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On Monday December 19, 2011, the Department of Justice announced year-end results for False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases in fiscal year 2011. The results, summarized below, demonstrate a dramatic increase in FCA cases brought by the government and private whistleblowers. The pharmaceutical industry is the prime target at the moment, but companies with defense contracts, federal subsidies and loans, and government contracts more generally are on the enforcement radar ...
The role, and especially the liability, of corporate directors have evolved considerably over the last few decades. Obviously, the financial scandals of the 1990s are largely responsible for this change that began in the United Stated with the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 200, prompting Canadian authorities to follow suit with the adoption of more stringent securities regulations ...
TO REMEMBER •The establishment of good governance practices is useful if not essential for SMEs, their directors, shareholders and managers. •Good governance practices can protect directors against their risks of liability.•Governance must be adapted to the realities of SMEs* This adaptation is achieved by a combination of informal measures and a few formal measures ...
TO REMEMBER - The establishment of good governance practices is useful if not essential for SMEs, their directors, shareholders and managers. Good governance practices can protect directors against their risks of liability. Governance must be adapted to the realities of SMEs. This adaptation is achieved by a combination of informal measures and a few formal measures ...
The Regulations on Contracting the Provision of Foreign Technical Assistance and Management Services, as provided for in Presidential Decree 273/11 of 27 October (the “Decree”), were published recently. This legislation has great relevance, on the one hand, because it aims to cover contracts for the provision of services made with non-resident entities and, on the other hand, because it introduces a number of new obligations for the parties involved in these contracts ...
The Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale (the “Committee”) reported a 121 page bill governing horizontal wells that utilize 210,000 gallons of water or more per month or that involve surface disturbance of 3 acres or more. The final version of the bill was posted to the West Virginia Legislature’s website on November 18, 2011 (the “Bill”) ...
You are the general counsel of a public company and your company is entering into a transaction to be acquired by another company. Your board and your stockholders want you to make sure the transaction is consummated but they also want you to make sure the company gets the best deal for its stockholders. The acquiror is also going to demand a certain level of deal security ...
November 8, 2011- The Minister of Finance and Economic Development delivered his Budget Speech on the 4th of November 2011. The Budget aims at providing for innovative measures to support key economic sectors (such as ICT/BPO, Tourism, Financial Sector...) and new markets (renewable energies...). The Budget also provides for a National Resilience Plan to support the economy in a global economic downturn ...
The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently held that a complaint does not need to meet the heightened pleading standards for fraud claims in order to satisfy the first-to-file rule under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The first-to-file rule provides that, once a private plaintiff brings suit under the FCA, no one other than the government may intervene or bring a related suit “based on the facts underlying the pending action.” 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5) ...
On October 28, 2011, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued an opinion in the Chapter 15 case of Qimonda AG (“Qimonda”).1 The bankruptcy court held that the application of § 365(n) to executory licenses to U.S. patents was required to sufficiently protect the interests of U.S ...
Rejection of a contract in bankruptcy may not always accomplish a debtor’s goal to shed ongoing contractual obligations and liabilities, especially when dealing with employee benefit plans. On October 13, 2011, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals highlighted this issue in its opinion in Evans v. Sterling Chemicals, Inc ...
After a public consultation phase initiated at the end of 2010, the Portuguese Competition Authority (“PCA”) made available, at the end of July 2011, the final version of its “Guidelines on the Adoption of Remedies in the Control of Concentrations” (“Guidelines”). As clarified by the PCA, the Guidelines are “a set of de indications pertaining to the selection, design, execution and monitoring of remedies, within the procedure of previous control of concentrations between undertakings” ...
You’re the general counsel of a public company and you find out that one of your company’s stockholders intends to wage a proxy contest. Your board of directors and CEO are going to want some answers right away. How prepared are you and how do you respond? The average annual number of proxy contests has nearly doubled from 60 in 2001-2005 to 112 in 2006-2010. In 2009, activist shareholders were able to successfully gain board seats approximately 43 percent of the time ...
Although the currently effective Hungarian Civil Code does not name a call option as security, it does not prohibit the use of a call option as security either. The first question this raises, therefore, is whether Hungarian law permits the use of a call option as security? Naturally, this then creates more questions ...
President Obama recently sent to Congress proposed legislative language and analyses of his proposed deficit-reduction plan. Among the proposed legislative changes is a change to the formula used for calculating the cap on the amount that the federal government will reimburse federal contractors for executive compensation ...
As part of the implementation or reorganization of a business structure, the integration of a trust as a shareholder of an incorporated family business can prove to be an interesting tax and estate-planning tool. This holding vehicle is being used more and more in Quebec.INTEGRATING A TRUST AS A SHAREHOLDER OF YOUR FAMILY BUSINESSDIANA DARILUS ddarilus@lavery ...
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has finalized two rules to authorize swaps (other than options) in agricultural commodities which will (i) correct existing inconsistencies, bring the regulation of agricultural swaps in line with the regulation of all other swaps under the CFTC’s jurisdiction1, and clarify that agricultural swaps may be listed or traded on swap execution facilities or designated contract markets, and (ii) provide a definition for regulatory purposes of
This paper reviews judgments dealing with contract law issues relevant to commercial lawyers and business leaders. This paper also considers private international law conventions and treaties that are en route to domestic implementation, and are therefore relevant to commercial practice ...
On September 13, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) unanimously approved a final rule implementing Section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Rule”) ...
The long anticipated America Invents Act (the “Act”) was signed into law today. However, given that certain provisions of the Act are now in effect while others do not come online until March 16, 2013, innovating companies and individuals should consider the impact and timing of those provisions on their overall patent strategy. Below is a link to some practice pointers and strategic tips you may want to consider when operating under the Act ...
The Ministry of Health recently issued Minister of Health Regulation No. 1148/Menkes/Per/VI/2011 on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, which replaces and repeals two earlier decrees. The new regulation is aimed at protecting the public from dangerous drugs and drugs materials as well as improving previous regulations on pharmaceutical drugs ...
Adopting a related party transactions policy, with supporting protocols and procedures, will help to identify and deal with related party transactions within the corporation. Ultimately, this will reduce the risk of breaching the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or ASX Listing Rules (if relevant) and will protect shareholders' interests ...
