Securities

Expert Analysis

• 3 Attorney Ethics Considerations For Litigation Funding

  

  The growth of the litigation finance industry has generated questions on the obligations of counsel when their clients are seeking outside capital to fund litigation, which litigators must understand when providing information to a third-party funder and discussing legal strategy with a client, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• Key Trends In Recent Cyber-Related Securities Class Actions

  

  ​​​​​​​A review of trends from recent cyber-related securities class actions suggests that shareholder plaintiffs will likely continue to focus on public companies' reporting deficiencies, so companies should evaluate and update their disclosures in light of litigation and information security risks, say Cara Peterman and Sierra Shear at Alston & Bird.

• 4 Steps For Improving Board Diversity Per New Nasdaq Rule

  

  Companies should view Nasdaq's recently finalized board diversity rules as an opportunity to tap into the knowledge and resources of potential board members who may not look like or have the same life experiences as individuals who have historically served on boards, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

• How ABA Opinion Shifts Alternative Biz Structure Landscape

  

  A recent American Bar Association opinion approving lawyers' passive investment in nonlawyer-owned firms eliminates a hurdle for law firms wishing to scale their practice through alternative business structures, but aspiring investors should follow a few best practices, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Deepika Ravi at Harris Wiltshire.

• How Crypto Cos. Can Help Curb Pandemic Relief Fraud

  

  The conversion of pandemic relief funds to cryptocurrency impedes oversight and raises questions about whether taxpayer dollars are going to bad actors, so crypto companies should partner with law enforcement to curb fraud, while gaining credibility and protecting the industry's reputation, say Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery Brian Miller and former SIGPR special counsel Chris Cooke.

• Opinion

  Why Coinbase Was Destined To Lose Its Battle With The SEC

  

  In the wake of Coinbase's pulling of its new lending product, despite the crypto platform's initial rejection of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission scrutiny, cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark explains why Coinbase's defenses were doomed and that the program was obviously a security.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: HPE Counsel Talk Effective Board Oversight

  

  Governance teams can more effectively shape board oversight of environmental, social and governance issues by ensuring organizationwide agreement on the most relevant issues, building a materiality framework that reflects stakeholder input, and monitoring the integration of ESG into operations, say Rishi Varma and Derek Windham at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

• Bankruptcy Courts' Equitable Discretion May Be In Danger

  

  The Eighth Circuit’s recent equitable discretion decision in VeroBlue sends a warning to practitioners and the bench that courts' overuse of this bankruptcy doctrine in dismissing post-plan confirmation appeals may result in elimination of the useful tool altogether, say Brian Shaw and Mark Radtke at Cozen O'Connor.

• Opinion

  Justice Gap Demands Look At New Legal Service Models

  

  Current restrictions on how lawyers structure their businesses stand in the way of meaningful access to justice for many Americans, so states should follow the lead of Utah and Florida and test out innovative law firm business models through regulatory sandboxes, says Zachariah DeMeola at the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

• Navigating Dealer Status After SEC Settlement With Adviser

  

  Following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with Murchinson over allegations the investment adviser caused a hedge fund to act as an unregistered dealer, hedge funds should reassess their trading practices to avoid triggering SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority dealer registration requirements, say Ignacio Sandoval and Steven Stone at Morgan Lewis.

• How ERISA Fiduciaries Can Use ESG: Part 2

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  While case law suggests fiduciaries face risk in using environmental, social and governance factors as the primary criterion in retirement plan investing, it also provides a road map for using ESG in a manner compliant with Employee Retirement Income Security Act duties, says Elizabeth Goldberg at Morgan Lewis.

• How SPAC Investors Might Rethink Material Adverse Effect

  

  Buyers in special purpose acquisition company transactions involving early-stage technology companies should consider allocating key business risks in an acquisition agreement outside the construct of material adverse effect, due to the difficulty of proving a material adverse effect on a pre-revenue target company in Delaware court, say attorneys at White & Case.

• How ERISA Fiduciaries Can Use ESG: Part 1

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  The U.S. Department of Labor's back-and-forth position on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's treatment of environmental, social and governance factors in investing has created significant confusion, but case law may provide the framework needed to use ESG in retirement plan investing, says Elizabeth Goldberg at Morgan Lewis.

• Board Diversity Considerations In Light Of New Nasdaq Rules

  

  Public companies of varying sizes may face discrete challenges meeting Nasdaq's recently finalized board diversity objectives, which could be a harbinger of further U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking on environmental, social and governance issues, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• Series

  Embracing ESG: Leidos GC Talks Social Responsibility

  

  Recent criticisms of corporate commitments to stakeholders such as employees and communities — implicitly opposing environmental, social and governance initiatives — are fundamentally flawed and display a serious misunderstanding of contemporary investor priorities and dynamics, says Jerald Howe at Leidos.