Last week I attended a student expulsion hearing and it reminded me that now might be a good time to provide some tips to county boards of education on these hearings. As we all know,W. Va. Code 18A-5-1a andState Policy 4373 require that a student be afforded a hearing before the county board of education prior to being expelled. Specifically,W. Va ...
Following a tip, the Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently started investigating the business relationship between GR Sport and Polanik, a Polish company, concerning an alleged infringement of competition – the conclusion of a restrictive agreement which was not notified for prior exemption under the applicable legal framework ...
The California Legislature is considering legislation that would, if enacted, prohibit public agencies that form a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) from contracting out of liability for the JPA's pension obligations. Backed by CalPERS, AB 1912 was introduced early this year partly in response to drastic CalPERS pension cuts for former employees of LA Works, a dissolved job-training JPA ...
The political dispute between Qatar and its neighbors escalated with the announcement by Qatar that it would impose a ban on goods from the four boycotting countries, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt. As we reported earlier, these four countries imposed a trade embargo on Qatar. The measures that were introduced prohibited the direct shipment of goods and the direct transport of passengers to or from Qatar and closed the land border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia ...
Not long after President Trump announced that the U.S. would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Department of Commerce launched an investigation that may lead to additional duties on imported vehicles and automotive parts. Effective, the Department will now examine whether imports of vehicles and auto parts threaten U.S. national security ...
With Administrator Scott Pruitt at its helm, cooperative federalism is the frequently recited principle underlying recent EPA enforcement efforts. As the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory oversight in areas like the Clean Water Act is delegated to the states, the agency is relying more upon state and local authorities to enforce the laws. There are shortcomings associated with this approach, which were raised in the recent U.S ...
The Legal 500 & The In-House LawyerComparative Legal GuidePhilippines: Mergers & Acquisitions Country Author: Franco Aristotle G. Larcina, Partner, SyCip SalazarHernandez & Gatmaitan 1. What are the key rules/laws relevant to M&A and who are the key regulatory authorities? M&A activity is governed primarily by the Corporation Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 68) ...
A common question we receive from school systems relates to whether certain employees (both service personnel and professional personnel) recapture their seniority if there has been a break in their employment with the school system but they later return to employment. Often a break in employment is the result of a voluntary break or unfortunately a reduction in force ...
On April 24, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced its first enforcement action against a public company for failing to disclose a data breach. In a settled cease-and-desist order, the SEC imposed a $35 million civil penalty against Altaba Inc., formerly known as Yahoo! Inc ...
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Theresa May said the government wanted to, “secure broad energy cooperation with the EU”, including by, “exploring options for the UK’s continued participation in the EU’s internal energy market” ...
Earlier this year, Mexico´s Senate approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP"). The CPTPP will enter into force once six of its members ratify the Treaty pursuant to their internal legal procedures. Mexico is the first member to ratify the Treaty ...
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in United States ex rel. Hunt v. Cochise Consultancy, Inc., has further complicated the answer to what should be a simple question: What is the statute of limitations in qui tam action when the government declines to intervene? There are currently three different answers to that seemingly simple question depending on the forum in which a case is filed ...
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) released a Risk Alert covering the most frequent advisory fee and expense compliance issues identified in over 1,500 deficiency letters sent to registered investment advisers during the past two years. The alert highlighted six categories of compliance risks frequently observed by the OCIE ...
An increased number of corporate transactions and mergers have been observed in the oil and gas sector on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in recent years. Several oil majors and traditional utilities and downstream companies have reduced their presence and, to some extent, been replaced by smaller companies, including start-ups backed by private equity ...
Philippines Franco Aristotle G. Larcina and Arlene M. Maneja SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan Antitrust Law 1. What are the legal sources that set out the antitrust law applicable to vertical restraints? The key statute is Republic Act No. 10667, otherwise known as the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), which was enacted on 21 July 2015 and which became effective on 8 August 2015 ...
Guatemalan respected Judge Erika Aifan issues a historical ruling in a criminal case brought against construction companies. A plea bargain was reached under an abreviated process allowed under Guatemala´s Criminal Law where senior executives for the companies accepted making facilitation payments to the ex-Minister of Construction in order to accelerate backed payments owed for previous construction deals ...
Increase in merger and acquisition deals notified in Ireland In recent months there has been 27 merger deals notified to Ireland's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ("CCPC") which is up 42% from the 19 notifications as of the same date last year.This increase is following a pattern of sustained increases, for example, there had been 72 notifications across the whole of 2017 which was an increase on 2016's total of 67 ...
As with every year, the 2018 legislative session will impact education in West Virginia in a variety of ways. Today, we want to bring to your attention two bills that will make minor – but important – changes in the way schools operate, both of which were signed by the governor last week. The first is Senate Bill 244, related to possession of deadly weapons on school grounds or at school activities ...
As of recently, state aid control is a part of theMontenegrin Competition Agency's (the "Agency") scope of authority ...
Amendments to Zimbabwe’s controversial Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, Chapter 14:33 (the “Act”), were gazetted on 14 March 2018. These far-reaching changes, first announced in the 2018 Budget in December 2017, should pave the way for foreign investors wishing to establish operations in the country and boost the economy ...
It is one year since the United Kingdom (UK) triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (EU) by notifying the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU. This means that we are now half way through the two year negotiation period during which the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU are due to be concluded ...
The Changwon District Court in South Korea has this afternoon (23 March 2018) issued a comprehensive prohibition order (CPO) following the application of Sungdong Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd (Sungdong) to enter Chapter 11 Rehabilitation filed earlier this month ...
It is one year since the United Kingdom (UK) triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (EU) by notifying the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU. This means that we are now half way through the two year negotiation period during which the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU are due to be concluded ...