Client Alert - Gibson Dunn

Client Alert

Estoppel Against The Government: What Does ‘Affirmative Misconduct’ Have To Do With It?

Gibson Dunn partner Karen Manos is the author of "Estoppel Against The Government: What Does 'Affirmative Misconduct' Have To Do With It?" [PDF] which appears in the July 2006 inaugural issue of Government Contract Costs, Pricing & Accounting Report, a bi-monthly newsletter published by Thomson/West. Reprinted with permission, © July 2006 Thomson/West.

July 18, 2006

To Plead or Not to Plead? Reveiwing a Decade of Criminal Antitrust Trials

Washington, D.C. partner F. Joseph Warin, David P. Burns and associate John W.F. Chesley are the authors of "To Plead or Not to Plead? Reveiwing a Decade of Criminal Antitrust Trials" [PDF] published in the July 2006 issue of ABA's The Antitrust Source.

July 11, 2006

Recent Court Decisions Suggest Greater Latitude for ERISA Fiduciaries to Retain Company Stock as Investment Option

Two recent court decisions make important contributions to the developing caselaw on the obligation that ERISA fiduciaries may have to remove company stock from employee benefits plans when the stock is declining in value. In Summers v. State Street Bank & Trust Co., Nos.

July 7, 2006

Gibson Dunn’s Theodore B. Olson is Named One of the Nation’s Most Influential Lawyers

Gibson Dunn's Theodore B. Olson is named among the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in the country by the National Law Journal.  Olson is featured in the article, "Profiles in Power," in the June 19 issue.Reprinted with permission.

July 7, 2006

Former Senior Enforcement Official Discusses SEC Expectations, Enron, SRO Consolidations and the Pros and Cons of Cooperating with Regulators

Gibson Dunn partner Barry Goldsmith, the former Executive Vice President for Enforcement of NASD and Chief Litigation Counsel at the SEC, is interviewed in "Former Senior Enforcement Official Discusses SEC Expectations, Enron, SRO Consolidations and the Pros and Cons of Cooperating with Regulators," published in the June 2006 issue of Securities Litigation Report.

June 30, 2006

European Commission Adopts New Guidelines on the Setting of Fines for Antitrust Infringements

"Don’t break the anti-trust rules; if you do, stop it as quickly as possible, and once you’ve stopped, don’t do it again."  With these words, Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for Competition, has announced new Guidelines on the setting of fines for infringements of the EU antitrust rules, relating to restrictions of competition and abuse of a dominant position. The new Guidelines replace those adopted by the Commission in 1998 and will come into force as soon as published in all official EU languages.

June 28, 2006

Supreme Court Dismisses Patent Case, Leaves “Law of Nature” Doctrine in Patent Law Unchanged

In a closely watched matter, the Supreme Court tossed out a patent case that it had earlier agreed to hear. The result is that the "law of nature" doctrine in patent law remains unchanged.The case was LabCorp v. Metabolite.  Metabolite, an affiliate of the University of Colorado, was set up to bring an invention by two of its medical school professors to clinical application.

June 28, 2006

Federal Court of Appeals Vacates SEC’s Regulation of Hedge Funds

The Court's DecisionThe Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has vacated the SEC's rule regulating hedge funds under the Investment Advisers Act.

June 26, 2006

Supreme Court Ruling Gives Broad Protection to Employees Claiming Retaliation Under Title VII

On June 22, 2006 the Supreme Court resolved a significant rift among lower courts and established broad protection for employees claiming retaliation based on complaints of workplace discrimination.

June 23, 2006

France increases protection mechanism against insider trading with the obligation for issuers whose securities are listed on the Euronext Paris Exchange to establish “Insider lists”

In order to better control market abuses and insider trading, EU Directive n° 2003/6/CE, dated January 28, 2003, on insider trading and market manipulation has been recently transposed into French law, through Law N° 2005-811 dated July 20, 2005. Pursuant to this law, article L.

June 12, 2006

United States Announces Venezuela Arms Embargo, Additional Export Restrictions Possible

On May 15, 2006, the United States Department of State announced an arms embargo against Venezuela, identifying that country as not fully cooperating with U.S.

June 8, 2006

Normalized United States-Libya Relations Expected to Ease Export Restrictions

In a May 15, 2006 announcement, the Bush Administration signaled Libya's removal from the list of countries not supporting U.S. antiterrorism efforts and the reopening of diplomatic relations with Libya.

June 8, 2006

A Hiccup for Security-Based Data Transfers to the US

On 30 May 2006 the European Court of Justice ('ECJ') annulled the decisions of the European Commission and the Council that led to the transfer of personal data relating to passengers on flights to, from or across US territory to US authorities.

June 1, 2006

Wanted: An Ethical Compass

London Partner Cyrus Benson is the author of "Wanted: An Ethical Compass" [PDF], which appeared in Global Arbitration Review, Volume 1, Issue 3, June 2006.

June 1, 2006

Audit Committee Liability: Recent Actions Against Audit Committee Members

Gibson Dunn partner Jon Dickey and associate Daniel Muino are authors of "Audit Committee Liability: Recent Actions Against Audit Committee Members," prepared for a July 19, 2006 PLI Audit Committee Workshop.    

May 31, 2006

Supreme Court’s Decision That Statements Made in the Course of Official Job Duties Are Not Protected Has Implications for Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Cases

The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday regarding the First Amendment rights of government employee “whistleblowers” may also have important implications for whistleblower litigation involving private employers, including litigation under the whistleblower protection provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In Garcetti v. Ceballos, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that statements made by public employees in the course of performing their official job duties are not protected by the First Amendment and may be the basis for discipline by the employer.

May 31, 2006

Client Caution: Settlement Discussions and Documents May Not Be Protected from Future Discovery

When a company engages in settlement discussions with the federal government or a civil plaintiff in one case, can those communications be the subject of discovery in a different lawsuit?

May 25, 2006

SEC and PCAOB Announce Plans for Improving Implementation of Section 404 Internal Control Reporting Requirements

 The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") issued separate press releases on May 17, 2006, announcing their plans to improve the implementation of the Section 404 internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

May 23, 2006

OFAC Adopts New Regulations Concerning Business Transactions with the Palestinian Authority

Effective May 10, 2006, OFAC amended its Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, Terrorism Sanctions Regulations and Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations to add general licenses (referred to below as "the May 10 amendments") authorizing certain transactions with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

May 17, 2006

Acting in Concert

Munich partner Philip Martinius and associate Markus Nauheim are authors of "Acting in Concert" [PDF in German] published in the German capital markets magazine GoingPublic.  The article deals with the legal watch-outs regarding the acting in concert of investors as stock holders of German companies.Reprinted with Permission

May 13, 2006