Communications & Media Law, Finance & Banking

Crowdfunding Renewable Energy Projects in Early Stages and Growing in the U.S.

by Laura Neumeister | Foley & Lardner LLP on 5/21/2013

Direct investment in renewable energy projects has been an anticipated financing option among editorialists and bloggers the past year, and seems to finally be gaining traction in the United States....more

What Merchants Need to Know About the Mobile Payments Services Ecosystem: Patent Infringement Disputes

by Erica Wilson | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 5/21/2013

At LSI’s Merchant Strategies for Mobile Payments Conference in Seattle on May 14, DWT’s Erica Wilson presented on the topic of “What Merchants Need to Know About How the Key Players in the Mobile Payments Services Ecosystem...more

CFPB Targets Service Provider in Real Estate Kickback Enforcement Action

by Jonathan L. Pompan | Venable LLP on 5/21/2013

The CFPB continues to use its enforcement power on service providers, including companies involved in advertising and marketing and lead generation The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") announced it...more

Crowdfunding And JOBS Act News Roundup – May 17, 2013

by Stephen M. Quinlivan | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Dodd-Frank and... on 5/20/2013

This week the SEC appointed Keith F. Higgins as Director of the Division of Corporation Finance. We don’t know him personally but have seen him speak at conferences and observed his leadership of the ABA’s Federal Regulation...more

Investment Management Legal + Regulatory Update -- May 2013

by Luke T. Bagley, Jay G. Baris, Thomas M. Devaney, Kelley A. Howes, Robert E. Putney, III, Isabelle Sajous | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 5/17/2013

In This Issue: Regulatory Updates - SEC Allows Limited Use of Social Media for Public Disclosure; Federal Reserve Board Publishes a Final Rule Specifying when Nonbank Firms are “Predominantly Engaged in...more

SEC Chair Mary Jo White On Social Media

by Stephen M. Quinlivan | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Dodd-Frank and... on 5/17/2013

In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, SEC Chair Mary Jo White stated that the Netflix Section 21(a) report stands for the proposition that use of social media is acceptable “so...more

DOJ Files First Criminal Action On CFPB Referral, CFPB Files Parallel Civil Suit

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/17/2013

On May 7, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced mail and wire fraud charges against a debt settlement firm, its owner, and three of its employees. ...more

SEC Issues Guidance on Disclosures Made via Social Media

by David Garcia, Michael Meskill | Jackson Walker on 5/16/2013

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") recently issued a Report of Investigation (the "Report") in which it provides helpful guidance to public companies regarding their use of social media to disclose material...more

Is Crowdfunding Dead On Arrival? A Legal Perspective...

by Benjamin Hron, Brian Korn, Christian A. Salaman | JD Supra Law News on 5/15/2013

"[Crowdfunding] lays the riskiest investments at the doorstep of those investors that can least afford the risk. And it won’t create jobs except for plaintiff’s lawyers…”...more

SEC Roundtable Discusses Current Securities Law Topics at 33rd Annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute

by Mark Reyes, Mark Wood | Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 5/15/2013

On May 2, Lona Nallengara and Shelley E. Parratt, the acting director and the deputy director, respectively, of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, participated in a roundtable...more

OSC’s Crowdfunding Proposal Receives Favourable Comments

by Justin Dharamdial, Hugo-Pierre Gagnon, Shahir Guindi, Matthew Oliver, Ward Sellers | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/15/2013

On March 8, 2013, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) closed the comment period on its Staff Consultation Paper 45-710: Considerations for New Capital Raising Prospectus Exemptions (the Consultation Paper), which sought...more

Investment Portals Addressed in SEC Staff Guidance Under JOBS Act; No-Action Letters Also Issued

by Elliott Curzon, Thor Imsdahl, Edward Pittman | Dechert LLP on 5/15/2013

Technology has spawned the formation of new internet-based marketplaces for illiquid and restricted securities. In most instances, these markets are operated by entities registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more

SEC Charges City of Harrisburg with Fraud

by Michael Wiener | Holland & Knight LLP on 5/14/2013

On Monday, May 6, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with securities fraud "for its misleading public statements when its financial condition was deteriorating and...more

OCC, FDIC Announce Overdraft Enforcement Actions

by BuckleySandler LLP on 5/13/2013

On April 30, the OCC and the FDIC announced parallel enforcement actions against a national bank and an affiliated state bank to resolve allegations that the institutions violated Section 5 of the FTC Act in their marketing...more

Crowdfunding And JOBS Act News Roundup – May 10, 2013

by Stephen M. Quinlivan | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Dodd-Frank and... on 5/13/2013

It was another week of speculation as to when the SEC might finalize or propose any JOBS Act rule. Broc Romanek of the TheCorporateCounsel.net pointed to one article which said the current JOBS Act proposal on eliminating...more

FINRA Identifies Concerns with Marketing of Real Estate Investment Products

by Thomas M. Devaney, Kelley A. Howes, Daniel A. Nathan | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 5/13/2013

FINRA recently signaled a continuing focus on the marketing of real estate-related products by issuing a Regulatory Notice expressing concerns about communications involving unlisted, or non-traded, real estate investment...more

Why Should an Investor or Business Conduct an Asset Search?

by Edward Amaral on 5/13/2013

If used properly and if conducted by a reputable asset search company, asset searches can be used as a valuable pre-investment tool for an investor, partnership, joint venture or other business entity before entering into a...more

Harrisburg Charged With Securities Fraud - Securities and Exchange Commission Says City Made Misleading Financial Statements

by Kimberly Byrens | Best Best & Krieger LLP on 5/10/2013

The inclusion of the public statements of an elected official in allegations of securities fraud could change the traditional relationship between the politicians and their constituency versus issuers and the bond market....more