud Class Action
  • April 24, 2017
    King & Spalding Wins Significant Fifth Circuit Ruling on Behalf of Former Officers of Bankrupt Energy Company
  • August 18, 2015
    King & Spalding Wins Dismissal of $1.5 Billion Class Action Against Former ATP Oil & Gas Corp. Officers
  • August 17, 2015
    King & Spalding Obtains Third Circuit Win on Behalf of Former Oil-and-Gas CEO
  • July 6, 2023 • Source: Law360 and Reuters
    Paul Bessette and Mike Biles obtain a favorable dismissal on behalf of more than a dozen former SolarWinds executives and directors in a shareholder derivative case before a Texas federal court
  • June 16, 2023 • Source: Law360
    Paul Bessette, Mike Biles and Daniel Wodnicki represent Phunware and its predecessors, officers and directors in a SPAC merger dispute before the Delaware Chancery Court
  • May 17, 2023 • Source: Law360 and Bloomberg Law
    Paul Bessette, Mike Biles, Tyler Highful, Benjamin Lee and Benjamin Watson represent SolarWinds before the Delaware Supreme Court, which dismissed a stockholder derivative suit against the company related to a cyberattack
  • April 26, 2023 • Source: Law360
    Paul Bessette, Michael Biles, Tyler Highful, Benjamin Lee and Benjamin Watson represent SolarWinds in a class action dispute with shareholders related to a cyberattack before the Delaware Supreme Court
  • November 22, 2022 • Source: LexBlog and Law360
    Paul Bessette and Michael Biles counsel SolarWinds in its class action data breach settlement
  • October 3, 2022 • Source: Law360
    Paul Bessette, Michael Biles and Daniel Wodnicki represent SolarWinds in a class action dispute with shareholders related to a cyberattack
  • September 8, 2022 • Source: Law360 and Bloomberg Law
    Paul Bessette, Mike Biles, Daniel Wodnicki, Benjamin Lee and Benjamin Watson advise SolarWinds before the Delaware Chancery Court, which dismissed a stockholder derivative suit against the company related to a cyberattack
  • August 10, 2022 • Source: Law360 and Bloomberg Law
    Ashley Parrish, Paul Bessette, Mike Biles, Jill Carvalho, Michael Smith, Cheri Grosvenor and Peter Starr counsel Evolent Health on its settlement with investors
  • January 4, 2022 • Source: Law360 and Bloomberg Law
    Cheri Grosvenor, Jill Carvalho, Joe Akrotirianakis, Mike Biles and Paul Bessette advise Merit Medical Systems in a class action settlement
  • January 3, 2022 • Source: Law360 and Bloomberg Law
    Paul Bessette and Mike Biles counsel Trulieve Cannabis before a Florida federal court, which dismissed a securities fraud class action lawsuit against the company

Paul Bessette Ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA

“Paul Bessette is knowledgeable and experienced in dealing with securities litigation. He is very practical and efficient and lays out a legal strategy to get to the best endpoint possible as quickly as possible.”

Download Paul Besssette's CV