Member News

Orrick | Largest Ever Annual Adjustment to the HSR Premerger Notification Thresholds Announced

Takeaways The new minimum HSR “Size of Transaction” threshold is increasing from $92 million to $101 million. New thresholds apply to transactions closing on or after February 23, 2022. This $9 million increase is the largest ever annual adjustment to the minimum HSR “Size of Transaction” threshold. Failure to file may result in a fine of up to $46,517 per day of non-compliance. The HSR Act casts a wide net, catching mergers and acquisitions, minority stock positions (including compensation...

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Member News

Thompson Hine | FTC Announces Increases to HSR Filing Thresholds for 2022

Key Notes: The HSR size-of-transaction threshold will increase from $92 million to $101 million. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Friday that the jurisdictional thresholds for filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act will increase in 2022, including an increase of nearly 10% in the size-of-transaction threshold from $92 million to $101 million. As required by statute, the FTC adjusts the HSR thresholds annually based on the change in gross national product. The HSR thresholds decreased in 2021—a rare...

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Chapter News

UN-EU strategic partnership on peace operations and crisis management: EU Council conclusions on priorities for 2022-2024

The Council approved conclusions today endorsing the new priorities for the 2022-2024 period under the UN-EU strategic partnership on peace operations and crisis management. The Council reiterates the firm commitment made by the EU and its member states to uphold the multilateral rules-based global order with the United Nations at its core, and it commends the achievements and recognises the mutually beneficial nature of the longstanding UN-EU cooperation on peacekeeping and civilian, police and military crisis management. The Council welcomes...

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COVID-19 News, Member News

MPC Consultants | Covid 19: Where are we now & what have we learned: A look back

If we’ve learned one thing over the past 2 years, it’s that the only predictable thing is that this pandemic is unpredictable. Viruses mutate in nature constantly. Most mutations do not amount to anything significant, but given time and endless probabilities, an occasional mutation will make a virus different enough that it might escape a body’s natural immunity or the immunity conferred by vaccinations. The virus might be more easily transmissible or more virulent or both. The Omicron variant was...

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Member News

CEA Legal | Industry and Legal Trends to Watch in 2022

2022 is here, and hopefully, it will be remembered as the year we put an end to Covid-19. Several industries are poised to complete the economic rebound or even boom. These are sectors that we at Cea Legal will be following closely: Blockchain, blockchain, blockchain! 2021 was an amazing year for the blockchain industry, as the business world better understood that the magnitude of this technology is much bigger than the pioneer, Bitcoin. Since the iconic sale of Beeple digital art...

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Chapter News

NextGenerationEU: European Commission disburses €271 million in pre-financing to Finland

The European Commission has today disbursed €271 million to Finland in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The pre-financing payment will help kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Finland's recovery and resilience plan. The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Finland's recovery and resilience plan. The country is set to receive €2.1 billion in...

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Chapter News, Trade & TTIP Related

EU challenges Russian export restrictions on wood at WTO

Today, the EU is requesting consultations with Russia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning export restrictions placed by Russia on wood products. The export restrictions consist of significantly increased export duties on certain wood products and a drastic reduction in the number of border crossing points through which exports of wood products can take place. The Russian restrictions are highly detrimental to the EU wood processing industry, which relies on exports from Russia, and create significant uncertainty on the...

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Member News

Vulcan Insight | Cryptoeconomy facing increasing regulatory hurdles

On Thursday the Russian Central Bank proposed a ban on the use and mining of cryptocurrencies in a bid to stave off increasing financial instability and safeguard monetary policy dominance. This comes just days after the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK announced it will be cracking down on the use of promotional ads and marketing strategies by cryptocurrency traders, fearing that consumers are being misled into undertaking risky investments they do not understand. This follows a move in December 2021...

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Member News

Steptoe | The US Strategy on Countering Corruption: Implications for Businesses

In December 2021, the White House issued the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (the Strategy). The Strategy was issued pursuant to a June 3, 2021 National Security Study Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest (the NSSM). Although the issue of corruption has been linked to national security in the past, the NSSM's pronouncement that the fight against corruption represents a "core" national security interest, and the investing of responsibility for...

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Member News

Troutman Pepper | More Privacy, Please – January 2022

There was no respite in privacy and cyber law in December 2021, despite the holidays and COVID-19 case surge. Domestically, U.S. regulators stepped up their efforts, signaling their focus on privacy policies (FTC) and security incident notification (federal banking agencies); meanwhile Democratic senators urged the CFPB to take a more proactive stance with consumer reporting agencies. In U.S. litigation, Illinois' biometric statute (BIPA) continued to take center stage, as did FTC settlements with companies accused of deceptive practices related...

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