Previously, in connection with the home loan program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) we reported on the VA’s adoption of a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate broker...more
In connection with its guaranteed home loan program, in June 2024 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopted a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate broker or agent assisting...more
During the next several weeks, we will publish a series of articles that dive deeply into “health plan hygiene” relating to health and welfare benefit plan fiduciary issues and how employers can protect themselves in this...more
Buyer-Broker Commissions - In connection with its guaranteed home loan program, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently adopted a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate...more
A recent federal jury verdict in Missouri has gotten the attention of real estate industry professionals around the country. The jury in Sitzer v. National Association of Realtors et. al (Case No. 4:19-cv-00332-SRB) ordered...more
The performers’ union SAG-AFTRA has finally reached agreement with the AMPTP, the studios’ bargaining group, after a lengthy strike. The union is touting what it says are breakthroughs in many areas. The new provisions are...more
On October 31, 2023, a federal jury in the Western District of Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and multiple other real estate brokerages violated antitrust laws by conspiring to inflate the...more
Join us for a lively 30-minute discussion where our head of transactional insurance and the head of our private equity practice discuss top trends in M&A and PE. We'll cover: - The rollercoaster of RWI pricing - The RWI...more
Final rules to modernize share repurchase disclosure will go into effect for the first periodic report that covers the first full fiscal quarter that begins on or after October 1, 2023. For calendar-year companies, that first...more
Let’s talk about commissions today. Or, as they are sometimes referred to, transaction based compensation. Specifically, who can receive commissions. Actually, that’s not phrased correctly. The correct phrasing of this...more
In This Issue. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released a new guide to help financial technology companies and others partner with banks; the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it...more
Volume is a great teacher. Nothing could have fully prepared me for the bench even though I tried many cases in private practice and spent a great deal of time in the courthouse. The sheer number of cases and the decisions...more
On December 22, 2017, the tax reform bill, informally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), was signed by President Trump. As we noted in our prior OnPoint (available here) with respect to earlier versions of the...more
On January 11, the SEC staff issued an interpretive letter to the Capital Group (CG Letter) stating that Section 22(d) of the Investment Company Act does not prevent brokers from charging commissions for effecting...more
As you probably heard, Morgan Stanley will be moving to a level compensation approach for its 401(k) advisors. So this means it will do away with commission payments and finder’s fees (for recommending record-keeping...more
Merrill Lynch has already staked out the position in response to the DOL’s retirement account fiduciary duty rule that it would no longer offer commission-based IRAs to retirement savers. Yesterday, it effectively doubled...more
A good deal of our practice involves litigation over busted deals – sales of real estate, sales of businesses, commercial leases. By the time we’re asked to get involved, the deal is usually already dead, with the parties...more
Final rule reflects some concessions, but its broad scope and compliance costs will cause financial services advisers to re-evaluate their business models. On April 6, 2016, the US Department of Labor (the DOL) released...more
The Commission brought another in a series of actions centered on ConvergEx Execution Solutions LLC and its affiliates. As with the prior actions, this one centered on secretly adding substantial commissions to transactions...more
On Wednesday, April 6, 2016, the United States Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released the final version of its rule imposing a “best interest” fiduciary standard on financial professionals who provide retirement savings...more
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor released its long-awaited and controversial fiduciary rule expanding the definition of who is a fiduciary when providing investment advice on retirement accounts. The rule aims...more
A former Texas Attorney General and state representative combined with others at a computer firm to promote the shares of the company which claimed to compete with Dell, Apple and others. About $26 million in stock was sold...more
A lawsuit filed in the United States Court for the District of Connecticut between Odyssey Reinsurance Company and Cal-Regent Insurance Services Corporation involves a dispute over commission payments in a reinsurance scheme...more
Reflecting increased regulatory willingness to discipline principals and supervisors, FINRA recently announced that it had imposed an industry bar on the former president of a defunct broker-dealer, along with five registered...more
In re Oak Knoll Assocs., L.P., 525 B.R. 175 (Bankr. D. Me. 2015) – A real estate broker sought allowance of an administrative expense claim for his commission in connection with a sale of real estate. The debtor and...more