Securities

Expert Analysis

• Justices' Cert Snub Perpetuates Commodities Act Uncertainty

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Monday not to review Atlantic Trading v. BP means that we will have to wait for another matter to address the Second Circuit's interpretation of tests designed to determine when a Commodity Exchange Act trade occurred domestically, says Katherine Cooper at Murphy & McGonigle.

• Opinion

  Litigation Finance Investments Are Not Risk-Free Loans

  

  The Ninth Circuit's certification order last week in Fast Trak v. Sax presents an important opportunity for the New York high court to affirm the consensus among courts — litigation finance transactions are not loans subject to usury laws, say Wendie Childress and William Marra at Validity Finance.

• Pre-IPO Companies Should Upgrade Their D&O Coverage

  

  Directors and officers of private companies — especially startups preparing for their initial public offering — should consider enhancing their D&O insurance coverage to confront the new regulatory and compliance risks they face, say attorneys at Freshfields and Burns Bowen.

• Opinion

  How White Privilege Helped Me Succeed In BigLaw

  

  The white, male power structure has eased the path for lawyers like me for far too long, and we should now be responsible for dismantling this systemic bias within the legal industry, says Scott McLaughlin at Eversheds Sutherland.

• March Trading Halts May Complicate Securities Class Actions

  

  Trading restrictions used to mitigate COVID-19 market volatility in March may have had the unintended consequence of hampering price discovery, which could in turn impede market efficiency analysis in securities class actions, say consultants at Cornerstone Research.

• The COVID-19 Arguments Cos. Are Making In M&A Litigation

  

  Five recently filed cases in Delaware Chancery Court provide some initial context for understanding how buyers and sellers are responding to the COVID-19 crisis's impact on previously agreed-upon strategic transactions, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Opinion

  Congress Must Create More Private Rights Of Action

  

  In light of the Trump administration's efforts to limit the enforcement of regulations during the pandemic and beyond, and the U.S. Supreme Court's severe limitations on private rights of action, Congress must take swift action, says attorney Todd Phillips.

• Keys To A Thriving Biz Development Culture At Your Law Firm

  

  As law firms continue to experience the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, it is more important than ever that they reduce reliance on just a few rainmakers and foster a culture that makes business development a way of life for everyone — from junior associates to senior partners, says Elise Holtzman at The Lawyer's Edge.

• TALF Update Likely Won't Affect CLO Market

  

  Following the Federal Reserve's recent revised term sheet for the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility program, there remain several points in need of clarification or revision that might otherwise limit the intended utilization of TALF by active participants in the collateralized loan obligation market, say attorneys at Allen & Overy.

• Asset Management M&A In The COVID-19 Era: Part 2

  

  Attorneys at Mayer Brown examine how the COVID-19 crisis may require unique regulatory compliance and essential personnel retention considerations for asset management industry mergers and acquisitions.

• How Video Mediation Can Help Us Serve Clients Better

  

  Mediation in recent years has largely devolved into a kind of arbitration without due process — where a mediator reads briefs, decides where the case should settle, and drives parties toward that single-minded result — but online mediation can be steered in a different direction, says mediator Jeff Kichaven.

• Tips For Broker-Dealers To Avoid Scams During COVID-19

  

  The higher risk of online scams due to the remote work arrangements made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic should prompt brokerage firms to take stock of system compliance and carefully consider the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's recent guidance to avoid enforcement actions, say Tim Foley and Kate Hanniford at Alston & Bird.

• Mental Health Efforts Will Support Diversity In Legal Industry

  

  The stigma of discussing mental health struggles during these tough times is especially profound for attorneys of racial and ethnic minorities, but law firms and in-house departments can change the narrative, says Patricia Silva at Lathrop.

• Opinion

  The Remote Jury Trial Is A Bad Idea

  

  The notion of holding jury trials via videoconference has been floated as a near certainty, with some jurisdictions already engaging in pilot programs, but the fundamental genius of the jury trial can only exist in a live, in-person setting, say Paula Hinton and Tom Melsheimer at Winston & Strawn.

• New Ruling May Aid Syndicated Loan Market Amid Pandemic

  

  A New York federal court’s recent holding that syndicated loans are not securities in Kirschner v. J.P. Morgan Chase may head off unnecessary securities litigation concerning the performance of syndicated loans impacted by the COVID-19 crisis at a time when borrowers have a heightened need for liquidity, say attorneys at Cleary.