Asset Management

Expert Analysis

• Sears’ Biggest Sale (Itself) Offers Valuable Lessons For Retail

  

  Although a deal announced Wednesday could keep open more than half the department stores that retail dinosaur Sears Roebuck and Company had when it filed for bankruptcy protection last October, Sears remains a cautionary tale for the retail industry, say Robert Marticello and Philip Strok of Smiley Wang-Ekvall LLP.

• A Closer Look At CFTC's Loss In Market Manipulation Case

  

  While the New York federal court's decision in U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Wilson may embolden defendants in CFTC and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enforcement matters, the circumstances surrounding it should continue to serve as a caution to market participants, say Michael Brooks and Robert Pease of Bracewell LLP.

• Arbitrators And Mediators Should Reflect Society's Diversity

  

  Alternative dispute resolution providers have made great strides toward diversity, but recent statistics show there is still work to be done. There are certain steps ADR providers can take to actively recruit more women and minority candidates to serve as arbitrators and mediators, says James Jenkins of the American Arbitration Association.

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• FINRA's Suitability Rule Vs. SEC's 'Best Interest' Reg

  

  A key 2019 priority for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will be adopting the proposed Regulation Best Interest. Attorneys with Eversheds Sutherland explore the questionable foundation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's claim that it is unnecessary.

• Worldwide Freezing Orders Can Backfire Without Proper Care

  

  Worldwide freezing orders, which preserve a respondent's assets until the outcome of the substantive case, are an important weapon in the arsenal of a commercial litigant. However, as FSDEA v. Dos Santos demonstrates, courts lay heavy obligations upon WFO applicants, says Nicola McKinney of Grosvenor Law Ltd.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.

• Handling Corporate Congressional Probes In The Trump Era

  

  President Donald Trump’s approach to crisis communications has changed the game enough to demand companies' consideration of a whole new set of options. John Hellerman of Hellerman Communications and Bill Pittard of KaiserDillon PLLC discuss whether corporations can successfully use similar tactics.

• Opinion

  The Case For Lawyer-Directed Litigation Funding In NY: Part 2

  

  Lawyer-directed nonrecourse litigation funding is more likely to protect a lawyer's exercise of independent professional judgment than traditional means of litigation finance, and furthermore enables worthwhile cases that otherwise could not be funded, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson of Holland & Knight LLP.

• 4 Tips For Protecting Privilege When Working With Auditors

  

  A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission action against Crowe LLP illustrates the pressure on independent auditors to gather enough evidence to defend their audits. However, there is tension between an auditor’s need for information and a company’s need to protect its privileged material, say attorneys with BakerHostetler.