Securities

Expert Analysis

• D&O Insurance Implications From Tesla's Stock Drop Suit

  

  A recent shareholder stock drop lawsuit against Tesla showcases the legal perils that can follow companies' social media missteps, and highlights the importance of directors and officers liability insurance in the current age of political polarization, says Tae Andrews at Miller Friel.

• Enabling Nonsecurity Fractional Ownership Of NFTs

  

  Distributed ledger and smart contracts may make fractional ownership of nonfungible tokens possible without the complications of traditional securities sales, and market participants stand to benefit from the associated innovation and efficiencies, say Mack Legal principal Thomas Mack and Google product counsel Richard Widmann.

• 7 Lessons For Young Lawyers Starting Their Careers

  

  This year's law graduates and other young attorneys must recognize that the practice of law tests and rewards different skills and characteristics than law school, and that what makes a lawyer valuable changes over time, says Vernon Winters, retired partner at Sidley.

• Archegos Fallout Is A Wake-Up Call For Banks

  

  Billions in bank losses related to the recent collapse of Archegos Capital Management point to bank risk management and compliance deficiencies, and highlight several steps brokerages should take to avoid exposure next time a family office customer blows up, say consultants at StoneTurn.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Clarify Securities Fraud Loss Causation

  

  At its May conference, the U.S. Supreme Court should agree to review BofI Securities Litigation, to clear up a circuit split on how to assess loss causation in securities fraud cases, as shareholder class actions increasingly focus on external events that led to a stock drop, says Lyle Roberts at Shearman & Sterling.

• How Gov't FCPA Hiring Practices Theory May Pan Out In Court

  

  In recent settlements with banks, U.S. authorities have taken the position that providing a job or even an unpaid internship to relatives or friends of foreign officials is a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but it is worth assessing how this theory would fare in individual prosecutions, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• What OECD Scrutiny Means For Anti-Corruption In Brazil

  

  Attorneys at Paul Hastings examine how an unprecedented standing subgroup recently created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to monitor Brazil's anti-corruption efforts reflects significant uncertainty regarding the country's commitment to enforcement, and what companies can do to address foreign bribery risk and strengthen compliance programs.

• How SPACs Can Avoid Failed China Reverse Mergers 2.0

  

  As red-hot special purpose acquisition companies hungry for de-SPAC transactions set their sites on Asia, practitioners can look to the failed Chinese reverse mergers of the early 2000s for lessons about regulation, due diligence and misrepresentation, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• Avoiding Litigation Risks As SPAC Popularity Explodes

  

  While interest in special purpose acquisition companies has recently increased because they are perceived as less risky than traditional initial public offerings, parties to SPAC transactions can reduce the risk of litigation by focusing on disclosures, financial projections and target company selections, say Eric Rieder and Amy Wilson at Bryan Cave.

• Opinion

  Time To Replace FBI Interview Memos With Digital Recordings

  

  As part of his law enforcement reforms, President Joe Biden should retire the Federal Bureau of Investigation's often incomplete and unreliable Form 302 for memorializing agents' witness interview notes and instead mandate digital recording of interviews as a more trustworthy and efficient substitute, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.

• Economic Sanctions And Export Controls: A Q1 Update

  

  Attorneys at Kirkland discuss first-quarter developments in U.S. export controls and economic sanctions and what they may indicate about the Biden administration's national security and foreign policy agenda. 

• Opinion

  Revise Mansfield Diversity Mandates To Also Benefit Veterans

  

  The well-intentioned efforts and salutary purposes of the legal industry's Mansfield Rule diversity metric are tainted by the Diversity Lab initiative's omission of veterans, who are underrepresented at large law firms and entitled to advantageous treatment based on more than 200 years of public policy, says Robert Redmond at McGuireWoods.

• Zoom Damages Ruling Benefits Securities Defendants

  

  In an investor suit against Zoom, a California federal court's novel interpretation of a Private Securities Litigation Reform Act provision, which few courts have previously addressed, gives defendants a powerful new argument to reduce damages in securities class actions, say Jared Gerber and Eduardo Amorim at Cleary.

• Crypto Bills Show Consensus On Need For Federal Oversight

  

  Several new legislative proposals attempting to clarify the legal framework governing the digital asset space reflect the recognition that cryptocurrencies' rising popularity, rapid pace of change and volatility make federal regulation crucial for protecting investors and promoting innovation, say Jonathan Marcus and Stephanie Cannuli at Skadden.