Member News, News

Making Sense of the Complex Patchwork Created by Nearly One Dozen New Social Media Password Protection Laws

The legislative torrent has been virtually unprecedented in the area of workplace privacy.  In a single season, spring 2013, seven states enacted social media password protection legislation, bringing the total number of states to 11 since Maryland enacted the first such law in May 2012.  Bills are pending in more than 20 other states.  The current roster of states, dominated by the Rocky Mountain Region and the Far West, is as follows:  Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada,...

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Member News, News

Workplace Policy Institute: Agencies Release Spring 2013 Regulatory Agendas; Final Persuader Rule Expected in November

Federal agencies have released their spring 2013 regulatory agendas outlining the rules they will likely propose or issue in final form during the next six-month period.  While agencies often stray from their stated goals and deadlines, the agendas provide a glimpse of the issues and topic areas agencies such as the Department of Labor (DOL), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) consider priorities. The latest agenda reveals that the Obama administration plans...

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Chapter News, News

European Venture Capital and Social Entrepreneurship Funds

The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”) is now effective .  In conjunction with the AIFMD, the following directly applicable regulations are also now in force, effectively creating 2 new regimes for funds wishing to invest in European Small and Medium Enterprises (“SMEs”): Regulation (EU) No. 345/2013 on European venture capital funds (“EuVECA”); and Regulation (EU) No. 346/2013 on European social entrepreneurship funds (“EuSEF”). EuVECA The main purpose of EuVECA is to provide a common framework for European venture capital funds in order...

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Chapter News, News

The EU’s Bilateral Trade & Investment Agreements – Where Are We?

Over the next years, 90% of world demand will be generated outside the EU. That is why it is a key priority for the EU to open up more market opportunities for European business by negotiating new Free Trade Agreements with key countries. If we were to complete all our current free trade talks tomorrow, we would add 2.2% to the EU’s GDP or €275 billion. This is equivalent of adding a country as big as Austria or Denmark...

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Member News, News

AlixPartners: Litigation & Corporate Compliance Survey

Companies are facing more and more legal disputes and as a result, are increasing the size of their legal departments while focusing on a variety of alternative means of dealing with potential litigation, according to AlixPartners' Litigation and Corporate Compliance Survey.¹ As such lawsuits grow more costly and more complex, companies have begun to reassess their compliance programs and implement new tools and processes that can reduce litigation-related risks. Litigation—and Costs—on the Rise Amid tighter regulations and more and more regulatory...

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Member News, News

TREPP: US CMBS Delinquency Rate Falls Once Again

For the third time in the last four months, the Trepp CMBS delinquency rate fell significantly. The rate dropped 17 basis points last month, bringing the delinquency rate for US commercial real estate loans in CMBS to 8.48% in July. This improvement comes on the heels of a 42-basis-point drop in June and a 47-basis-point plunge in April. Only a four-basis-point increase in May interrupted the recent gains in the delinquency picture. The Trepp delinquency rate is now 123 basis...

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Member News, News

TREPP: Loans Liquidated in July

Second Highest Monthly Volume; Loss Severity Falls After a spike in loss severity last month, July saw a big jump in liquidated CMBS loan volume and a concurrent drop in loss severity. July brought the second highest liquidation volume since TreppWire started tracking the number in January of 2010. July liquidations totaled $2.05 billion, relative to the 12-month moving average of $1.35 billion. The highest monthly liquidated volume was in November 2011 with $2.10 billion in liquidated loans. While November 2011...

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Member News, News

Pepper Hamilton Client Alert: SEC and European Securities Regulators Enter into Cooperation Agreements to Share Information Regarding Fund Managers

On July 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with various member states of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) formalizing an agreement that facilitates the sharing of information and other assistance between the regulators in relation to private fund managers with operations that are subject to oversight in the United States and in one of the European jurisdictions. The SEC and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA),...

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Chapter News, New York Related News, News

Mayor Bloomberg Announces Request For Proposals To Study Development Of ‘Seaport City’ To Protect Lower Manhattan From Impacts Of Climate Change

Resiliency Project First Recommended in “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” – Would Also Boost Economic Development Rendering of Seaport City Concept Available on: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nycmayorsoffice/ Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced a request for proposals (RFP) to study the potential development of ‘Seaport City,’ a resiliency project that will protect Lower Manhattan from coastal flooding and provide opportunities for economic development. Seaport City was first proposed by Mayor Bloomberg as part of “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” – the ambitious...

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