Category Archives: Corporate & Securities

New Edition! Corporate Political Activities Deskbook (2022 Edition)

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Corporate Political Activities Deskbook.

The Deskbook serves as a practical manual for attorneys who advise corporations about involvement in the political process. It provides a thorough grounding in the law of federal and state campaign finance, pay-to-play, lobbying, and gift compliance, along with examples of best practices that can help corporations successfully interact with United States federal, state, and local governments and officials.

The new edition reflects the most current state of the law and includes, for easy reference, updated charts on state and local pay-to-play rules, federal and state lobby laws, and state contribution laws.

Among the developments discussed in the 2022 Edition are:

  • Foreign National Prohibition – Update added about the 2021 SEC ruling regarding whether the ban on foreign national involvement in the financing of any U.S. election extends to include spending relative to ballot initiatives (see Section 1:2.2).
  • FARA Rulemaking – A new section calls attention to the DOJ’s December 2021 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking which solicited comments relevant to an anticipated comprehensive update on the implementing regulations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) (see Section 7:5).
  • Jurisdictions with Pay-to-Play Rules –A revised table of jurisdictions with pay-to-play rules includes additional cities in Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas (see Section 5:2, Table 5-1).

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New Title!  Sports Law: A Practical Guide to Protecting the Interests of Athletes

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new treatise Sports Law: A Practical Guide to Protecting the Interests of Athletes.

The book provides lawyers, player agents, marketing agents, financial advisors, and other members of athletes’ management and advisory teams with the tools and understanding they need to protect their clients’ interests before, during, and after the athletes’ professional playing careers.  It offers a first-hand, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the unique complexities athletes face in their careers and daily lives. Packed with practice tips, sample documents and agreements, and unique insights, Sports Law is an essential resource for anyone who counsels or represents athletes, as well as for athletes themselves.

Notably, the book offers guidance on:

  • Athlete representative and advisor selection, management, and agreements (see Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)
  • Financial and estate planning for athletes (see Chapter 8)
  • Name, image, and likeness (NIL) and other intellectual property considerations (see Chapters 10 and 11)
  • Athlete-nonprofit partnerships, business deals, and public appearances (see Chapters 9 and 12)
  • Athlete privacy (see Chapter 14)
  • E-sports (see Chapter 15)

The treatise also contains sample marketing and endorsement agreements and discusses topics such as race and sports, athlete decision-making, and athlete identity foreclosure (see the Table of Contents).

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New Edition! Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana: Cannabis, Hemp and CBD Regulation (2022 Edition)

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana.

Updated annually, the book is a unique resource offering critical guidance on a wide range of interrelated topics for lawyers who represent clients in the fast-growing legal cannabis industry.  It sorts through the complex and varying state regulation of medical and non-medical marijuana with an appendix providing the latest key state legislation (see Chapter 3 and Appendix C). 

It also looks into the various aspects of establishing and managing a marijuana enterprise, including the growing, licensing, labeling, transporting, and distribution of marijuana and related products (see Chapters 7, 10, 11, 13, and 15).  In addition, the guide addresses federal law, enforcement, and preemption and their implications for employment, taxes, and banking (see Chapters 8 and 9). 

For lawyers new to representing cannabis clients, the authors provide an understanding of the definitions of marijuana and other cannabis products, as well as a review of the policy and political issues that have led to the controversy and uncertainty of the current environment (see the Table of Contents).

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New Edition! Social Media and the Law

Book Cover Image

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Social Media and the Law.

This book can help to minimize the risk of litigation and other legal problems arising from the use of social media platforms by analyzing it in various legal contexts, including privacy, civil litigation, employment, criminal activity and prosecution, intellectual property, defamation, advertising, and regulated industries. Relevant legislation, court opinions, usage trends, and industry responses are discussed. 

Notable developments covered in the new edition are:

  • Use of technology by Human Resources departments (Chapter 6):  Recent statistics on the growing use of AI, big data, and data analytics in employment recruitment are discussed.
  • Deceptive practices (Chapter 8):  A new section discusses two self-regulatory programs operated by the Better Business Bureau that are of relevance to social media advertising: the National Advertising Division and the Children’s Advertising Review Unit, the latter of which issued revised guidelines that became effective on January 1, 2022.
  • Required disclosures in advertising (Chapter 8): In October 2021, the FTC began sending a series of Notices of Penalty Offenses to large numbers of businesses following an April 2021 Supreme Court decision that stripped the FTC of its authority to obtain monetary redress without first engaging in administrative proceedings.
  • Privacy of victims of crime (Chapter 9): A new section discusses the privacy and ethical issues arising from the provision of social media information about victims of crime.

