Asset Management

Expert Analysis

• The Misconception About SWS Appraisal Decision

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in SWS Group raises the question whether below-the-merger-price appraisal results will now become more common. A number of commentators have suggested that the answer is yes, but their conclusion follows what we believe to be a misconception, say attorneys with Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

• Contract Challenges With Selling 'Dualed' Auto Dealerships

  

  A Virginia federal court's recent decision in Volvo Group North America v. Truck Enterprises highlights how a factory right of first refusal can directly impede the sale of dealerships that have multiple franchises operating from the same dealership location, says Sara Decatur Judge of Burns & Levinson LLP.

• Opinion

  Justice Kennedy's Moderating Influence On The High Court

  

  The guessing game around Justice Anthony Kennedy’s possible retirement is reaching a crescendo. Yet the speculation does more than fuel bookmakers’ odds. It draws attention to his pivotal role as the court’s swing vote, says Nan Aron, president of Alliance for Justice.

• A Resurgence Of Synthetic Securitizations

  

  After a major market contraction in the wake of the financial crisis, risk-pooling transactions show signs of gaining favor once more, says Daniel Budofsky of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

• How Kokesh Will Impact The FTC And Other Agencies

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in the Kokesh case limits not just U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions, but also monetary relief sought by other agencies, like the Federal Trade Commission. A faithful application of this decision should lead to courts rejecting these agencies' long-standing practice of seeking penal monetary relief under their equitable authority, say Benjamin Mundel and Lucas Crosl... (continued)

• Weekly Column

  Innovating For Wise Juries: Juror-Posed Questions

  

  One way to combat juror confusion and boredom is to allow jurors to ask witnesses questions. No federal evidentiary or court rule prohibits it, and every federal circuit court to address the practice has held it permissible, say Stephen Susman, Richard Lorren Jolly and Dr. Roy Futterman of the NYU School of Law Civil Jury Project.

• Footnote In Kokesh Signals Bigger Changes On The Horizon

  

  The immediate effects of imposing a five-year statute of limitations on SEC disgorgement claims may be limited. A far more intriguing element of the Kokesh opinion is found in a footnote, which brings opportunities for real damage to the SEC’s toolbox, say attorneys with Walden Macht & Haran LLP.

• Miners Find Themselves In The Spotlight Once Again

  

  As mining companies continue on their rapid recovery path from the commodity price downturn, the perceived sins of the past return to haunt management teams soon to be swimming in cash, say John Tivey and Rebecca Campbell of White & Case LLP.

• CLO Market Forges Path To Risk-Retention Compliance

  

  When the U.S. risk-retention rules became effective for collateralized loan obligation transactions last December, market participants began a new period of adjustment. With the first few months of work behind us, approaches to compliance are becoming more standardized and best practices are beginning to emerge, says Deborah Festa of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP.

• Tips For Complying With ABA’s New Encryption Guidance

  

  Last month, the American Bar Association published revised guidance regarding an attorney’s duty to protect sensitive client material in light of recent high-profile hacks. The first step in compliance is understanding how your data is being stored and accessed. There are three key questions you should ask your firm’s information technology staff and/or external solution vendors, says Nick Holda of PreVeil.