A Social Enterprise Company in EU Organizational Law?

By J S Liptrap July 30, 2021 by renholding

In my recent article, A Social Enterprise Company in EU Organizational Law?, I discuss the present and future regulation of social enterprises in Europe. For the moment, social enterprises – like other “social economy” organizations – have been harnessed …

The Choice Between Various Freeze-Out Procedures and Its Consequences

By Beni Lauterbach, Evgeny Lyandres, Yevgeny Mugerman and Barak Yarkoni July 29, 2021 by renholding

Over the past two decades, delisting from an exchange has become a popular choice for many public companies. Several studies attribute this trend to a number of factors, including the increased concentration of U.S. markets, which made many small and …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Climate Risk and Disclosure

By Gary Gensler July 29, 2021 by renholding

It’s good to be here with the Principles for Responsible Investment. As is customary, I’d like to note my views are my own, and I’m not speaking on behalf of the Commission or the SEC’s staff.

Before we get to …

Do Firms in Developing Countries Use Dividend Policy to Build Trust with Investors?

By Atif Ellahie and Zachary Kaplan July 28, 2021 by renholding

How do companies based in countries with weak government institutions earn the trust of minority investors and raise capital? Where the rule of law and government enforcement cannot control corruption, insiders seem free to expropriate their company’s resources, making it …

Arnold & Porter Discusses Criminal Antitrust Risks in Mergers & Acquisitions

By Andre Geverola, Sonia Kuester Pfaffenroth and Javier Ortega July 28, 2021 by renholding

On July 9, President Biden issued an Executive Order that announced a policy of increased antitrust enforcement across many industries. The DOJ Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission quickly followed with an announcement that they would jointly launch a

…

Corporate Governance, the Depth of Altruism, and the Polyphony of Voice

By Jeffrey N. Gordon July 27, 2021 by renholding

This post responds to the paper, Exit vs. Voice, by Eleonora Broccardo, Oliver Hart, and Luigi Zingales (BHZ),^[1] a deep engagement with the choice between alternative means by which an “altruistic” investor can influence corporate behavior. An “altruistic” investor …

ISS Discusses the Largest U.S. Securities Class-Action Settlements by State

By Jeffrey Lubitz, Stephanie Bounds, Grace Meyer and Albert Allen Cho July 27, 2021 by renholding

Since its inception, ISS Securities Class Action Services LLC (“ISS SCAS”) has tracked more than 13,000 shareholder class actions across the world, including 12,000+ cases within the United States. In this report, ISS SCAS closely examines the largest securities class …

Reforming the Macroprudential Regulatory Architecture in the United States

By Kathryn Judge and Anil Kashyap July 26, 2021 by renholding

When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered major economies in March 2020, it also wreaked havoc on financial markets. In the first few weeks of March, investment-grade corporate bonds lost roughly a fifth of their value, on par with the declines in …

Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses New Privacy Legislation in the U.S.: The Patchwork Problem Grows

By Jeremy Feigelson, Johanna Skrzypczyk, Kim Le, Alexandra Swain and H. J. Brehmer July 26, 2021 by renholding

Colorado has just adopted a brand-new data privacy law and Nevada has just significantly amended its law. These changes add rights for consumers, and compliance obligations for businesses, that take the U.S. further in the direction of European-style privacy law. …

Why We Need to Verify and Unmask the Identity of Cryptocurrency Users

By Hadar Y. Jabotinsky and Michal Lavi July 23, 2021 by renholding

Cryptocurrencies are by now widely known as electronically generated and stored currencies that enable users to trade tokens. The tokens are exchanged anonymously through a decentralized payment system: the blockchain. To further anonymity, the parties to cryptocurrency transactions are identified …

ISS Discusses Increase in Class Action Settlements for First Half of 2021

By Jeff Lubitz July 23, 2021 by renholding

As the U.S. and countries around the globe attempt to control the Coronavirus pandemic, investors continue to experience meaningful recoveries from securities-related class action settlements.

In the first half of 2021 (January 1 – June 30), U.S. class action settlements …

Does Proxy Advice Allow Funds to Cast Informed Votes?

By John G. Matsusaka and Chong Shu July 22, 2021 by renholding

Our examination of the votes cast by 155 mutual funds on over 6 million corporate election items during 2004-2017 led us to a surprising conclusion: We found that Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) proxy advice did not lead funds to vote …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks Before ABA Derivatives and Futures Law Committee

By Gary Gensler July 22, 2021 by renholding

Thank you for the kind introduction. It’s good to be back with the American Bar Association’s Derivatives and Futures Law Committee.

As is customary, I’d like to note that I’m not speaking on behalf of my fellow Commissioners or the

…

Capital Discrimination

By Ann M. Lipton July 21, 2021 by renholding

In 2014, Diane Straka, along with three male associates, formed a corporation for the purpose of providing accounting services. Each of the founders was an officer, director, and 25 percent shareholder of the new entity. A problem soon emerged: One …

SEC Commissioner Peirce Speaks on ESG Disclosure

By Hester M. Peirce July 21, 2021 by renholding

This summer was the summer of the cicadas. The dull hum of their song permeated the solitude of an evening stroll, along with the disconcerting crunch as pedestrian attempts to avoid squashing the creatures inevitably failed. Every seventeen years the …

How Does Removing the Tax Benefits of Debt Affect Firms?

By Ali Sanati July 20, 2021 by renholding

Almost all countries have historically allowed businesses to write off interest expenses against taxable income. Critics argue that the tax-favored status of debt has created a corporate debt pile-up, thereby exacerbating economic downturns. This argument, which gained more attention after …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses the Purpose of the Corporation

By Martin Lipton, William Savitt and Carmen X. W. Lu July 20, 2021 by renholding

In recent years, the concept of “corporate purpose” has been invoked as a shorthand to address a corporation’s commitment to include stakeholder governance—and with it commitments to sustainability, diversity, inclusion, social responsibility and other ESG issues—as part of a corporate …

How Quarterly Financial Reports Affect Employee Job Search

By Ed deHaan, Nan Li and Frank Zhou July 19, 2021 by renholding

Quarterly financial reports are an important way for companies to communicate with the capital market, and they clearly affect firms’ access to debt and equity capital. However, the most scarce and sought after resource for many modern, cash-rich companies is …

Paul Weiss Discusses New York Legislation to Expand Antitrust Law

By Aidan Synnott, William B. Michael, William A. Isaacson, Andrew C. Finch and Charles F. (Rick) Rule July 19, 2021 by renholding

During its last legislative session, the New York Senate passed the Twenty-First Century Anti-Trust Act, which, if enacted, would have amended the Donnelly Act, New York’s antitrust statute. While the bill did not come to a vote in the …

Liberating the Market for Corporate Control

By Bernard S. Sharfman and Marc T. Moore July 16, 2021 by renholding

In a new article, Liberating the Market for Corporate Control, we recommend that state corporate law statutes be amended to include a safe harbor for hostile bidders who make all-cash, all-shares tender offers that include a guarantee of the …

1 2 Next »

The CLS Blue Sky Blog

Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets

July 2021