This week President Barack Obama has given a strong indication that--along with a slew of other big ticket items--government procurement reform will be one of his administration's priorities. Though procurement reform was not touted during the campaign and was largely absent from the initial introduction to the administration's agenda, the President and a bipartisan team of senators have championed two changes, in as many days, to the awarding and oversight of government contracts. The legislation has only been proposed and the President has only ordered a review of the procurement process, but the emphasis is likely indicative of more proposals and changes to come. With daily pledges for both additional government spending and renewed fiscal responsibility, the President
March 5, 2009
The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Financial Markets Crisis Group is closely tracking government responses to the turmoil that has catalyzed a dramatic and rapid reshaping of our capital and credit markets.
March 4, 2009
We issued a Client Alert on February 19, 2009 on the Tenth Circuit opinion setting forth a robust analysis of the loss causation burden under the federal securities laws.
March 3, 2009
Orange County partner John M. Williams III and associate Theodore Kim are the authors of "Where Have All the Deals Gone?" [PDF] published in the March 2009 issue of the Orange County Business Journal.
March 2, 2009
Paris partner Jérôme Délaurière and associate Charlotte Prest are the authors of "Cession d’une filiale intégrée et procédure collective" [PDF] published in the March 2, 2009 issue of Option Finance.
March 2, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Peter E. Seley and associate Coral A. Shaw are authors of "McDonald v. Sun Oil: The Ninth Circuit's Constitutionally Questionable Expansion of CERCLA's Toxic Tort Discovery Rule" [PDF] published in the March 2009 issue of ELI's Environmental Law Reporter.
March 2, 2009
Washington, D.C. partner Mark A. Perry and associate Indraneel Sur are the authors of "SLUSA Precludes 'Actions,' Not Claims" [PDF] published in the March 2009 issue of Mealey's Emerging Securities Litigation.
March 2, 2009
London partner Cyrus Benson is the author of "Can Professional Ethics Wait? The Need for Transparency in International Arbitration" [PDF] published in the March 2009 issue of International Bar Association's Dispute Resolution International.
March 2, 2009
New York partner Stacey Anne Mahoney is the author of "To Day 100 and Beyond: The Antitrust Enforcement in the Obama Administration" [PDF] pulished in the March 2009 issue of ABA's Corporate Counseling Committee's newsletter, The Antitrust Counselor.Reprinted with permission from Antitrust Counselor, March 2009, © 2009, the American Bar Association. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express or written consent of the American Bar Association.
March 1, 2009
On February 24, 2009 the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware issued an important opinion dismissing all but one claim in a shareholder derivative action seeking to recover for Citigroup Inc.
February 27, 2009
In January, we provided you with our 2008 Year-End False Claims Act Update in which we discussed, among other things, legislation proposed in Congress in 2007 that would significantly broaden the scope of the False claims Act (the "FCA"). As we predicted, Senator Grassley (R-IA) recently introduced legislation to amend the FCA that, given the current economic environment, Congress is likely to pass. Congress may feel more pressure to pass these bills this session to demonstrate a commitment to protect taxpayer's dollars from fraud, waste, and abuse. First, on February 5, 2009, Senator Grassley introduced the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, S.
February 26, 2009
On February 25, 2009, Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California resolved a novel question of federal labor law of significant import for employers in California by holding, in the context of a putative state-wide class-action in Rubin v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No.
February 26, 2009
On February 26, 2009, the New York Stock Exchange LLC (the "NYSE") filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") an amendment to NYSE Rule 452 that would affect the ability of brokers to cast discretionary votes in uncontested director elections. In addition, the NYSE filed a rule change that would temporarily suspend the application of the $1 stock price requirement of Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and extend the time period for which its market capitalization continued listing standard is lowered. A summary of these actions is set forth below.
February 26, 2009
The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Financial Markets Crisis Group is closely tracking government responses to the turmoil that has catalyzed a dramatic and rapid reshaping of our capital and credit markets.
February 25, 2009
The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Financial Markets Crisis Group is closely tracking government responses to the turmoil that has catalyzed a dramatic and rapid reshaping of our capital and credit markets.We are providing updates on key regulatory and legislative issues, as well as information on legal issues that we believe could prove useful as firms and other entities navigate these challenging times.
February 25, 2009
President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly known as the stimulus bill) into law on February 17, 2009. Part of the nearly $800 billion of new spending in the bill is used to provide a temporary COBRA subsidy for employees whose employment is involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. This change will require immediate action by employers and health plan administrators.Key Rules Regarding the COBRA SubsidyEligibility for Subsidy. The subsidy is generally available to any employee who experiences an "involuntary" termination of employment, other than due to gross misconduct, between September 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The legislation does not define what constitutes an involunt
February 24, 2009
New York partner Mark K. Schonfeld is the author of "Back to the Future: Chairman Schapiro Ends Pilot Program for Corporate Penalties, Eliminates Commission Pre-authorization, Allows Staff to Negotiate" [PDF] published in the February 23, 2009 issue of BNA Inc.'s Securities Regulation and Law.
February 23, 2009
Washington, D.C. partners Michael Bopp, F. Joseph Warin and associate Michael Hissam are the authors of "A Busy Congress for Investigations" published on line by Corporate Board Member on February 20 ,2009 at boardmember.com
February 20, 2009
On February 18, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a significant decision in In re: Williams Securities Litigation--WCG Subclass (Docket Number 07-5119), that clarified the contours of a plaintiff's "loss causation" burden under federal securities laws.
February 19, 2009
Orange County associate James M. Sabovich and associate Heather D. Hearne are authors of "Diminished Property Value Claims in a Diminished Real Estate Market" [PDF] published on February 19, 2009 in BNA Inc.'s Toxics Law Report.
February 19, 2009