White Collar

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• High Court's AMG Ruling Could Hinder FDA Enforcement

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in AMG Capital v. Federal Trade Commission, limiting the agency's ability to seek equitable monetary relief under the FTC Act, will likely also restrain the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authority under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, due to similarities between the laws, say Joshua Oyster and Jenna McCarthy at Ropes & Gray.

• Expect Increasing Scrutiny Of Wage-Fixing, No-Poach Deals

  

  Employers can expect more actions against wage-fixing or no-poach agreements as the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division cracks down on labor market collusion, so companies should consider tailoring these agreements on their scope, duration and definition of nonsolicitation, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

• 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.

• How Justices' AMG Ruling Affects Privacy And Cybersecurity

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in AMG Capital Management v. Federal Trade Commission removes the regulator's ability to seek monetary damages that discouraged privacy and cybersecurity breaches, and as a result, companies should reassess their exposure in these areas, say attorneys at Orrick.

• 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.

• New Money Laundering Regs Will Aid Art Market Transparency

  

  The privacy and anonymity of art and antiquities transactions can enable criminal activity to go undetected — so recent updates to the Anti-Money Laundering Act covering art market participants are an important step forward, says Andrea Perez at Carrington Coleman.

• High Court Blow To FTC Restitution Could Be Temporary

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to roll back the Federal Trade Commission's power to seek monetary relief in AMG Capital will likely be met with legislative action to restore the agency's authority, or efforts to obtain restitution in other ways, say Bruce Hoffman and Nico Banks at Cleary.

• 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.

• 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.