ABA Sound Advice: Conducting Civil Rights Audits: Benefits and Best Practices
The Justice Insiders: The Administrative State is Not Your Friend - A Conversation with Professor Richard Epstein
Litigation developments: federal forum provisions
The "Compass Rose" Method for Corporate Witness Interviews
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable: TALF 2020 and PPP Update
Securities Litigation and Disclosure Issues
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
Podcast: Non-binding Guidance: SEC Disclosure Issues for Life Sciences Companies
Life Sciences Quarterly (Q3 2019): SEC Enforcement and Class Actions Regarding FDA Communications
Podcast: Credit Funds: What Managers Need to Know and Practical Tips to Avoid Insider Trading Risks
One day, Name, Image and Likeness may pivot away from collectives and pivot toward university-based funding. At least one prominent athletic department is preparing for the possibility....more
Florida State University is pushing for the dismissal of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s NC lawsuit, saying it was prematurely filed to preempt the university’s own suit against the conference, in an attempt to win a “race to...more
As any Wall Street litigator knows, in the securities industry, it is typical for brokerage firms to incentivize their employed financial advisers with significant upfront compensation at the beginning of a relationship or...more
Before closing the book on 2022, we look back at the most significant verdicts issued in trade secret trials this past year. In 2022, several juries awarded extraordinary verdicts to plaintiffs. These verdicts suggest a...more
On June 29, 2022, FINRA released the report of its independent investigation, concluding that allegations of a “secret agreement” to avoid certain arbitrators on an industry lawyer’s cases were untrue. The allegations...more
A unanimous Supreme Court held May 23 that a party’s waiver of its arbitration right does not require showing prejudice to an opposing party, because the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) prohibits arbitration-specific rules....more
The U.S. Supreme Court held March 31, 2022, that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) does not allow federal courts to “look through” to the dispute underlying an arbitration to establish jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an...more
As it was for the rest of the world, 2021 was an interesting year for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Originally published in American Bar Association’s Securities Litigation section - March 17th,...more
Not too long ago, a single, small BD experienced a bizarre combination of regulatory overzealousness and regulatory indifference, by the SEC and FINRA, respectively. These things, sadly, happen all the time, but what...more
The Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has made its arbitration statistics for the year 2021, through May 31, available on its website. Overall, FINRA experienced an intriguing 19% decline in the number of...more
On June 3, 2021, in Donelson v. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ordered class-action allegations in a putative securities fraud class action stricken on the...more
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has held that new arguments for vacatur or modification first raised over 90-days post-award do not relate-back and may not be considered under the State’s version of the Uniform Arbitration...more
On April 9, FINRA amended its customer arbitration rules to give customers more options when a Respondent firm or associated person becomes “inactive” during an arbitration....more
Alas, the market crashes (nearly, 8% of its value today) and your 401k plan is devastated, but could it get worse? Of course, it could. Brokers and investment advisers as well as their employers should expect to see...more
Looking ahead, we preview cases currently pending before the Supreme Court—which have already been accepted for review by the Court—that may be of particular interest to readers of the Need-to-Know Litigation Weekly. These...more
You might remember this no-action letter to Johnson & Johnson granting relief to the company if it relied on Rule 14a-8(i)(2) (violation of law) to exclude a shareholder proposal requesting adoption of mandatory shareholder...more
In a novel sequence of events, SEC Chair Jay Clayton issued a statement on February 11, 2019 expressing the Commission’s non-view on mandatory shareholder arbitration provisions implemented by publicly-listed companies. ...more
On February 11, 2019, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance granted no-action relief permitting Johnson & Johnson to omit a a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement relating to mandatory arbitration of...more
Having lost the battle to prohibit class action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements, consumer advocates have embarked on a new crusade....more
Although Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Clayton has made clear that the Commission does not intend to focus on addressing mandatory arbitration provisions in the near term, the controversy regarding action in this...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which defendant Wilson-Davis, a securities firm, sought to enjoin an arbitration brought against it alleging that the firm's failure to supervise its agent caused...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the plaintiff sought to vacate an adverse arbitration award claiming the arbitration panel misbehaved and prejudiced his rights under the Federal Arbitration...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on Thrivent's case seeking to enjoin the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from prohibiting the nonprofit's mandatory use of individual dispute resolution processes. Once the...more
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently held that Tennessee’s Trust Code and broad trust-instruments authorize a Trustee’s execution of a pre-dispute arbitration clause. That isn’t a per se breach of fiduciary duty, but the...more
The Court of First Instance has confirmed that Mainland entities controlled by the PRC Central People’s Government benefit from “crown” immunity from suit and execution, whilst simultaneously ruling that state owned...more