Expert Analysis

• Del. Corporate Law Overhaul Delivers On Flexibility For Cos.

  

  Recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law provide needed flexibility to public companies, including by making it easier to effect stock splits or changes to authorized shares, and by streamlining the process to ratify defective corporate acts, say attorneys at Venable.

• Corporate Compliance Lessons From FirstEnergy Scandal

  

  Fallout from a massive bribery scheme involving Ohio electric utility FirstEnergy and state officeholders — including the recent sentencing of two defendants — has critical corporate governance takeaways for companies and individuals seeking to influence government policymaking, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

• Private Fund Advisers Should Prep Now For New SEC Rules

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's final private fund adviser rules place significant burdens on this group, and despite both modifications to the initial ruleset and litigation challenges, advisers should begin developing practices that could comply with these regulations should any of them take effect, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• Asset Manager Considerations For Soliciting Calif. Pensions

  

  With California public pension and retirement plans representing close to $1 trillion in assets, managers must understand the lobbying laws that may be applicable to soliciting investments from the state's plans, say Chelsea Childs and Catherine Skulan at Ropes & Gray.

• Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

  

  X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

• The Long Reach Of Proposed Security-Based Swaps Rule

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed security-based swap reporting rule's public disclosure provision is novel and contentious, and if it's included in the final rule, it would be a fundamental change in market structure that could chill activity in the space and incentivize market participants to use alternative derivative instruments, says Andrew Blake at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Regulators Must Avert Overreach When Targeting AI

  

  As financial regulators pursue artificial intelligence policy and related regulation, they should be wary of counterproductive interventions, which may stymie technology that could enhance forecasts and better reach the historically underrepresented, says Jack Solowey at the Cato Institute.

• ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

  

  While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• How Del. Cos. Weighed Officer Exculpation This Proxy Season

  

  One year after the Delaware General Corporation Law was amended to permit state corporations to exculpate covered officers, results from the 2023 proxy season show that companies are increasingly adopting the practice, despite some hurdles such as the need for supermajority approval, say attorneys at Weil.

• 2 High Court Cases Could Upend Administrative Law Bedrock

  

  Next term, the U.S. Supreme Court will be deciding two cases likely to change the nature and shape of agency-facing litigation in perpetuity, and while one will clarify or overturn Chevron, far more is at stake in the other, say Dan Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

• Future Of NFTs Uncertain As SEC Takes Hawkish Approach

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent and first non-fungible token enforcement action against Impact Theory raises questions about the future of digital assets and the SEC's broad interpretation of securities law, and there will be no safe space for digital assets until courts or Congress clarify the issue, says Alex More at Carrington Coleman.

• Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

  

  As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

• 5 Takeaways From SEC's First Marketing Rule Action

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement — the first under the amended marketing rule — with Titan Global on charges that the fintech company misled investors shows investment advisers that they should expect close scrutiny of marketing materials and that their questions will only be answered through SEC enforcement, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• Previewing Big Changes To NY's Finance Cybersecurity Rules

  

  With the New York State Department of Financial Services likely to significantly amp up its cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions later this year, covered entities should prepare to adapt their technical security safeguards and employee protocols to comply with the proposed amendments, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

• Lessons From High-Profile Witness Tampering Allegations

  

  As demonstrated by recent developments in the cases against former President Donald Trump and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, allegations of witness tampering can carry serious consequences — but attorneys can employ certain strategies to mitigate the risk that accusations arise, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.