On August, 19, 2024, the SEC announced settled charges against Carl C. Icahn and his publicly traded company, Icahn Enterprises L.P. (IEP), for failing to disclose information relating to Icahn’s pledges of IEP securities –...more
As part of a series of recent FDI reviews, the Italian government has determined that the grant of a pledge over shares of Italian companies in strategic sectors triggers the filing requirement under the Italian FDI regime,...more
Charitable contributions are often utilized in estate planning to assist a client not only in supporting his or her favorite charities but also to reduce tax liabilities both during life and at death. However, before clients...more
Whilst COVID-19 continues to disrupt finance markets across EMEA, the United Arab Emirates ("UAE") has nevertheless seen a continued interest in the development of its burgeoning finance market, with M&A activity remaining...more
The patent monopoly is at odds with the global need for battery storage technology. As the world mobilizes towards climate change solutions, companies with battery patents will face increasing pressure to share this critical...more
On July 6, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Chiafalo v. Washington, No. 19-465, holding that states may penalize “faithless electors" who break their pledge to vote for their party’s presidential nominee. For every...more
The Catalonian Parliament approves the same measure it passed in 2019 but abrogated by failing to ratify it in time. On 21 May 2019, the Catalonian legislature passed Decree 9/2019 to modify certain articles of the...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently adopted amendments to the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings that include certain credit enhancements. The amendments...more
Intellectual property rights are – by definition – monopolistic. How, then, can researchers, charities and NGOs collaborate with business in the development of new technologies to control and eradicate COVID-19?...more
The Spanish financial market has welcomed the reform, which entered into force on 22 May 2019. On 21 May 2019, the Catalonian legislature passed Royal Decree 9/2019 to modify certain articles of the Catalonian Civil Code....more
Our law firm, Pepper Hamilton, regularly advises prospective private equity and hedge fund managers on the various legal structure options associated with launching a new private investment fund. In our experience, first-time...more
A year ago, the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion launched (“the Action”). The Action, which is the brainchild of PricewaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) U.S. Chairman Tim Ryan, is a call to CEOs to pledge to advance the cause of...more
The U.S. government recently took several actions involving the Venezuela- and Russia-related sanctions. On May 21, 2018, following the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump issued an executive order...more
Last month, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) updated its proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming proxy season. The updates, summarized in part below, are effective for shareholder meetings on or after Feb. 1, 2018....more
In addition to sponsoring organizations of donor advised funds, the Notice may also impact donors and other tax-exempt organizations, including both private foundations and public charities; affected parties should submit...more
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently announced updates to its U.S. proxy voting guidelines for the 2018 proxy season. Although the updates are not likely to have a significant impact on 2018...more
In the current economic climate, it is important that lenders understand how they can enforce security and debt claims to help in assessing options in the event of default by their customers, and when structuring new lending....more
Recently, the on-demand economy has made the news for the best reason possible: saving victims of human trafficking. In December 2016, an Uber driver in California alerted police after becoming concerned that his recent...more
On August 24, 2016, it was widely reported in the business media that Duke University had filed a claim against the estate of Aubrey McLendon, the former CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp., who died in March 2016. The claim was...more
In an open letter to their newborn daughter last December, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan announced they will eventually give 99 percent of their Facebook shares during their lives to a variety of...more
Many company policies prohibit (or severely limit) officers and directors from pledging their company shares against margin loans, and, as discussed in an article in last week’s WSJ, there seems to be good reason for that...more
A broadly-syndicated U.S.-law credit agreement which closed recently includes language limiting the ability of lenders to grant pledges or sell participation interests in their loans. The language appears to be intended to...more
Unlike real estate transactions where a lender can obtain title insurance, secured lenders are often relying upon the representations and warranties in their loan agreement and the borrower’s audited financial statements, if...more
Final Guidance for Medium-Sized Firms on Dodd-Frank Stress Tests - On March 5, the Fed, the FDIC, and the OCC issued final guidance which describes supervisory expectations for stress tests to be conducted by financial...more
The proxy and annual reporting season has begun, with relatively few changes in reporting requirements from last year. Here are some tips to take you through the season and prepare for changes to come. 1. Consider the...more