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Treatise Update – International Corporate Practice: A Practitioner’s Guide to Global Success

International Corporate Practice provides guidance on building a comprehensive global legal department, including advice on structuring, staffing, and budgeting, as well as the use of foreign legal consultants and outsourcing. It also includes helpful case studies, checklists, and sample documents.

This release features new material designed to enable lawyers, whether in-house or outside counsel, to operate efficiently on the global stage. Topics discussed include the following:

  • International attorney-client privilege: New sections discuss the privilege in Bulgaria (§ 2:2.4), India (§ 2:2.12), and Ireland (§ 2:2.13).
  • Outsourcing and e-discovery: A discussion of the impact of using predictive coding and artificial intelligence in reviewing electronically stored information is included in § 5:1.6.
  • International corporate compliance: Revisions to chapter 6 take note of three actions that the Department of Justice took in 2021 to strengthen its response to corporate crime (see § 6:4).
  • International litigation and discovery: Chapter 10 has been updated with a discussion of obtaining discovery in the United States for use in a foreign tribunal under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (see § 10:7.1).
  • International labor and employment law: The updates in Chapter 21 include analysis of the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, which sets minimum standards for protections that EU Member States must provide to whistleblowers (see § 21:4.7).
  • Data protection and privacy: A completely revised and reorganizedChapter 24 focuses on the EU General Data Privacy Regulation, which has set the standard for global data protection.
  • The Index has also been updated for this release.

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Treatise Update – Derivatives Deskbook: Close-Out Netting, Risk Mitigation, Litigation (Second Edition)

Derivatives Deskbook: Close-Out Netting, Risk Mitigation, Litigation is a comprehensive resource for all users of swap agreements and derivatives, from financial institutions to corporate end-users. The treatise defines the key terminology and identifies the major players, discusses the full range of required documentation, highlights best practices for the legal risk management of derivatives, and includes numerous practice-tested legal forms. Most importantly, it examines all significant, and often difficult-to-find, derivative transactions litigation cases from leading jurisdictions worldwide.

Highlights of this new release include:

  • Expanded section 1:1 explains the repercussions of the Texas energy crisis that occurred in February 2021, particularly with regard to how it relates to corporate end-users of derivative transactions.
  • Revised section 6:6.1 explores how additional termination events that are tied to the financial health of a counterparty could be specified conditions similar to having events of default as specified conditions.
  • Completely revised Chapter 9 examines the Dodd-Frank Act, EMIR, and MiFid II, and their implications on the OTC derivatives market in light of the 2020 revisions to Commodities Futures Trading Commission regulations.

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Treatise Update – Deskbook on Internal Investigations, Corporate Compliance, and White Collar Issues (Second Edition)

Deskbook on Internal Investigations, Corporate Compliance, and White Collar Issues is a vital reference for attorneys, executives, compliance officers, securities professionals, and regulators that examines the regulatory and criminal issues that can arise in a corporate setting. It offers guidance on how to build a comprehensive compliance program that can prevent legal missteps, carry out internal investigations to identify and remediate legal problems, protect the rights of employees when they are subject to investigation or prosecution, and cooperate with government investigators in ways that help reduce legal and financial damage if wrongdoing is proved.

All chapters are updated to reflect the most recent trends and specific high-profile DOJ investigations, settlements, and actions. Highlights of the new release include:

  • Filter Teams: A new section discusses the government’s use of “filter teams” to review seized records that may contain attorney-client privileged communications and/or work product. Courts have issued disparate opinions on whether the practice is proper (see § 2:8).
  • DPAs: A new section presents likely changes within the Biden administration regarding the use of DPAs based on activities and statements of President Biden, Attorney General Garland, and several other recent DOJ appointees (see § 9:3.3). Another new section discusses recent congressional activity pertaining to DPAs, specifically the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021 (see § 9:3.4).
  • Antitrust Investigations: New subsections discuss additional current ongoing Antitrust Division investigations: collusion in the broiler chicken industry as part of the Division’s larger interest in how conspiracy affects household staples (see § 12:4.3[B]); matters, both domestic and international, pursued by the DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (see § 12:4.3[C]); and labor market prosecutions involving agreements among employers that constrain the terms of hiring or employment in violation of the Sherman Act (see § 12:4.3[D]).

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Treatise Update – Directors’ and Officers’ Liability: Current Law, Recent Developments, Emerging Issues (Third Edition)

Directors’ and Officers’ Liability is a vital treatise for corporate counsel, private practitioners, and directors and officers which provides a straightforward explanation of the obligations of directors and officers of public companies, the penalties they face if they fail to meet their obligations, and the protections that are offered them under the law or by agreement. 

