Treatise Update: Hedge Fund Regulation

Covering on the of most dynamic and rapidly changing sectors of the asset management industry, Hedge Fund Regulation (Second Edition) is designed to provide comprehensive understanding of hedge funds. It provides a single source that examines all aspects of these innovative investment vehicles and addresses current regulatory concerns that impact hedge funds, their managers and investors. Hedge Fund Regulation is updated regularly by its author to keep current with regulatory and enforcement developments. The latest release addresses current issues in structuring, launching, and operating a hedge fund.

Highlights of Release #13 include:
• Chapter 9, Privacy Regulations. Revises discussion on the management of cybersecurity risks by commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors to reflect recent updated guidance from the National Futures Association. See section 9:6.2.
• Chapter 14, Books and Records. Discussion of recent SEC Risk Alert highlighting practices that can assist an investment adviser in meeting its obligations under the SEC’s Books and Records Rule and Compliance Rule with respect to the increasing use of electronic communications. See section 14:2.
• Chapter 18, Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisers. New section 18:5.2, Internal Controls System, covering the NFA requirement for commodity pool operators to implement an internal controls system designed to protect operators to implement an internal controls system designed to protect customer funds, maintain accurate financial books and records, and assure compliance with NFA and CFTC requirements.
• Chapter 23, Broker-Dealer Status and Relationships. Revised section 23:4, Best Execution, to include discussion of recently adopted revisions to Exchange Act Rules 600 and 606 regarding broker-dealer disclosure obligations on their handling of institutional orders and its implications for investment adviser best execution analysis.
• Chapter 24, Disclosures of Market Participation. Revisions to discussion of Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act) compliance, including updated HSR Act thresholds. See section 24:7.

This treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

Practice Area Webinars – Summer Schedule

Sign up today for PLI’s monthly webinar series on PLI PLUS for law school librarians. Each monthly webinar will cover a different practice area; while also demonstrating the overall functionality of the research database.

These webinars are meant to be a convenient way to learn more about PLI content in an area of the law. Each webinar will start with an overview of relevant PLI resources to be followed by research scenarios. Attendees are welcome to submit their own research questions and scenarios up to one week prior to the webinar.

If you are interested in participating, please send an RSVP to PLUS@pli.edu.

Upcoming webinars:

MAY: Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 2:00pm ET: Immigration Law

JUNE: Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 2:00pm ET: Real Estate Law

JULY: Wednesday, July 31, 2019, 2:00pm ET: Tax Law

AUGUST: Wednesday, August 28, 2019, 2:00pm ET Corporate Law

What’s New For May

We add content to PLI PLUS every month to ensure our subscribers have access to the most up-to-date and relevant secondary source legal documents. Renowned legal experts regularly update our acclaimed Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books, Transcripts, and Forms to reflect recent changes and developments in the law.

Click here to see what we added in May!

Updated Treatise: Holtzchue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings

Holtzchue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings: A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate (Third Edition) provides thorough legal, technical, strategic guidance to help implement dispute-free residential and commercial deals more quickly and easily. Featuring checklists, highlighted practice tips, and dozens of useful forms, this treatise is a valuable step-by-step “how to” guide that ensures practitioners can successfully prepare for a sale or purchase of real estate.

Release #21 includes new and updated cases and other authority throughout the text, including in the following important areas:

Attorney Malpractice: New section collects malpractice cases (see Front Matter at “Ethics and Professional Responsibility,” section [10]).
Purchase Money Note and Mortgage: Recent cases on installment land sale contracts (see section 2:2.5[B]).
Acceptable Title and Title Insurance: Where the N.Y. Appellate Division reversed annulment of Insurance Regulation 208, which prohibited title insurance corporations and title agents from providing any marketing payments or entertainments to attorneys, but affirmed annulment of regulations on closer fees and ancillary fee caps.
Closing Date and Place: Recent cases where the contract expressly states that time is of the essence (see section 2:2.9).
Condition of Premises and Caveat Emptor: Recent cases on affirmative representation on mold and Property Condition Disclosure Statement regarding water damage (see section 2:2.11[A][2]).
Remedies for Breach or Failure to Close: Recent cases on breaches by seller and specific performance (see section 2:2.17[A],[A][3]).
NYSBA Ethics Opinions: NYSBA Ethics Opinion 1161, opining that when a lawyer prepares a contract of sale, the lawyer may not disclose the contract to the broker who requested a copy without the client’s informed consent (see section 1:1.2).

This treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

Employment Law Yearbook 2019 Edition

Each edition of Employment Law Yearbook provides a comprehensive overview of the most important developments in employment law over the past year, including critical case decisions, legislative changes, government agency actions, and other events of interest to employers, employment and HR professionals, corporate attorneys, and employee advocates. Employment Law Yearbook 2019 details and analyzes recent legal developments, including:

California test for determining independent contractor status: The California Supreme Court has adopted a new test—the “ABC test”—to determine whether workers are to be classified as employees or independent contractors. Under this test, articulated in Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court, workers are presumptively considered employees, but the employer may demonstrate a worker is more appropriately classified as an independent contractor if it proves all of several articulated factors. Chapter 1, Wage-and-Hour Issues, section 1:2.3[A], Independent Contractors.
Transgender discrimination: The Sixth Circuit, in EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc., became the first federal appellate court to hold that discrimination based on an employee’s transgender status is sex discrimination under Title VII. A group of sixteen states has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the decision, but the Court has not yet decided whether to take up the case. Chapter 3, Gender and Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Sexual Harassment, section 3:2.2, Sexual Orientation and Gender Stereotyping.
Noncompete agreements: In August 2018, Massachusetts enacted a law that places limitations on noncompete agreements entered into on or after October 1, 2018. The law also adopts the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Chapter 9, Guarding Trade Secrets, Section 9:3.1, Background.
New standard for evaluating facially neutral policies: In Boeing Co., the NLRB overturned the Lutheran Heritage “reasonably construe” standard and adopted a new balancing standard for evaluating facially neutral policies that potentially interfere with the exercise of section 7 rights. The NLRB delineated three categories of work rules based on the new standard. Chapter 11, Employee Blogging and Social Media, section 11:4.1[B][1], The New Standard of Reasonableness.

This treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

Last Chance – Law Day Sale Ends Today!

Law Day Sale!

Happy Law Day! To celebrate PLI is offering a 40% discount on all books priced over $100.

Social Media and the Law

Social Media and the Law examines the range of legal issues that can arise from the personal and professional use of social media, including concerns related to privacy, civil litigation, employment, criminal activity and prosecution, intellectual property, defamation, advertising, and regulated industries. Relevant legislation, cases, trends, and industry responses are included in the discussions.

The most recent update covers many developments that occurred in this field in the last year. For example:

In September 2018, Tesla CEO Elon Musk settled a dispute with the SEC regarding his allegedly misleading tweet about taking Tesla private at $420 per share. The settlement included Musk paying $40 million in penalties and stepping down as Chairman of Tesla (see Chapter 1. The Social Media Phenomenon and Chapter 7. Compliance Considerations for Regulated Industries).
Recent studies demonstrate increasing use of AI, big data, and data analytics by employers to source and screen candidates (see Chapter 6. Employment and Workplace Issues).
In June 2018, the NLRB General Counsel’s Office issued a new guidance memorandum on employee handbook rules, following the NLRB’s Boeing decision. In it, the General Counsel detailed the types of rules that might be implicated under Boeing (see Chapter 6. Employment and Workplace Issues).
In Kumho Tires, the NLRB found an employer’s social media policy lawful under Boeing where it was in place to maintain the confidentiality of the company’s trade secrets and private or confidential information (see Chapter 6. Employment and Workplace Issues).
In In re CSGOLotto, Inc., the FTC for the first time brought an action against individual influencers for failure to disclose their connections with the advertiser (see Chapter 8 Advertising).

This essential treatise is available on PLI PLUS. If you would like to order a print copy, please contact libraryrelations@pli.edu.

What’s New for April

Click here to see what we added in April!

National Library Week Sale – Last Day!