Client Alert - Gibson Dunn

Client Alert

Financial Accounting Standards Board Issues Proposed Amendments to U.S. Accounting Standards Governing Loss Contingencies

Printable PDFOn July 20, 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an exposure draft (the "Exposure Draft") containing proposed amendments to Accounting Standards Codification Topic 450-20 (formerly Financial Accounting Standard No.

July 21, 2010

Executive Compensation, Corporate Governance and Other Securities Disclosure Provisions in the Dodd-Frank U.S. Financial Regulatory Reform Act

Printable PDF On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Act," available here), the most far-reaching financial regulatory reform legislation in decades.

July 21, 2010

UK Pensions Regulator Issues First Contribution Notice

Historic liabilities arising from defined benefit pension schemes continue be a significant feature of the corporate landscape in the UK.  The Pensions Regulator has sweeping powers to make orders to ensure that historic liabilities are adequately provided for.  Under the Pensions Act 2004 the Pensions Regulator has the power to make orders that could have extra-territorial application and effect.  The Pensions Regulator has, for the first time, exercised its enforcement powers to require a Dutch parent company to make a sizable lump sum contribution to make good the deficit in the pension scheme of its UK subsidiary.   The Pensions ProblemDuring the last 10-20 years a large number of employers in the UK have scaled back their employee pension arrangements.

July 20, 2010

Major Multi-City Takedown Signals Prosecutors’ Continued Focus on Health Care Fraud and Compliance in the U.S.

In a sign of the Obama administration's continued emphasis on anti-fraud enforcement in the health care field, the joint Department of Justice-Health and Human Services Medicare Fraud Strike Force charged ninety-four people on Friday for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program.  The takedown, which included arrests in Brooklyn, Miami, Baton Rouge, Detroit, and Houston, was the largest operation by the task force since its inception in 2007.The arrests were announced by officials at the highest level of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including Attorney General Eric Holder, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A.

July 19, 2010

On the Frontier of Alien Tort Claims

New York partner Lee Dunst is the author of "On the Frontier of Alien Tort Claims" [PDF] published in the July 19, 2010 issue of the New York Law Journal. 

July 19, 2010

Restructuring in SEC Division of Corporation Finance

PDF Version On July 16, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") announced that the Division of Corporation Finance (the "Division") will create three new specialized offices that are intended to focus the Division's resources on critically important institutions and financial products.

July 16, 2010

Derivatives Regulation under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Throughout the financial regulatory reform debate, designing a regulatory framework for the derivatives market has been one of the most contentious issues.

July 16, 2010

The Regulation of Advisers to Private Funds: Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

On July 15, 2010, the Senate voted (60-39) to approve the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Act"), which is expected to be signed into law next week by President Obama.  Included among the Act's sweeping changes to the regulation of the U.S.

July 16, 2010

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide the Scope of Materiality under Federal Securities Laws

On June 14, 2010, the United States Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the Ninth Circuit in Siracusano v. Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., 585 F.3d 1167 (9th Cir.

July 15, 2010

2010 Mid-Year Electronic Discovery and Information Law Update

This 2010 Mid-Year Update provides an overview of recent e-discovery developments and trends, based on Gibson Dunn's review of 103 e-discovery decisions issued between January 1 and June 17, 2010.  The following are highlights:Like last year, sanctions and cooperation were dominant themes in the first half of 2010.  Motions to compel and privilege disputes also continued at a steady pace.  We noted fewer decisions regarding preservation, form of production, and accessibility of data.  Courts have concentrated on more nuanced factual scenarios and discovery disputes arising farther along in the discovery process, such as iterative search terms, protective orders and the application of Federal Rule of Evidence 502.  We also noted a substantial increase in decisions a

July 13, 2010

The Final “Volcker Rule” under the Dodd-Frank U.S. Financial Regulatory Reform Bill

This alert covers the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and its "Volcker Rule" provisions, prior to its passage in 2010.

July 12, 2010

European Commission Adopts Retail Market Monitoring Report

On July 5, 2010, the European Commission adopted a retail market monitoring report identifying the key issues that potentially hamper a more efficient and fairer retail services industry within the EU.

July 12, 2010

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) from the Broker-Dealer’s Perspective

Although still subject to Senate approval, the House of Representatives' June 30, 2010 vote to approve the Bill* moves broker-dealers that much closer to sweeping changes to their business and operations.

July 12, 2010

2010 Mid Year Securities Enforcement Update

I.  Overview of the First Half of 2010Nearly a year and a half ago, Mary Schapiro took over as Chairman of the SEC with a promise to reinvigorate the Enforcement Division.  Shortly thereafter, Robert Khuzami, the Director of the Division of Enforcement, announced a series of initiatives with the goal of making the Enforcement Division more effective.  The first six months of this year have seen those initiatives take shape with a reorganization of the Enforcement Division into specialized units and the formal announcement of a cooperation initiative for individuals.  But of greater significance is the extent to which the Enforcement Division is filing cases against major financial institutions and senior executives -- and without negotiating settlements in advance of fi

July 12, 2010

The Long Arms of UK and US Law

Gibson Dunn New York partner Lee Dunst, London partner Philip Rocher, London senior counsel Charles Falconer and New York associate Elizabeth Goergen are the authors of "The Long Arms of UK and US Law," which is an extract from Latin Lawyer Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 6.

July 12, 2010

Erosion of the Fiduciary-Duty Requirement in Insider-Trading Actions

New York partner Joel M. Cohen and associates Mary Kay Dunning and Gregory H. Shill are the authors of  "Erosion of the Fiduciary-Duty Requirement in Insider-Trading Actions" [PDF] which appeared in the Volume 10, Number 3, Spring 2010 issue of the American Bar Association's Securities Litigation Journal.

July 9, 2010

Gute Berufsperspektiven für Offiziere als Compliance-Beauftragte in Großunternehmen

Munich partner Mark Zimmer is the author of "Gute Berufsperspektiven für Offiziere als Compliance-Beauftragte in Großunternehmen" [PDF] published in the July 2010 issue of Die Bundeswehr. 

July 9, 2010

2010 Mid-Year False Claims Act Update

Many consider the False Claims Act (the "FCA") to be the "fastest growing area of federal litigation." At the outset of the federal government's fiscal year 2010, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) reported that the government had more than 1,000 qui tam cases awaiting its decision on intervention.

July 9, 2010

Triplets?. . . ‘No, I’d Rather Have Twins’ — The UK’s Blueprint for Financial Regulation

In a dramatic move, initially trailed this time last year, the Conservatives (now in coalition with the Liberal Democrats) have confirmed that they will in their term of service, abolish Britain's tripartite financial services regime, to replace it with a form of "twin peaks" style of regulation.

July 8, 2010

Supreme Court Round-Up: A Summary of Recent Opinions, Upcoming Arguments, and Other Developments – July 8, 2010

As the Supreme Court's 2009 Term drew to a close, the Court issued an array of blockbuster opinions on issues such as separation of powers, the Second Amendment, and the proper interpretation of the "honest services" fraud statute.  Gibson Dunn's Supreme Court Round-Up, which has been tracking the Court's opinions and actions throughout the Term, now contains a summary of each opinion that the Court issued this Term.

July 8, 2010