The book covers the key facets of board committees; the duties of directors and officers under state corporate law and federal and state securities laws; private civil actions and public enforcement; exculpation, indemnity, and insurance; cybersecurity; contested mergers and acquisitions; Securities Act suits filed in state court; special issues in pharma and biotech; and more.

Highlights of the new release include:

  • Gender and Ethnic Diversity of Boards. State legislatures, courts, proxy advisory firms, and stock exchanges have all recently weighed in on requiring boards to maintain certain levels of diversity. See §§ 1:10 and 2:3.3[C] for discussion of the latest developments.
  • Caremark Claims. Hughes v. Hu and Teamsters Local 443 Health Services & Insurance Plan v. John G. Chou are the latest in a string of recent decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery interpreting and applying Caremark. See §§ 3:3.14, 8:8.3, and 8:8.4 for detailed analysis.

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Treatise Update – Corporate Legal Departments: Practicing Law in a Corporation

Corporate Legal Departments: Practicing Law in a Corporation provides invaluable guidance on a wide range of responsibilities and dilemmas in-house attorneys face. It advises on matters such as detecting and preventing internal legal problems, developing corporate business plans, pursuing new business opportunities, using cost-effective litigation strategies, and managing corporate crises. Highlights from this release include:

Chapter 5 and Chapter 11

  • Legal risk assessment: The release discusses the importance of conducting a legal risk assessment and its value to the company’s strategic plan. See new § 5:4 and §11:7.3.

Chapter 16

  • Corporate governance: This update adds discussion about the importance of corporate sustainability and environmental, societal, and governance (ESG) initiatives. See § 16:2.4.

Appendix A

  • In-House Counsel’s Handbook: This release includes extensive updates to Appendix A, which is designed to help in-house lawyers understand pertinent points in key areas of their practice. The following are of note:
    • Employment Law is updated. See Appendix A2.
    • Environmental Law is updated. See Appendix A3.
    • Securities Laws is updated. See Appendix A4.
    • Whistleblower Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act is updated. See Appendix A5.
    • Intellectual Property in Marketing Communications is updated. See Appendix A10.
    • Privacy and Data Protection Law has been completely revised and updated. See Appendix A11.
    • Arbitration is updated. See Appendix A13.
    • Accounting for Nonaccountants is updated. See Appendix A16.
    • Immigration Law is updated. See Appendix A17.
    • Real Estate Leasing Transactions is updated. See Appendix A19.
    • In-House Counsel Pro Bono Programs is updated. See Appendix A20.

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Treatise Update – Investment Adviser Regulation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Compliance and the Law (Third Edition)

Investment Adviser Regulation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Compliance and the Law is an essential resource for investment advisers, securities attorneys, compliance personnel, and federal and state regulators, and a useful reference for today’s investors. It guides practitioners through a maze of statutory, SEC, and state standards as well as provides advice on the practical aspects of building a practice. 

This treatise update offers expanded coverage of the rules and regulations affecting investment advisers. Highlights of this new release include:

  • Chapter 9, Chapter 13, and Chapter 14 now present enhanced guidance on drafting advisory contracts and coverage of the SEC’s and DOL’s reexamination of recent rules related to proxy voting.  Notably, Chapter 14, Privacy of Client Financial Information: An Overview, has been extensively updated to examine the federal, state, and foreign data privacy laws that are most relevant to investment advisers operating primarily in the United States, and, according to these laws, what those advisers must do to protect the privacy of their clients’ financial information.
  • Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 46A, Chapter 48 and Chapter 49B feature the latest counsel to managers, sponsors, and overlay managers of Model-Based Advisory Programs; the recent adoption of Rule 152 that contains a single safe harbor simplifying the integration framework for securities offerings under the Securities Act of 1933 (see section 46:4.1[I] of the Hedge Funds chapter); and updated coverage of the implications of federal registration for a hedge fund manager (see section 46A:5).  These chapters provide updated information for advisers to private equity funds and collective trust funds and investment advisers in the retirement market.
  • Chapter 61, Chapter 63, Chapter 64, Chapter 65, Chapter 66, and Chapter 67 call attention to new information relevant to investment and digital advisers in the areas of marketing, blockchain and digital assets, data protection, and financial services cybersecurity. Additionally, a new Chapter 65 covers model risk considerations for investment advisers and Chapter 61 contains added discussion of the SEC’s redefinition of “readily available market quotations” as it is used throughout the Investment Company Act (see section 61:5).

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