Corporate Law

Growing as Planned, Sonnenschein Opens New Office in Switzerland

Taking another step towards its previously announced plan for a bigger global footprint, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has opened a new office in Switzerland. To do so, Sonnenschein has acquired a Zurich boutique run by partners Heinz Bloch and Robert Schlup that is known for its hotel-related practice, the firm…

Oct 6, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Make CEOs Apologize, Law Profs Say

CEOs of Wall Street firms that take advantage of a federal bailout should be forced by Congress to publicly apologize, or to provide pro bono services to homeowners facing foreclosure, two Northwestern University School of Law professors say in an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune. Kenworthey Bilz and Janice Nadler…

Oct 3, 2008 4:16 PM CDT

SEC Extends Temporary Short-Selling Ban Until Oct. 17

The Securities and Exchange Commission has extended until Oct. 17 a temporary ban on short-selling the stock of some 800 financial companies. However, the ban could terminate sooner if Congress enacts planned bailout legislation at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $700 billion or more in the meantime. If so,…

Oct 2, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell Chair Gets Top Billing Among Wall Street Legal Stars

When Hollywood makes a movie about the record-breaking wild ride on Wall Street in recent weeks, there’s one lawyer who’s sure to be among the main men played by the likes of Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford. H. Rodgin Cohen, the chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, has been ubiquitous amidst…

Oct 1, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Revealed: Terms of AIG Bailout; US to Vote New Shares to OK Deal

Unusual circumstances call for unusual transactions, as documents newly filed with the SEC concerning the government’s planned $85 billion bailout of insurance giant American International Group demonstrate. Among the terms they reveal are that the U.S. government—which is to purchase not quite 80 percent of AIG via 100,000 shares of…

Sep 30, 2008 9:07 PM CDT

In Brave New Post-Boom World, Corporate Clients Now Want Value

Updated: The party obviously is over for a number of law firms recently flush with profits from formerly booming financial institutions, but a brave new world may await attorneys able and willing to adjust to the new regime. In a word, it’s now all about value, writes Paul Lippe, the…

Sep 30, 2008 7:29 PM CDT

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