The law firm of Squire Patton Boggs announced in February that it had reached a deal to acquire the San Francisco-based law firm of Carroll, Burdick & McDonough. The acquisition will increase Squire Patton Boggs’ headcount of roughly 1,500 lawyers by approximately fifty more and could be complete as early as the end of this month.
First Lawsuit Regarding Fraudulent Law School Employment Data to Go to Trial
In the past few years, law students unable to find employment after graduation sued their alma maters for alleged fraud. The students claimed that their schools defrauded them with misleading employment figures. However, many courts rejected this argument and these cases never made it to trial. A state judge presiding over a case against New York Law School described law students as “a sophisticated subset of education consumers, capable of sifting through data and weighing alternatives.” Many courts in Florida, New York, and Michigan shared this view. Thus, judges generally concluded that law students were sophisticated enough to recognize the uncertainty of legal employment and that they chose a legal education at their own risk.
The Future Is Small: One Silicon Valley Incubator Shoots for Quality over Quantity
In the wake of fresh reports of mixed economic signals, some Silicon Valley heavyweights are now placing large bets on a “small” plan. Last week, Expa – the “start-up studio” that was launched in 2013 by Uber co-founder Garrett Camp – announced the close of a $100 million fund to support a different sort of incubator. Dubbed “Expa Labs,” this new project will offer a high-touch, hands-on approach to growth and development.
SEC Charges Wells Fargo with Fraud
On Monday, March 7, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Wells Fargo with fraud in its role as underwriter of a $75 million municipal bond deal. The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC), a state agency, issued the bonds and loaned $50 million of its proceeds to 38 Studios, a now defunct video game company whose chairman and majority shareholder was the legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling. The RIEDC hoped to stimulate jobs and lure other businesses to relocate to Rhode Island.
“Could” v. “Would” and Other Issues: The Definition of Materiality in Light of Disclosure Reforms
The year of disclosure reforms is upon us. Public financial disclosures, increasingly riddled with boilerplate, repetitious, and irrelevant information, have been criticized for “disclosure overload,” where too much noise drowns out critical information for investors, shareholders, and the public. In light of congressional urging, the SEC has recently sought public comments on financial disclosure requirements in Regulations S-K and S-X. The comments showcase the issues with reform from minor changes, such as document-compatibility upload in EDGAR, to overarching conceptual issues regarding requirements across administrative agencies. Disclosure effectiveness is seen as a multi-issued problem that requires a comprehensive solution.
In light of Justice Scalia’s Death, Dow Chemicals Settles Instead of Taking Its Chances in Front of the Supreme Court
In a statement released on February 26th, Dow Chemicals announced the $835 million settlement of a pending class-action lawsuit citing “growing political uncertainties due to recent events within the Supreme Court and increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class action suits.” The suit in question—a class action lawsuit alleging illegal urethane price fixing—has already been decided by a lower court in favor of the plaintiff class with damages totaling $1.06 billion. Prior to settlement, Dow filed a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court, requesting review of the lower court’s verdict for improper application of class-action lawsuit standards. However, it appears that the passing of Justice Scalia has revised Dow’s risk assessment to the tune of $835 million.
Retirees Win Against Mining Industrialist
In a nearly unprecedented turn of events, the occupant of one of the largest single-family dwellings in the U.S., mining industrialist Ira Rennert, has settled with a group of retirees from one of his subsidiary companies and agreed to pay their pensions in full.
In 2011, Rennert’s conglomerate, Renco, purchased R.G. Steel for $1.2 billion. At the time, Renco’s pension was underfunded by almost $70 million. Shortly after the acquisition, Renco struck a deal with the private equity group Cerberus in a purported attempt to find more funding for R. G. Steel. The deal included Cerberus’s purchase of a 24.5 percent equity stake in R. G. Steel – causing Renco’s ownership to fall under the 80 percent cutoff to legally be considered the controlling group and therefore responsible for pension obligations. Though Renco executives claim they acted appropriately, the government believes the intention was to avoid being held accountable for the pension payments.
No Criminal Charges against Citibank Executives for Pre-Crisis RMBS Sales
Citigroup executives involved in the sale of subprime mortgage-backed securities are off the hook in the U.S. as authorities decided not to pursue any criminal charges against them. The acknowledgement came in a report issued by one of the agencies tasked with the Citigroup probe, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of Inspector General (FHFA OIG). The report marks the probe closed and outlines the investigation, the epicenter of which was Citibank’s sale and issuance practices with respect to subprime mortgage-backed securities in the 2006-2007 period.
Sports Authority Declares Bankruptcy
Sporting goods retailer Sports Authority recently filed for bankruptcy, claiming over $1 billion in debt. The retailer cited a variety of company issues in its bankruptcy filing, including acquisitions that led to inconsistent store formats, expensive leases, frequent executive turnover, and outdated information systems. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware has already approved a $595 million bankruptcy loan for the sporting retailer, and has given the company authorization to immediately begin using up to $275 million of the loan and to start liquidating stores.
As part of the bankruptcy loan agreement, Sports Authority plans to find a buyer for its business by April. Potential bidders include Modell’s Sporting Goods and asset manager Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In the meantime, Sports Authority will close or sell 140 of its 450 nationwide stores.