The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act tasked the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission with creating a regulatory structure to better maintain the $600 trillion derivatives market. As part of this effort, on October 17th, the SEC released for comment proposed rules on margin and capital requirements for securities-based swap dealers […]
Are Emerging Growth Companies Using the JOBS Act’s Reduced IPO Filing Requirements?
President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”) into law on April 5, 2012. We presented an update on the regulatory implementation of the act here and here, as well as a discussion of the Act’s internal contradictions here. While much of the Act left to the SEC the responsibility of […]
Firm Advice: Your Weekly Update
Last Year, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati surveyed the 45 venture-backed companies involved in the largest IPOs regarding their corporate governance and disclosure practices. The firm recently published the results. The survey covers director selection, composition, and independence, as well as law firm and underwriter choice. Wilson Sonsini represented the most issuers, while Davis Polk […]
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Files Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Bank of America, Citing “Brazen” Mortgage Fraud
On October 24th, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, along with the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), announced a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against Bank of America Corporation and Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., […]
New Berkeley Law Skills Course Opens Portal to the ‘Human Dimension’ of Lawyering
Since even before Dale Carnegie’s day, it has been common knowledge among climbers in the business world that aptitude will only get you so far — the key to success is in managing relationships. For a long time, the self-help industry appeared to have the market cornered on offering tools for cultivating better interpersonal relations. […]
Wage Garnishment and Household Debt in CA
California leads the nation in household debt. According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent Quarterly Report, the average level of debt in California for an individual with a credit history is over $70,000. Most of this debt consists of home mortgage loans, but about $10,000 per person consists of unsecured loans such as credit card […]
News from the Bench: Kertesz v. GVC (2nd Circuit)
On October 17, 2012 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Emory Kertesz, who had previously defended himself against a lawsuit brought by General Video Corporation (“GVC”) can pursue both an indemnification claim against GVC and an alter-ego corporate veil-piercing claim against the only other shareholder of the now defunct company.
Firm Advice: Your Weekly Update
As we mentioned earlier this week, Professor Bartlett soon will be presenting his paper on the value of the 10b-5 action to institutional investors. The paper uses evidence of trading behavior following the Supreme Court case Morrison v. National Australia Bank (2010)—a case that dealt with bringing securities fraud claims based on securities traded on […]
Judge Orders Emails Published in Private Equity Antitrust Case
Following a request from the New York Times, a Federal Judge in the District of Massachusetts recently unsealed the complaint in a lawsuit against 11 private equity firms alleging a market allocation and bid-rigging conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The complaint concerns 27 private equity company purchases from 2003-2007, and […]
Professor Robert Bartlett to Present: “Do Institutional Investors Value the 10b-5 Private Right of Action?”
On November 1, 2012, Robert Bartlett will present at The Ohio State University “Do Institutional Investors Value the 10b-5 Private Right of Action? Evidence from Investor Trading Behavior Following Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd. (2010).” Using an abrupt change in U.S. securities law, this paper examines the value institutional investors place on the private right of […]