Corporate Law

Silver Lining to US Financial Storm: New Law Practice Arena

Continuing economic turmoil in the U.S. and internationally is prompting a number of major law firms to form special multidisciplinary practice groups to help clients deal with financial crises. In the process, some are creating new Internet resources that also may be of interest to other practitioners. In addition to…

Sep 30, 2008 4:16 PM CDT

Shareholder Suits in Uphill Battle Due to Current Financial Crisis

Despite predictions that the current U.S. economic crisis will bring more business to a number of lawyers, it is also likely to mean more work and less pay for others. Among those for whom the United States financial situation is creating an uphill battle is plaintiffs lawyers in shareholder suits,…

Sep 29, 2008 9:27 PM CDT

Likely Bailout Beneficiaries: Lawyers

Although proposed emergency legislation intended to rescue the struggling U.S. economy at a cost of some $700 billion hasn’t yet been enacted, attorneys are already jockeying for position to help corporations wend their way through an expected labyrinth of related rules and regulations. Among those seeking a share of the…

Sep 26, 2008 10:33 PM CDT

As U.S. Economy Tailspins, Lawmakers Inch Closer to $700B Bailout Pact

As federal lawmakers inch toward agreement on an emergency bailout plan for the U.S. economy that could cost taxpayers some $700 billion, government regulators both announced the biggest bank failure ever and offered specifics about the multimillions of dollars that state and local government officials can expect to help struggling…

Sep 26, 2008 8:45 PM CDT

Feds Seize & Sell WaMu; Biggest Bank Failure in US History

Moving fast in the midst of an extraordinarily troubled U.S. economy, federal regulators seized—and sold—the troubled Washington Mutual bank last night. “Regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan, to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, averting another potentially huge taxpayer…

Sep 26, 2008 7:28 PM CDT

US Financial Crisis Sparks Harsh Criticism of Regulatory Efforts

As officials in the Bush administration put on a full-court press this week to persuade Congress to enact emergency financial rescue legislation at a price tag that reportedly exceeds the cost of the Iraq war, the situation has sparked a firestorm of criticism concerning regulatory efforts, past and present. A…

Sep 25, 2008 10:00 PM CDT

$700B Bailout Alternative: Another Great Depression, Officials Say

Updated: Despite warnings that the alternative is an economic tailspin, as well as an agreement today by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to limit top executive pay as a condition of providing aid to struggling U.S. financial institutions, it isn’t clear that Congress is ready to approve extraordinary emergency bailout…

Sep 24, 2008 8:39 PM CDT

More Regulation Likely Will Mean More Legal Work

With the federal government apparently on the verge of a major regulatory overhaul of the nation’s financial institutions, as part of an effort to prevent an economic debacle, the upsurge in oversight could well mean more work for lawyers. A $700 billion government bailout of struggling banks and Wall Street…

Sep 24, 2008 5:56 PM CDT

SEC’s Chief was MIA as US Markets Swooned, Some Say

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson were the men of the hour last week, stepping in with a viable emergency plan as the U.S. economy appeared to be on the verge of a massive meltdown following a year of ongoing bad news. But where was…

Sep 22, 2008 6:35 PM CDT

SEC Temporarily Bans Short-Selling Stock of 799 Financial Companies

Lending credence to concerns that short-selling may have contributed to the sudden downslide of several major names on Wall Street during recent market turmoil, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has temporarily banned the practice concerning shares of 799 financial institutions. “The SEC said today that it will halt short-selling…

Sep 19, 2008 4:15 PM CDT

Did a Short-Selling Conspiracy Spark the Stock Market Debacle?

Short-selling of a bank’s stock isn’t illegal. But when investors who are betting that a company’s share price will fall fuel the stock’s downslide with false rumors about the company, that can be a different story. So the New York’s attorney general announced today that he is launching an investigation…

Sep 18, 2008 8:26 PM CDT

As Banks Reel, Regulation is Suddenly a Hot Topic

It has been less than a decade since the Glass-Steagall Act was repealed, and it is now becoming increasingly clear why we may have needed it. Enacted after banks failed in the Great Depression because of reckless investment in nontraditional areas, it restricted commercial banks from the kind of lending…

Sep 18, 2008 6:34 PM CDT

More Work for Weil as AIG Mulls a Possible Bankruptcy

Although insurance giant American International Group Inc. may be saved, with federal help, from having to file for bankruptcy, its troubled financial situation has made an already busy law firm known for its work in this area even busier. “The company has hired the law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges—which…

Sep 16, 2008 10:39 PM CDT

Nixon Peabody Proclaims Victory in Paris Partner-Poaching Case

A New York judge has sided with Nixon Peabody in a lawsuit brought by a European law firm over the planned defection of a dozen or so non-equity partners in its Paris office. All three claims made by Taylor Wessing France were dismissed, the Nixon firm reports in a press…

Sep 16, 2008 10:12 PM CDT

Conflict Checks Soar as Worried Clients Call Counsel About Wall Street Woes

A shortage of work is not a problem this week for those in charge of performing client conflict checks at law firms representing major corporations worried about the turmoil on Wall Street. “The number of conflicts searches have skyrocketed” among London law firms since Monday, “even at firms that do…

Sep 16, 2008 8:30 PM CDT