The Treasury Department's Guidelines on Executive Pay
February 19, 2009
The guidelines were designed to strike a balance between the financial industry's need to attract top talent to lead in the current economic climate and the public's interest in requiring transparency and accountability. They require not only disclosure of, but an explanation and justification of the policy supporting certain compensation decisions. Here's how they work.
Renewed Focus on Takeover Defenses
February 19, 2009
While attitudes a year ago might have suggested that 2008 would be a year of great stockholder activism with takeover defenses continuing to fade from the scene, the drying up of credit for M&A transactions and plunging stock prices and asset values actually caused public companies to re-examine their preparedness for hostile activity and, ironically, led to the re-emergence of a takeover defense that had fallen out of favor in recent years.
When Silence Is Not Golden
February 19, 2009
This article examines anti-assignment clauses from the landlord's viewpoint; specifically, anti-assignment clauses similar to the following: "tenant shall not, without the prior written consent of landlord, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, assign this lease or any interest hereunder, or sublet the leased premises or any part thereof."
On the Move
February 19, 2009
Who's doing what; who's going where.
When Bankruptcy And Equity Collide
February 19, 2009
In <i>Ades and Berg Group Investors v. Breeden</i> (<i>In re Ades and Berg Group Investors</i>), the court of appeals affirmed a decision below refusing to impose a constructive trust on proceeds from a settlement of reinsurance claims that were paid to a Chapter 11 debtor. According to the Second Circuit, "retention by the bankruptcy estate of assets that, absent bankruptcy, would go to a particular creditor is not inherently unjust."
Second Circuit Upholds Professional's Pre-Approved Fixed Fee Award
February 19, 2009
Financial advisers, investment bankers, lawyers and other professionals in reorganization cases will be happy with a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit handed down on Jan. 6, 2009: <i>In re Smart World Technologies, LLC.</i>
Delaware Bankruptcy Court Denies Multi-Party Setoff
February 19, 2009
<i>In re SemCrude, L.P.</i> is a departure from the long-standing assumption that a multi-party netting agreement among affiliates would be upheld in bankruptcy if enforceable under applicable non-bankruptcy law. This article provides an analysis of the decision, the procedural status and its potential impact, and recommendations for minimizing the potential negative implications.
