As a part of sweeping corporate governance reforms mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC adopted ethical rules for attorneys who represent public companies and their nonpublic subsidiaries. The SEC rules make it clear that “attorneys can’t get a pass” from participating in corporate wrongdoing and attempt to hold attorneys accountable much like accountants and bankers have been for their roles in corporate financial scandals ...
Common Evidence Problems Discovery for a New Millennium Computer usage now pervades all elements of society. Most businesses and many individuals conduct a significant percentage of communications through electronic media. E-mail, facilitated by the Internet, has become the dominate form of inter-office and intra-office communication. Businesses are also managed in a wide variety of electronic formats, including spreadsheet programs, databases and computer aided design tools ...
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued Revenue Ruling 2002-83 dealing with like-kind exchanges between related parties and unrelated qualified intermediaries ...
First the auditors, then the bankers and now the lawyers. Many have questioned the role of lawyers in recent corporate scandals and expressed the view that lawyers should not be allowed to be bystanders and perhaps even facilitate (whether or not knowingly) corporate wrongdoings ...
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in July 2002 in response to several corporate financial and disclosure scandals. Section 307 of the Act directs the SEC to “issue rules, in the public interest and for the protection of investors, setting forth minimum standards of professional conduct for attorneys appearing and practicing before the Commission ...
Department of Justice/Immigration and Naturalization Service: * INS has temporarily lowered its filing fees for certain petitions/applications. The fee change is due to a provision of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 requiring the elimination of a surcharge the INS previously attached in order to fund asylum and refugee services, fee exemptions and fee waivers ...
Annual International Business Law Institute, International Law Section, Dallas Bar Association A Powerpoint presentation covering the following: Introduction Political Developments Legal Developments Mexican Energy Issues Tax Developments Conclusion
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps of Engineers recently issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the definition of “waters of the United States,” which was published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2003. EPA and the Corps will be accepting comments that the agencies will use in developing rules clarifying what waters are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act ...
Presentation to the National Investor Relations Institute A Powerpoint presentation covering the following: Impact of SEC Rules Adopted in January 2003 Disclosure Controls and Disclosure Committees Accelerated Filings Real Time Disclosures Certifications M D & A News Releases Update on Regulation FD and Investor Relations Issues Enforcement of Reg ...
On January 23, 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published new rules under Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that will require public companies to disclose whether they have at least one “audit committee financial expert” serving on their audit committees. This Client Alert does not cover the rules recently adopted under Section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that apply to registered investment companies ...
SEC Adopts New Rules Governing Disclosure of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Amendments to Form 8-K Relating to Earnings Releases and Other Financial Disclosures
On Wednesday, January 15, 2003, the SEC adopted rules implementing Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”). The SEC’s new rules under the Act require public companies to disclose in each annual report on Form 10-K (U.S. companies), Form 40-F (Canadian companies) or Form 20-F (non-U.S ...
Introduction Copyrights are defined in the Copyright Act as “Original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device ...
Today – more than ever – corporate management is under attack. In the wake of the Enron debacle, corporate decisions are more carefully scrutinized, and the conduct of the company’s directors and officers are now constantly under the watchful eyes of investors, creditors, and government regulators ...
Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council This outline looks at the privacy regulations as modified by the August 14, 2002, final modifications and how they apply to group health plans. This outline also considers the impact of the guidance issued by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services on December 4, 2002 ...
Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council The following chart attempts to summarize some of the types of group health plans and which of the HIPAA privacy notice and administrative requirements apply to the plan. No one should rely on this as legal advice. In every situation, the application of the rules requires careful analysis of one's own counsel who is familiar with your particular situation ...
I. Why now? The rapidly increasing cost of health care, with the resulting increase in the cost of employer-provided health benefit plans, has caused employers to search for ways to contain their health plan expenses. Rising costs, along with general employee dissatisfaction with the lack of choice of health care providers under many plans and the perceived lack of quality within many of the networks available to employees, has created an environment ripe for new ideas ...
When Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) was first adopted over two years ago, there was widespread concern that it would have a chilling effect on the disclosure practices of public companies. On November 25, 2002, public companies received their first glimpse of the SEC’s enforcement policies with respect to Regulation FD when the SEC announced the first three enforcement actions under Regulation FD and issued an additional report of investigation relating to Regulation FD ...
Department of Justice/Immigration and Naturalization Service: * DOJ is implementing the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) to enable the government to track the approximately 35 million non-immigrants who enter the U.S. each year. As part of NSEERS, certain non-immigrants will continue to register at a port-of-entry upon admission to the U.S. Other non-immigrants who were admitted to the U.S ...
Reprinted with permission of Texas Lawyer
"This [provision of the Sarbanes Oxley Act] is about making sure those lawyers. . . don’t violate the law and, in fact, more importantly, ensure that the law is being followed." -- Senator John Edwards, July 10, 2002 On November 21, 2002, the SEC proposed a new Rule 205 entitled “Standards of Professional Conduct for Attorneys Appearing and Practicing Before the Commission in the Representation of an Issuer” (the “Standards”) ...
The Internal Revenue Service previously announced that in order for qualified retirement plans to be in compliance with the requirements of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRRA”), those plans must make the necessary good faith amendments by the later of (i) the last day of the plan year in which the EGTRRA changes apply, or (ii) the end of the GUST remedial amendment period for the plan. For most plans, the EGTRRA changes apply for the 2002 plan year ...
Homeland Security Act of 2002: * On November 25, 2002, President Bush signed the “Homeland Security Act of 2002” into law, which establishes the Department of Homeland Security and includes provisions which may significantly alter the visa issuance process at U.S. Consulate/Embassy posts and adjudication of INS petitions. We will continue to provide updates as information becomes available. Department of State: * DOS issued a Worldwide Caution on November 20 reminding the country that U.S ...
IBA International Business and Energy Law Conference, Nov. 14, 2002 A presentation outline covering the following topics: The Aftermath of the Enron Scandal - - - Negative Impact on the Capital Markets. The Regulatory Response to Restore Public Confidence. Overview of the Five Primary Goals of the Regulatory Response. The Changing Duties and Responsibilities of Corporate Board Members Under the Post-Enron Regulatory Scheme ...
Houston American Corporate Counsel Association Chapter, November 8, 2002, Houston, Texas
