by Dr. Martin Imhof The District Court of Frankfurt has recently issued a crucial decision in which the court casted reasonable doubt on the effectiveness of the notarization of an assignment or a pledging of shares in a German limited liability company (GmbH) by a Swiss notary ...
CONTENTS *Major Reform to Quebec Corporate Law *Contesting Property Assessment *Basic Notions About Foreign Workers or Business Immigration 101 On October 7, 2009, the Minister of Finance of Quebec tabled Bill 63 entitled the Business Corporations Act (the “Bill”). The Bill was assented to on December 4, 2009 by the National Assembly and will come into force some time in 2011 ...
Academics are often called to give evidence as expert witnesses and use the name of their employer institution in doing so. Indeed, an association with a well-known tertiary institution is often a drawcard when selecting an expert witness. As the discussion below demonstrates, an expert's role is not necessarily straightforward ...
Once again, Congress has extended the period during which an individual must be involuntarily terminated (as defined for purposes of the COBRA subsidy, an “Invol Term”) to be eligible for the COBRA subsidy. Invol Terms occurring through March 31, 2010 will be eligible for the COBRA subsidy. This change is effective retroactively, so that those persons with an Invol Term on March 1, 2010 are still eligible for the COBRA Subsidy ...
Dear Sirs, We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Ministry for Economic Development of the Russian Federation has drafted the Federal law “On amending the Civil Ñode of the Russian Federation, the Federal law “On joint stock companies” and some other legal acts of the Russian Federation” (hereafter – “the Draft law”) ...
The Texas Business Organizations Code (the “TBOC”) – enacted in 2003 and generally effective January 1, 2006 – combined the laws found in a number of Texas statutes (including the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act and the Texas Unincorporated Non-Profit Association Act), standardized filing requirements and fees for Texas entities, made other substantive changes, and implemented new terminology ...
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The decision by an employer to off er a pension plan to its employees is an important one. Various types of pension plans may be off ered, and the financial risk of the employer depends on the type of plan chosen.While unions and employees generally prefer defined benefit pension plans,(1) employers are now very reluctant to implement such plans because of the financial liability they entail ...
By Armen Khachaturyan, Senior Partner and Iryna Pokanay, Partner at Asters2009 was a difficult year for Ukrainian capital markets. The Global Recession badly affected the real sector of Ukrainian economy and practically froze activities on raising debt or equity capital. The doors of international debt and equity capital markets remained closed for Ukrainian borrowers throughout the year. Raising debt on the domestic market proved to be not less difficult ...
By Oleksandr I. Vygovskyy, Associate with AstersThe world financial crisis seriously affecting the Ukrainian economy became an "endurance test" for a greater part of Ukrainian companies at various sectors of national economy. Outstanding corporate debts are menacingly zooming up, and many companies, unable to service their debt burden, appeared next door to bankruptcy ...
Since the start of 2009, there have been material changes to the form and content of periodic reports and proxy statements. This memorandum outlines the changes in the federal securities laws and New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) rules since January 2009 that impact the form and content of 2009 Forms 10-K and 2010 proxy statements for domestic issuers subject to Regulation S-K.Topics included in the guide are as follows: I ...
The increased scrutiny on company directors means there is an onus on them to be aware of their roles and responsibilities. As the recent Residence receivership case showed, company directors are facing greater scrutiny than ever by the courts. While many cases arise because of personal borrowings or guarantees, many relate to whether a director has acted honestly and responsibly as a director ...
By Igor Svechkar, Partner with AstersLatest Developments Despite great expectations, 2009 has not seen any major legislative developments, the most noticeable changes relating to unfair competition regulation – in early 2009 the restatement of the Unfair Competition Act 1996 took effect to exclude a number of rudiments and bring the law into procedural conformity with the Competition Act 2001 ...
On January 19, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its annual adjustment to the pre-merger notification filing thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR), and for the first time in history, the HSR thresholds were decreased. The new thresholds became effective February 22, 2010 ...
When a governmental entity believes that information requested from it under the Texas Public Information Act (“PIA”) is exempt from disclosure, the PIA requires the entity to request an attorney general’s opinion within 10 business days after receiving the request. However, the PIA also allows the governmental entity to ask the requestor to clarify a request it finds to be unclear ...
On January 1, 2010, the Texas Business Organizations Code (“TBOC”) became applicable to all Texas entities and foreign entities required to register to do business in Texas ...
A landmark High Court decision handed down yesterday will have a significant impact on how regulators approach prosecutions of employers for breaches of occupational health and safety laws (OHS laws) across Australia ...
As the tax-exempt environment continues to become increasingly complex and focused on compliance and governance, it becomes more important to be aware of issues significant to the IRS. We have highlighted below a few of the issues on the IRS’ radar for 2010. Employment Tax Examinations ...
Over the past decade, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has set a high bar for securities fraud class action plaintiffs, denying class certification in a number of cases. But in light of the financial crisis and language in recent Fifth Circuit decisions, some may have thought that the tide might be turning. On February 12, 2010, the Fifth Circuit dispelled that notion in The Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund v. Halliburton ...
The Pay Equity Act (hereinafter the “Act”) celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006. To mark the occasion, the Commission de l’équité salariale took stock of what had been achieved. After completing this analysis, on May 27, 2009, the National Assembly passed Bill 25, which made several amendments to the Act. These amendments came into force on May 28, 2009 ...
The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (the "Act") received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. Among other things it introduces a new statutory right for employees to request time off from work to study or train. From 6 April 2010 the new right only applies to employers with 250 or more employees. It is expected to apply to all other employers from 6 April 2011 ...
In light of recent case law on who properly qualifies as the employer of employees hired through an employment agency, it is essential for every organization to review its operating procedures to be sure of their legal and financial implications. This review, which we perform on behalf of managers of facilities in the heath-care industry, is effective in ensuring the sound management of the organization and preventing litigation ...
Some unexpected changes have highlighted the introduction of new employee share scheme legislation, which received Royal Assent on 14 December 2009. Companies will need to give the legislation close consideration given the impact it will have on employee equity plans, particularly the drafting of plan rules and offer documents ...
On January 21, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the restrictions on corporate expenditures encompassed in the Bi-Partisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (commonly known as the McCain-Feingold Act). The 5-4 opinion found the Act’s prohibition on the use of general treasury funds by corporations or unions to directly advocate the election or defeat of candidates or to broadcast electioneering communications ran afoul of the First Amendment’s established protections of free speech ...
In a decision that is not surprising, but that should be welcomed by lenders (but perhaps not by borrowers), the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court held in Amcan Holdings, Inc., et al. vs. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, et al., Case No. 603393/07, that a detailed, executed term sheet was not a binding contract to lend. Amcan sought financing from CIBC to finance an acquisition and refinance certain existing debt ...
