Sky Blog
The following speech was delivered by Chair Mary Jo White of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at the SAIS Global Conference on Women in the Boardroom. A copy of the speech is also available here.
Good …
Few crises are worse for a public corporation than to lose one of its top officers to a federal criminal investigation, particularly one resulting in a conviction. Yet, the loss of such an officer to an investigation is not unheard-of, …
Financial services firms facing enforcement proceedings at the hands of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or any other financial industry regulator must consider disclosure obligations in the context of the various collateral consequences that may arise from such …
Corporate law normally moves at a glacial pace, but sometimes there are periods of rapid change, much of it invisible to the ordinary observer. 2014 may be witnessing such a period of rapid, low-visibility change. Between May 29 and September …
The following post reproduces the text of a letter written by a group of corporate law professors at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in response to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ request for comments …
The following post comes to us from Virginia Harper Ho, Associate Professor of Law and Docking Faculty Scholar at the University of Kansas School of Law. It is based on her recent paper, “Shareholder Activism & the Risk Hypothesis,” which …
The following post comes to us from Sarah C. Haan, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Idaho College of Law.
With midterm elections six weeks away, the newest CPA-Zicklin Index has been published here. The 2014 Index …
On September 18, 2014, Gibson Dunn hosted a webcast on shareholder activism. In addition to partners Eduardo Gallardo, Beth Ising and Adam Offenhartz, Matthew Sherman from Joele Frank and Scott Winter from Innisfree M&A also participated. Topics covered include current …
Hedge fund activism has increased almost hyperbolically. Some view this optimistically as a means for bridging the separation of ownership and control; others are more pessimistic, seeing mainly wealth transfers from bondholders or speculative expectations of a takeover as fueling …
On September 2, 2014, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) issued final guidelines (the “Guidelines”) establishing risk management standards for large national banks, insured federal savings associations, and insured federal branches of foreign banks (each, a …
The following post comes to us from Michael W. Peregrine, Partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
Outside counsel’s report to the General Motors Board of Directors on the ignition switch controversy offers important governance lessons on the potential frailties …
The following post comes to us from Lissa L. Broome, Wells Fargo Professor of Banking Law and Director of the Center for Banking and Finance at the University of North Carolina School of Law, John M. Conley, William Rand Kenan …
The following post comes to us from John M. Conley, William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, and Cynthia A. Williams, Osler Chair in Business Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, …
The following post comes to us from Michael R. Siebecker, Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. It is based on his recent paper, Bridging Troubled Waters: Linking Corporate Efficiency and Political Legitimacy Through a …
A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision highlights the growing risks to companies of extensive statutory “books and records” demands that recently have become a favorite in the toolkit of plaintiffs’ lawyers and even activist shareholders conducting what are often speculative …
Introduction
In two recent decisions written by Vice Chancellor Travis Laster, the Delaware Court of Chancery provided helpful judicial guidance on the application of the covenant of good faith in the context of related party transactions involving master limited partnerships …
With over $186 billion in average daily trading volume, the To-Be-Announced (“TBA”) market serves as a significant funding and hedging vehicle for consumer mortgage origination. Although a large portion of the TBA market is comprised of highly liquid agency MBS, …
The Supreme Court recently concluded that the ERISA fiduciaries of an employee stock ownership plan (an “ESOP”) are not entitled to a presumption that they acted prudently in connection with the ESOP’s investment in employer stock.[1] While the …
From 2004 through 2010, the number of appraisal petitions filed in Delaware rose and fell roughly in parallel with the overall level of merger activity, with appraisal rights being asserted in about 5% of the transactions for which they were …
On June 10, 2014, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) adopted a new auditing standard, as well as amendments to its existing auditing standards, designed “to strengthen auditor performance requirements in three critical areas that historically have represented increased …