Sky Blog
In recent years, top executives taking a $1 base salary (or less) has become a high-profile phenomenon across many types of organizations. The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of some of the most recognizable corporations, both successful and distressed, have had …
The pace of regulation and enforcement actions relating to virtual currencies has continued to pick up during the fall of 2014. We discuss below the following recent developments: (1) updated guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on the applicability …
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that breaking up illegal cartels leads to consumer savings of at least 10% of annual sales in the relevant market. However, from the regulator’s perspective it is notoriously difficult to identify cartels. Even more …
Acquisition financing activity was robust in 2014, as the credit markets accommodated increased demand from rising M&A activity. At over $749 billion, global 2014 M&A loan issuance was up approximately 40 percent year over year, the highest total since before …
Yesterday and today, we are running a number of posts related to the recent United States v. Newman decision in which the Second Circuit overturned the convictions for insider trading and conspiracy to commit insider trading of Todd Newman and …
In its recent decision in United States v. Newman,[1] the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided important guidance on the scope of insider trading liability. The case concerned the liability of two hedge fund …
The recent reversal of convictions of hedge fund managers Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson highlights the weakness of using a common law approach when interpreting Rule 10b-5 to reach remote tippees accused of insider trading. The decision reinforces the need …
If someone had asked me back in the mid-1980s whether an insider trading case required proof that the tippee was aware that the tipper was acting for personal gain, I would have said yes without much hesitation, because that’s what …
Among several independent holdings stated by the court on its way to reversing the convictions of Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson, the Newman court declared that: “in order to sustain a conviction for insider trading [against a remote tippee], the …
Everyone can thank Preet Bharara for one thing. His swath of insider trading prosecutions is forcing amplification of the law, especially the criminal law of insider trading. That body of law has been underdeveloped and at times stagnant. The Second …
The Second Circuit, in U.S. v. Newman raises likely insurmountable burdens for prosecutors to pursue remote tippees. Newman causes even greater harm to the public interest in fair capital markets by making it impossible to pursue the true violator, the …
All eyes are on Delaware, where soon the Delaware Bar Association will recommend to the state legislature whether or not to curb the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision last year to uphold the facial validity of a board-approved bylaw that shifted …
Global banking has entered a new era in which every region, product, and legal entity is going to be closely regulated.
To assess the current status and future effects of regulatory reform, we have classified the entire spectrum of regulatory …
“There is an old saw that the Fed chair is the second most powerful person in government. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, that may actually be an understatement.” Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker:
America has a long …
Thomas Jackson famously described the role of all bankruptcy law as reducing the incentive for individual enforcement against the assets of a distressed company.[1] Although scholars have debated other aspects of Jackson’s thesis, most have continued to identify with this …
In the paper “Equity Crowdfunding: A Market for Lemons?”, recently made publicly available on SSRN, I take a comprehensive look at crowdfunding’s place in entrepreneurial finance. I begin by observing that angel investors and venture capitalists (VCs) have funded Google, …
In many cases pending around the country, purchasers of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBSs) are suing the financial institutions that created and sold the RMBSs, alleging that representations and warranties made by these institutions concerning the quality of the underlying mortgage …
In King v. Burwell, the Supreme Court will address whether Section 36B of the tax code grants a tax credit to persons who purchase health insurance policies on federally established health insurance exchanges. The government says yes, but the …
Shareholders are organizing and mobilizing on new social media platforms like Twitter. This changes the dynamics of shareholder proxy contests to favor small shareholders over management. Disruptive technology may bring about a shareholder revolution, which may not be in all …