Questions of FinTech and RegTech have been paramount in my mind and, I think it is safe to say, the minds of my fellow Commissioners in recent months.[1]
Old Fields and New Corn
On the paneled walls of the
VUCA is an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity – four dimensions of risk – and a tool that can used to better manage legal risk. Designed by the U.S. military and reinforced by business,[1] it describes an …
In a December 19, 2017, decision, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, No. 169, 2017 (Del. Dec. 19, 2017), the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware considered the limits of a stockholder ratification defense when directors make …
One of the most disputed policy initiatives of the Obama administration was the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, which subjects brokers and other financial professionals managing retirement accounts to a fiduciary duty to avoid conflicts and act in the best …
In February, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened in United States ex rel. Medrano Diabetic Care RX, LLC, No. 15 Civ. 62617 (S.D. Fla.), a False Claims Act case involving alleged healthcare fraud. The complaint in intervention asserted claims …
Scholars, lawyers, judges, and policymakers frequently need to compare corporate laws, both internationally and domestically. In part, this need results from the internal affairs doctrine, a conflict-of-laws rule that is unique to corporate law. The doctrine requires that courts apply …
On January 29, 2018, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC (the “Agencies”) released feedback letters to 19 foreign banking organizations (“FBOs”) that last filed plans by December 31, 2015 (the “FBO Feedback”).[1] The …
An important and long-standing question in the economics of information is whether voluntary disclosure leads to full disclosure. A compelling and intuitive argument, often described as the “unraveling” argument (see Milgrom, 1981), suggests that the answer is, yes. In brief, …
On February 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc. (No. 16-784), settling a circuit split regarding the “safe harbor” provision in § 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code. That section …
I’ve had the honor of serving as a commissioner of the SEC for just over a month now— and I’ve learned a lot in that time, mostly from the outstanding staff. I’ve been schooled about cryptocurrency, spent hours wading through …
Questions of FinTech and RegTech have been paramount in my mind and, I think it is safe to say, the minds of my fellow Commissioners in recent months.[1]
On the paneled walls of the
Watch lawyers, scholars, and a federal judge discuss the thorny issues involved in settling the high-profile class action filed by former players against the pro football league. John C. Coffee, Jr., the Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law at Columbia …
Online trading platforms have become a popular way investors can buy and sell digital assets, including coins and tokens offered and sold in so-called Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”). The platforms often claim to give investors the ability to quickly buy
Late last year, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued a no-action letter in which it agreed that a proposal seeking to lower the threshold for calling a special meeting from 25 percent to 10 percent of the outstanding shares …
We investigate Chinese firms’ use of variable interest entities (VIEs) to evade Chinese regulation on foreign ownership and list in the U.S. We find that the use of VIEs for such ends is widespread, growing, and associated with valuation discounts …
Antitrust merger enforcement historically has focused on horizontal mergers — consolidation of two firms that compete directly in the same space. This is especially true in the U.S., where antitrust authorities have challenged few vertical mergers — those of a …
In 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a Whistleblower (WB) program as part of the Dodd-Frank Act to protect investors through greater deterrence of securities law violations and more effective enforcement. The program offers financial incentives to provide …
Investigations into potential violations of U.S. and non-U.S. securities laws are often resolved by a settlement requiring the business to make one or more large settlement payments. We have seen settlements paid to the DOJ, the SEC, other U.S. and …
Professor Donald Langevoort of Georgetown Law speaks with Reynolds Holding about how two duties — the obligation to disclose or abstain from trading on material information and the duty to reveal corporate secrets — evolved from the Second Circuit’s Texas …
A recent spate of appraisal decisions signals that the Delaware courts will be skeptical of claims that the “fair value” of a company’s stock, as determined in a judicial proceeding brought by a dissenter from the merger, will be higher …