Sky Blog
A wide body of literature emphasizes that venture capitalists focus on young private companies, generally in high-tech industries. However, contrary to this notion, we find that 29% of the firms that were backed by VCs prior to the IPO received …
In a March 29, 2016 decision,[1] the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (the “Court of Appeals”) held that creditors are preempted from asserting state law constructive fraudulent conveyance claims by virtue of the Bankruptcy Code’s “safe …
U.S. capital market has long been an attractive destination to foreign companies. Cross-listing by foreign firms on U.S. exchanges has been associated with major benefits such as increase in value, easier access to external finance, and lower cost of capital. …
The rise of shareholder activism has become a global phenomenon. Shareholder activists are not only present–as they started–in the US, but also in European and Asian Markets.[1] This situation has generated a vast literature about the desirability (or not) …
One down, three to go: SEC rulemaking is heating up.
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized business conduct standards for security-based swap dealers (SBSDs).[1] The completion of this rule by the SEC is significant because few …
Corporate directors inevitably must make real-time decisions on complex and nuanced matters that impact not only the company, but also the company’s various stakeholders—e.g., shareholders, creditors, and employees. The pressure cooker that often is the corporate boardroom is not for …
On Monday, LendingClub Corp., a leader in the growing online lending space, announced the surprise resignation of its founder and CEO, Renaud Laplanche. Laplanche resigned in response to a board investigation that revealed a number of internal control failures, including …
General partnerships are a puzzling form of business in the modern world. A well-established business form with a deep history and sophisticated uniform laws, the general partnership finds itself in a strange position today: Virtually nobody would be well …
The corporate board is commonly seen as a crucial governance device that operates to both monitor corporate management and provide strategic advice. Recent corporate governance research has discovered a broad range of evidence of internal board monitoring and advisory activities; …
The Supreme Court decided to consider the meaning of the personal benefit requirement in an insider trading case based on a tipping violation. It accepted review of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Salman,[1] which reached …
Recently, there has been concern among investors, preparers, regulators, and standard setters that corporate disclosure (in particular the annual report, Form 10-K) is becoming increasingly lengthy, redundant, complex, and onerous. In December 2013, the SEC began a comprehensive review of …
Limited liability companies, or LLCs, have quickly become the form of choice for new businesses. Companies ranging from the well known, like Chrysler, to the more experimental, such as French fry vending machine makers, to local flooring installers all organize …
In 2009, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandated all registrants to file their 10-K and 10-Q in an interactive format using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The SEC adopted a phase-in implementation policy: the first phase started …
They say that one should not look a gift horse in the mouth. We decided to go against this proverb and look carefully in the mouth of one such gift horse. After all, we still remember from high school reading …
Plaintiffs sometimes have significant financial interests in their opponents, interests that extend beyond the boundaries of the lawsuits themselves. In some situations, plaintiffs maintain a “long” financial position. For instance, in securities litigation or direct or derivative litigation alleging a …
One of the primary rationales in favor of regulating disclosure is that more information may create positive externalities, or spillover effects, by helping investors learn about industry- or economy-wide trends and growth opportunities. In this way, a firm’s public disclosures …
The work of Columbia Law School Professor Kate Judge appears in the list of twelve best corporate and securities law articles in 2015, based on a poll conducted by the Corporate Practice Commentator. Teachers in corporate and securities law were …
In April of 2012, President Obama signed into the law the J.O.B.S. (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act. The law’s intent and design was to make it easier for small businesses to raise money by easing their regulatory burdens both on …
In an article recently posted on SSRN.com, I explain why the law requires agents to act with single-minded devotion to their principals. For example, a lawyer must do what is best for a client and may not subordinate a …
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