Securities

Expert Analysis

• Captive Insurance May Help In A Pandemic, But Caution Is Key

  

  Although captive insurance can help address some of the traditional coverage gaps exposed by the current COVID-19 crisis, three Tax Court cases from recent years illustrate the Internal Revenue Service's hostility toward the entities, says Patrick McCann at Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

• SEC's Insider Info Case Shows Perils Of Portfolio Co. Trading

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently settled enforcement action against Ares Management demonstrates that private fund managers with potential insider info should systematically investigate trading approvals in situations that present a heightened risk of access to material nonpublic information, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• Money Laundering Enforcement Thrives In COVID-19 Era

  

  Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. regulators are demonstrating a continued focus on anti-money laundering enforcement, and we can expect authorities will continue to make AML compliance — specifically, risk-based compliance — a priority, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

• Opinion

  Time To Consider Percentage Rental Agreements For Lawyers

  

  It has long been the law that attorneys cannot use percentage rental agreements because doing so would constitute an impermissible sharing of fees with nonlawyers, but such arrangements can help lawyers match expenses with revenues in lean times like now, say Peter Jarvis and Trisha Thompson at Holland & Knight.

• Rebuttal

  The Remote Jury Trial Is Not A Bad Idea

  

  A recent Law360 guest article argued that the fundamental genius of the jury trial can only exist in a live setting in a courtroom, but the online process is at least as fair as its in-person counterpart, says Pavel Bespalko at Tricorne.

• 'Settle And Sue' Malpractice Cases Have New Clarity In Calif.

  

  A California state appellate court's recent decision in Masellis v. Law Office of Leslie F. Jensen provides a road map for proving causation and damages in settle-and-sue legal malpractice cases — an important issue of long-standing confusion, says Steven Berenson at Klinedinst.

• SEC Staff Statement Clears Way For Closed-End Funds

  

  While not binding on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any court, the SEC staff's recent reversal on control share statutes returns essential tools to closed-end fund boards in certain states and may be instrumental in revitalizing the closed-end fund industry for long-term investors and fund sponsors alike, say attorneys at Skadden.

• The Litigation Risks In Main Street Lending Program

  

  Lenders and borrowers in the COVID-19 Main Street Lending Program can steer clear of litigation roadblocks with proactive compliance measures, but the U.S. Department of Justice should also facilitate the program's objectives by issuing a policy statement limiting False Claims Act actions, say Robert Huffman and Caroline Wolverton at Akin Gump.

• Time To Comply With SEC Regulation Best Interest, Form CRS

  

  The compliance date has arrived for two rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year — Regulation Best Interest and the Form CRS Relationship Summary — and there are many regulatory developments and legal questions that in-house counsel and compliance professionals should consider, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Opinion

  'Friends And Family' Insider Trading Theory Is Debatable

  

  While it is widely accepted that securities trading by friends and loved ones of corporate insiders amounts to securities fraud, the theory is based on a generous deference to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under two controversial U.S. Supreme Court precedents, and now may be a uniquely opportune time to challenge them, says Russell Ryan at King & Spalding.

• What You Say In Online Mediation May Be Discoverable

  

  Mediation conducted online with participants in different states makes it harder to determine where communications were made, increasing the risk that courts will apply laws of a state that does not protect mediation confidentiality, say mediators Jeff Kichaven and Teresa Frisbie and law student Tyler Codina.

• Defense Considerations For SEC Remote Interview Requests

  

  Without a pandemic resolution in sight, defense counsel will need to make adaptations when addressing remote testimony requests from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including negotiating for favorable interview conditions and mitigating the consequences of a refusal to testify, say attorneys at Richards Kibbe.

• Cert. Denial In Televisa May Embroil 3rd-Party Asset Managers

  

  A New York federal court's recent refusal to grant class certification to investors in Grupo Televisa in a FIFA scandal stock-drop case may lead to additional discovery burdens for asset managers performing third-party management services for pooled investment vehicles, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• A Legal Guide To What Happens Next In US Atty Berman Saga

  

  Although the next moves following the dramatic ouster of Geoffrey Berman as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, and the status of Audrey Strauss as acting U.S. attorney, are largely circumscribed by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, open questions remain, says Daniel Levy at McKool Smith.

• 10 Tips For A Successful Remote Arbitration Hearing

  

  As I learned after completing a recent international arbitration remotely, with advance planning a video hearing can replicate the in-person experience surprisingly well, and may actually be superior in certain respects, says Kate Shih at Quinn Emanuel.