The SEC has demonstrated a crescendo of interest in the use of social media by the financial markets industry. Considering the widespread adoption of media programs and platforms by corporate firms (estimated at 79% of major companies), the issue is one of great significance. Relevant for several key functions of a modern corporation such as marketing, public relations, customer service, and private employee communication and recreation, social media presents a new challenge to traditional securities law. Existing securities laws are […] (More →)

On March 26, 2012, the Supreme Court handed down their decision in Credit Suisse Securities LLC v. Simmonds partially resolving the issue of how long an investor can wait before filing a lawsuit seeking to hold underwriters and corporate insiders accountable for profits from short swing trades. In 2007, Vanessa Simmonds filed numerous actions against underwriters of various initial public offerings (IPOs) that occurred during the late 1990s and 2000s.  Simmonds alleged that under §16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act […] (More →)

On April 5th, 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”) into law.  The goal of the new legislation is to reduce the regulatory burden placed on relatively small companies that wish to go public, since the costs of complying with SEC registration and reporting requirements is a proportionally bigger burden on these companies.  However, critics worry that smaller companies (the focus of the bill) are particularly prone to fraud and accounting scandals, so the legislation […] (More →)

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. government proposed a comprehensive remodeling of the American financial system.  Debates have centered around many aspects of this remodeling, including the Volcker Rule.  Recently, foreign officials have urged American financial regulators to revise the Volcker Rule and expand its exemption for U.S. government bonds to include international sovereign debt. Supporters of an expansion to the exemption are concerned about the liquidity of non-U.S. government debt securities markets. However, critics of […] (More →)

Recent reports claim that dentists in New York using social media advertising (e.g. Groupon and LivingSocial) are violating New York law.  The marketing agreements (“Agreements”) between the parties typically require the dentist to pay forty percent (40%) of the value of each deal sold to the social media advertiser.  The argument that these Agreements are illegal is based on the assumption that paying a percentage of each deal purchased to the social media advertising company constitutes “impermissible fee splitting.”    However, […] (More →)

On March 15 the Second Circuit indicated that it was likely to overturn District Judge Jed Rakoff’s November 2011 rejection of a proposed settlement between the SEC and Citigroup.  The opinion turns largely on a determination that Judge Rakoff did not appear to have given deference to the S.E.C.’s judgment on “wholly discretionary matters of policy.” The Second Circuit is poised to rule that the SEC has the sole discretion to determine whether a proposed consent judgment involving injunctive relief […] (More →)

In 2007, the European Union took an unprecedented step in the regulation of chemicals and their uses. On June 1, 2007, EC 1907/2006, better known as REACH, passed into law. REACH, or the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances regulates most substances manufactured or imported in large quantities into Europe.  While REACH only becomes fully implemented in 2018, it has already forced a course change for all companies operating within the covered fields both in Europe and around […] (More →)

When it comes to online privacy, the Internet’s biggest stars have attracted the most hostility.  Last month, Google admitted that it has been avoiding Apple’s privacy settings in order to track user data on iOS devices.  Also, after numerous user complaints, Facebook reached a settlement with the FTC over charges that its privacy practices were “unfair and deceptive.”   In an age where behavioral data collection enables (for example) retailers to discover consumer pregnancies long before family members, user tracking and […] (More →)

On March 8, federal district court Judge Lewis Kaplan of New York dismissed a suit in which Jacoby & Meyers, a 60-lawyer personal injury plaintiffs’ firm that is well-known for its televised legal advertising, challenged a state rule that bans non-lawyer investment in law firms. Jacoby, which has offices in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, had filed lawsuits in each of these states in May 2011, each of which challenged the states’ rules of professional conduct prohibiting non-lawyers from […] (More →)

As every first-year law student learns, the Equal Protection Clause has generated a complex doctrinal system of tiered scrutiny, which has been subject to some criticism. Antitrust also has several different types of analysis it applies to the actions of businesses that may have an anticompetitive effect. Both antitrust laws and the Equal Protection Clause serve to prevent conduct that may help some, but causes far greater harm to others. Each deals with picking out a few wrongful acts out […] (More →)