On April 3, 2013, the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy (BCLBE) hosted a Social Entrepreneurship: Legal, Financial and Public Policy Dimensions panel moderated by Professor Eric Talley. Panelists included legal experts R. Todd Johnson (Partner, Jones Days), Jonathan Storper (Partner, Hanson Bridgett), Kyle Westaway (Founder of Westaway Law) and Jordan Breslow (General […]
Using the Web to Match Private Companies and Potential Investors: SEC No Action Letters Open a Door, but Questions Remain
[Editor’s Note: The following post is a Goodwin Proctor Alert, which relays regulatory and legislative developments.] In a no action letter dated March 26, 2013 (the “FC Letter”), the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) indicated that they would not recommend action against the operators of the FundersClub website (“FundersClub”) for failing […]
Upcoming Events from the Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy
Smart Course Planning: What to Take in Business Law and Why Today, April 8th at 12:45 in Boalt Hall, Room 100, join BCLBE for an information session about next semester’s business law courses at Berkeley Law. Executive Director of BCLBE, Ken Taymor, along with several other Boalt faculty will preview Fall 2013 classes and highlight […]
Week in Review: The Administration on Wall Street
The Obama Administration has continued its aggressive prosecution of suspect players in the financial meltdown that shaped most of the President’s first term. Four mortgage insurers, including an AIG subsidiary, have agreed to a $15 million settlement over allegations of improper ‘kickbacks’ paid to lenders for more than a decade. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau […]
Firm Advice: Dodd-Frank Progress Report, April 2013
[Editor’s note: The following post is from Davis Polk’s April 2013 Dodd-Frank Progress Report, generated using the Davis Polk Regulatory Tracker.]
Social Media and the SEC’s Disclosure Regulations: Netflix
According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings’ Facebook post in July 2012, “Netflix[‘s] monthly viewing exceeded 1 billion hours for the first time ever in June.” This 15-word sentence might involve Netflix in a lengthy dispute with the SEC, which believes that the posting may be in violation of the SEC’s Regulation FD. The regulation requires public entities […]
Supreme Court Issues Significant Class Certification Decision in Antitrust Case
[Editor’s Note: The following post is from Davis Polk’s recent Client Newsflash. This and other updates from Davis Polk are available here.] Supreme Court confirms that courts must evaluate merits issues in connection with class certification On March 27, 2013, the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Scalia, held that putative antitrust class plaintiffs must […]
SEC Charges Craig Berkman and His Lawyer over Pre-IPO Facebook Con
The SEC has charged former Oregon gubernatorial candidate, Craig Berkman, with a violation of the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. Berkman’s fraud has been referred to as a Ponzi-like scheme where investors were promised access to pre-IPO shares in Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, and LinkedIn. The SEC alleges that John B. Kern, and Berkman’s lawyer, […]
Who is the General Counsel’s Client? The Company vs. CEO
A General Counsel (GC) is one of a small group of c-suite executives charged with leading a company. In serving the GC’s primary client, the corporation, the GC works closely with other c-suite executives, including the CEO. The CEO often has substantial say over the GC’s compensation and work. But what happens when the CEO […]
Professor Robert Bartlett speaks on the JOBS Act at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
Within a month of the Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) Task Force’s white paper, “Rebuilding the IPO On-Ramp,” Congress developed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (“JOBS”) Act. The legislation aims to create new companies, and ultimately new jobs. The JOBS Act loosens security regulations, making it easier for startups to access funding and go public. Professor Robert […]