Securities

Expert Analysis

• Assessing SPAC Risk After SEC Pumps Brakes On Market

  

  The current lull in special purpose acquisition company activity following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent risk advisories offers SPAC parties an opportunity to ramp up due diligence on targets and to evaluate prior accounting of warrants to ensure regulatory compliance, say Julie Copeland and Ellen Graper at StoneTurn.

• Virus-Related Chancery Rulings Show High Bar For M&A Exits

  

  Two recent Delaware Chancery Court decisions concerning attempts to cancel acquisitions amid COVID-19 show the importance of deal language in the pandemic era, particularly where material adverse effect and ordinary course covenants are concerned, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Judge's Rebuke Of Mass. AG Has Lessons For All Attorneys

  

  A Massachusetts federal judge’s recent rebuke of the state Attorney General’s Office for refusing to respond to discovery requests in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healey highlights six important considerations for attorneys who want to avoid the dreaded benchslap, say Alison Eggers and Dallin Wilson at Seyfarth.  

• Font Considerations To Give Your Legal Briefs An Edge

  

  Following the D.C. Circuit’s recent notice discouraging use of the font Garamond in legal briefs, Jason Steed at Kilpatrick looks at typeface requirements and preferences in appellate courts across the country, and how practitioners can score a few extra brief-writing points with typography.

• Make Profitability Management Part Of Your Law Firm Culture

  

  As the legal industry continues to change in the post-pandemic world, law firms should adapt to client demands by constantly measuring and managing the profitability of their services, says Joseph Altonji at LawVision.

• Outsourcing Proxy Voting Is Still A Concern After SEC Rule

  

  Although robo-voting has modestly declined since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finalized its proxy voting rule last summer, the SEC should ensure asset managers don’t wholly outsource their voting responsibilities to proxy advisers, and should consider disabling the practice outright, says Tim Doyle at Guidepost Strategies.

• How D&O Coverage Fits Into Diversity Claim Mitigation

  

  As companies face a shift in the directors and officers insurance market following a spate of recent shareholder suits over lack of diversity in corporate leadership, executive teams should review D&O policy coverage while implementing diversity initiatives that will effect meaningful, long-term change, say Natasha Romagnoli and Hannah Ahn at Blank Rome.

• Eaton Vance Fund Ruling Shows Perils Of Defensive Bylaws

  

  In light of a Massachusetts court's recent ruling in Eaton Vance Senior Income Trust v. Saba Capital Master Fund, reaffirming fund shareholders' voting rights, trustees and advisers should proceed cautiously when implementing bylaws that make it harder for shareholders to exercise those rights, says Aaron Morris at Barr Law.

• 4 Trends In Discoverability Of Litigation Funding Documents

  

  Recent rulings shed light on how courts and international arbitration tribunals decide if litigation funding materials are discoverable and reaffirm best practices that attorneys should follow when communicating with funders, say Justin Maleson at Longford Capital and Michele Slachetka and Christian Plummer at Jenner & Block.

• W.Va. Consumer Law Changes Offer Help For Finance Cos.

  

  New amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act will help businesses in the state, particularly in the financial services industry, by better defining the process for presuit notice and opportunity to cure, and by making it easier to recover attorney fees, say Andrew Narod and Jared Searls at Bradley Arant.

• Opinion

  SEC Should Drop Litigation Over Ripple's XRP Token

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should settle or withdraw its allegations that Ripple Labs' XRP is an unregistered security, and focus on creating new rules for securities registration that account for the unique dynamics of digital assets, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

• 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.