Finance & Banking, Commercial Law & Contracts, Communications & Media Law

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

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

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

Big Regulation’s Big Data

by Richik Sarkar on 5/8/2013

In March 2012, the Obama Administration announced its Big Data Research and Development Initiative. The program involves a total of over $200 million in new commitments from several departments and agencies to improve the...more

CPA issues Amendments to Electronic Data and Document Rules and Standards

by Lisa K. Abe-Oldenburg | Bennett Jones LLP on 4/24/2013

The Canadian Payments Association has issued amendments to Automated Clearing and Settlement System (ACSS) Rules and Standards, which came into effect on April 22, 2013....more

Mobile Payments Infographic

by James G. Gatto, Deborah Thoren-Peden | Pillsbury Social Media, Entertainment &... on 4/17/2013

Check out this Mobile Payments Infographic brought to you by the Mobile Payments Working Group, as part of the Application Developers Alliance. Pillsbury team members Jim Gatto, Deb Thoren-Peden and JiJi Park are all members...more

IRS Capitalized Legal Fees Incurred by Pharmaceutical Company

by En-Jiun Ma, Philip McCarty, Dwight Mersereau | McDermott Will & Emery on 4/15/2013

In a recently released Field Attorney Advice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of Chief Counsel concluded that a pharmaceutical company must capitalize legal fees incurred to obtain Food and Drug Administration...more

SEC Staffer Highlights Private Fund and Private Equity Broker-Dealer Issues

by Ropes & Gray LLP on 4/10/2013

On April 5, 2013, David Blass, Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets (which regulates broker-dealers), gave an important speech highlighting two “significant areas of concern” about broker-dealer...more

SEC Publishes Report on Reg. FD and Social Media – Joy, Vexation Follow

by David Smyth | Brooks Pierce on 4/5/2013

You probably remember a dustup from a few months ago when the SEC threatened to sue Netflix for violations of Regulation FD. Basically, the rule says that when a public company gives material nonpublic information to anyone,...more

California Considers Revisions To Its Money Transmission Act

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/4/2013

On March 11, the California State Assembly Standing Committee on Banking and Finance held a hearing entitled “Emerging Technology and the California Money Transmission Act.” The hearing’s purpose was to discuss the MTA’s...more

Seed Financing Survey 2012 Internet/Digital Media and Software Industries

by Barry J. Kramer, Steven Levine | Fenwick & West LLP on 3/26/2013

In early 2011 we published our first Seed Financing Survey (for 2010) in recognition of the growing importance of seed financing to entrepreneurs and the venture capital environment, especially in the internet/digital media...more

FTC Issues New Guidance Addressing Mobile And Social Media Advertising

by Joseph D. Simon | Cullen and Dykman LLP on 3/18/2013

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has released new guidance for mobile and other online advertisers that explains how to make disclosures clear and conspicuous to avoid deception. Although the FTC does not have authority...more

Zip Code as Personal Information: The Massachusetts Round 2

by Mintz Levin - Privacy & Security on 3/13/2013

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled that zip codes constitute “personal identification information” under G.L. c. 93. The question of law came to the SJC from the U.S. District Court for...more

Is Crowdfunding Subject To The UCC?

by Keith Paul Bishop | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 3/4/2013

In a recently published essay, Professor Joan Heminway asks “What is a Security in the Crowdfunding Era?” She observes...more

Are There Silver Hills In Other States?

by Keith Paul Bishop | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 2/27/2013

In Silver Hills May Tarnish Crowdfunding, I wrote about Justice Roger J. Traynor’s alternative definition of “security” under the predecessor to the Corporate Securities Law of 1968. Silver Hills Country Club v. Sobieski, 55...more

SEC Commissioners Say More Regulation, Oversight Needed

by Matthew P. Allen | Miller Canfield on 2/25/2013

SEC commissioners called for a more regulations and oversight to protect investors from fraud and other dangers, reports Miller Canfield securities compliance and enforcement lawyer Matt Allen. Allen attended the 42nd...more

Commercial Restructuring & Bankruptcy Alert - February 2013

by Peter Clark, Joseph Filloy, Joanne Finch, Marsha Houston, Jeanne Stancampiano Lofgren, Elizabeth McGovern, Charlotte Møller, Ann Pille, Christopher Rivas, Jared Roach, Richard Robinson, more +Brian Schenker, Alison Wickizer Toepp, Lauren Zabel | Reed Smith on 2/21/2013

In this Issue: - Lenders Beware - International Insolvency Laws: Will One Size Fit All? The Debate Continues - ‘Fair and Equitable’ Means More Than Amortization Schedule - Pre-Petition Security License...more

SEC Issues Frequently Asked Questions on Exemption from Broker-Dealer Registration Under the JOBS Act

by Avi Badash, James Van De Graaff | Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 2/12/2013

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets has issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that provide guidance on the exemption from broker-dealer registration in Section 201(c) of the Jumpstart...more

New TCPA Action Against Card Issuer Highlights Growing Area Of Litigation Risk

by BuckleySandler LLP on 2/5/2013

On January 29, a credit card holder filed a putative class action against a card issuer that funds consumer retail credit accounts for customers of a major retail chain, alleging that the issuer violated the Telephone...more

Could The Product Of Two Debts Really Be A Fortune?

by Keith Paul Bishop | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 1/30/2013

In 628 in the Gurjar capital city of Bhillamala (now, Bhinmal, India), the mathemetician Brahmagupta set out to explain how zero and negatives numbers work. In his book, Brahmasphutasiddhanta, he set forth the rule that the...more

FFIEC Proposes Supervisory Guidance for Financial Institutions Using Social Media

by Joseph D. Simon | Cullen and Dykman LLP on 1/25/2013

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (the “FFIEC”) has proposed supervisory guidance addressing the applicability of federal consumer protection and compliance laws, regulations, and policies to activities...more

Proposed FFIEC Guidance on Financial Institution Social Media Use

by Craig Hoffman | BakerHostetler on 1/24/2013

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) released for comment on January 17 its proposed Social Media: Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance. There is a 60-day comment period. The purpose of the...more

The Ninth Circuit Amends TCPA Opinion in Meyer v. Portfolio Recovery Associates and Provides Relief to Debt Collection Industry

by Michael Mallow, Christine M. Reilly | Loeb & Loeb LLP on 1/23/2013

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has amended a recent decision in which it suggested that prior express consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for telephone calls made to mobile phones for...more

SEC Faces A Swarm Of Legal Issues In Considering The Investor Advisory Committee’s Recommendations Concerning General Solicitation

by Keith Paul Bishop | Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis... on 1/21/2013

The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee held another meeting last week with Elisse B. Walter making her first public appearance as SEC Chairman. She and Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar had many kind words for the Committee’s...more

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Finance & Banking › Commercial Law & Contracts › Communications & Media Law