Incentive Compensation Under the Regulatory Spotlight

Six U.S. federal financial regulatory agencies[1] in May 2016 revised and re-proposed rules that were originally proposed in 2011, to govern the incentive compensation practices at financial institutions with consolidated assets of at least $1 billion (covered institutions). The proposed rules include new – and more stringent – requirements, especially for the largest institutions. The rules

SCOTUS Raises the Bar on Materiality in False Claims Act Lawsuits

FCA

The implied false certification theory of liability under the False Claims Act (FCA) is premised on the notion that a person who does business with the federal government, by the very act of submitting a claim for payment, has impliedly certified compliance with the often numerous statutes, regulations, and contract terms that govern the contractual

Lessons Learned from the Staples/Office Depot Merger Challenge

Kathleen Mullen

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) motion to preliminarily enjoin the merger of Staples and Office Depot, the country’s two largest brick-and-mortar retailers and distributors of office supplies.[1] The injunction caused the companies to abandon the merger. Background Interestingly, the FTC’s theory was not based

How Law Firms Purchase Malpractice Insurance and What it Means for the Future of Legal Practice

First Aid Kit

Insurers have a number of tools at their disposal to change the behavior of their policyholders. This should be relatively unsurprising. Once an insurer indemnifies a policyholder from loss, it is the insurer’s money at risk, not the policyholder’s—if the policyholder suffers a loss, the insurer must pay the cost of the loss. And insurers hate to lose money just like you and me. It is therefore in the insurer’s interest to either demand or encourage policyholders to take more precaution.

SEC Investigations: To Disclose or Not to Disclose-That is the Question

Securities and Exchange Commission

Among the many important decisions a company facing a SEC investigation must make is the decision whether to publicly disclose the existence of the investigation. The decision may depend on the stage of the investigation, what is being investigated, and what is the likelihood of a bad outcome. While the weight of authority suggests that

The Uber Problem

Uber and Taxis

The so-called “ride sharing” service Uber has grown dramatically over the last few years. The company’s business model is actually quite simple: its smartphone-based app connects drivers offering rides and passengers seeking them, passengers pay mileage-based fees through credit cards that the company keeps on file, and Uber then takes a percentage of each fare