Client Alert - Gibson Dunn

Client Alert

Employer Liability and Defenses from Suit for COVID-19-Related Exposures in the Workplace

In recent weeks, legal commentators have predicted that employers will face an “explosion” of employee lawsuits for tort claims relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 4, 2020

M&A Report – Determining the Likely Standard of Review Applicable to Board Decisions in Delaware M&A Transactions

M&A practitioners are well aware of the several standards of review applied by Delaware courts in evaluating whether directors have complied with their fiduciary duties in the context of M&A transactions.

May 4, 2020

Hong Kong Competition Tribunal Provides Guidance on Cartel Fines

The Hong Kong Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) has issued its first decision on cartel fines in Competition Commission v W. Hing Construction Company Limited and Others (“Competition Commission v W. Hing”).

May 4, 2020

The Future Fund – a Venture into the Unknown for the UK Government

On 20 April 2020, the UK Government announced the launch of an investment fund intended to deliver up to £500 million of investment and liquidity to high-growth companies impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic (the “Future Fund”). The Future Fund will provide UK-based companies with convertible loans ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, provided that the amount loaned by the UK Government is matched by third party investors.

May 4, 2020

Tax implications of benchmark reform: UK tax authority weighs in

It is expected that, from the end of 2021, London Interbank Offered Rates (“LIBORs”), which are used as reference rates in the loan, bond and derivatives markets, will cease to be published.

May 4, 2020

Gibson Dunn | Europe | Data Protection – May 2020

Gibson Dunn lawyers provide a look at personal data and other privacy-related legal developments across Europe for May 2020.

May 4, 2020

California Supreme Court Holds No Right to Jury Trial for Unfair-Competition or False-Advertising-Law Claims

On April 30, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited opinion in Nationwide Biweekly Administration Inc. v. Superior Court, regarding whether civil actions brought by governmental entities on behalf of the People, seeking statutory penalties under the Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code §§ 17200 et seq. (UCL), and False Advertising Law (FAL), Business and Professions Code §§ 17500 et seq., must be tried to a jury. 

May 1, 2020

The Constitutional Consequences of Governmental Responses to COVID-19:  The Right to Travel and the Dormant Commerce Clause

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented governmental actions at the federal, state, and local levels.  Those actions have raised substantial constitutional questions. 

May 1, 2020

IRS Issues Notice Clarifying Expenses Funded with Proceeds of Small Business Administration Loans under Paycheck Protection Program

On Thursday, April 30, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued Notice 2020-32 (the “Notice”).[1]  The Notice clarifies that, in the IRS’s view, expenses funded using the proceeds of Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loans extended pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program are not deductible if the loan is forgiven.

May 1, 2020

Federal Reserve Announces Revisions To And Expansion Of The Main Street Lending Programs

On April 9, 2020, we published an alert on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System’s (“Federal Reserve”) announcement that it was creating two loan facilities, the Main Street New Loan Facility (“MSNLF”) and the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility (“MSELF”), pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”).

May 1, 2020

Colorado’s Sweeping Oil and Gas Law: One Year Later

A year ago, Colorado ushered in a new era of oil gas regulation when Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 19-181 (“SB-181”) into law.

April 30, 2020

Criminal Bankruptcy Fraud: Will the COVID-19 Crisis Make It the New Prosecutorial Darling?

The COVID-19 crisis and the resulting disruption to business have adversely affected many corporate entities’ financial stability and outlook. Even rock-solid, liquid companies have been jolted into a new reality, and may be evaluating options for restructuring their business.

April 30, 2020

Technology and Construction Court of England and Wales Holds That Experts Can Owe Clients a Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty

In April 2020, the Technology and Construction Court of England and Wales held that expert consultancy firms can owe a fiduciary duty of loyalty to a client.

April 30, 2020

Pursuing Crisis-Related Investment Opportunities – Considerations for Private Equity Fund Managers

The coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”) has had far-reaching implications on virtually every aspect of the global economy, and the private equity industry has faced its share of challenges. 

April 30, 2020

Operating Partners and/or Captive Consultants: Recent SEC Action and Six Takeaways

On April 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a settled order finding that a middle-market private equity fund adviser failed to adequately disclose that costs relating to an internal “Operations Group” would be charged to the portfolio companies of the adviser’s fund.

April 30, 2020

EU Merger Control and the Acquisition of Distressed Businesses in the Wake of COVID-19

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the work-from-home restrictions throughout much of the world, the European Commission has adjusted how it deals with merger reviews.

April 30, 2020

Small Business Administration Publishes Additional Interim Final Rules and New Guidance Related to PPP Loan Eligibility and Accessibility

In the last week, as the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) prepared for additional Paycheck Protection Program (the “Program” or “PPP”) funding and began accepting—for the second time—applications from participating lenders, the SBA issued a series of new guidance materials related to Program eligibility, fund accessibility, and loan amount calculations.

April 29, 2020

COVID-19 UK Bulletin – April 29, 2020

Gibson Dunn lawyers in London provide a summary and compendium of English law legal developments during the current COVID-19 pandemic as of April 29, 2020.

April 29, 2020

Update on Intellectual Property-Related Issues in the Responses to COVID-19

Institutions around the world continue to grapple with the intellectual property implications associated with their efforts to facilitate the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19.

April 28, 2020

European Perspective on Tracing Tools in the Context of COVID-19

As part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19 and desire to effectively lift the lockdown, governments and private companies around the world are considering the use of data driven digital tools, in particular digital tracing solutions.

April 28, 2020