By Sarah Smith Kuehnel (St Louis), Harrison C. Kuntz (St Louis), R. Lance Witcher (St Louis) | Ogletree Deakins We all know (or should know) that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and other discrimination laws prohibit intentional discrimination “because of” protected characteristics like race, age, gender, or disability. We can easily imagine instances of intentional discrimination—a sexist manager refusing to hire female applicants, a racist boss refusing to promote qualified African Americans, and the list goes on.  Many employers do...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and CaixaBank have signed a new agreement to support the projects of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the process of going global. The new EUR 250m credit line will focus on providing financing for projects led by female entrepreneurs wishing to develop innovation-based investments. This agreement has enabled the European Investment Fund (EIF) – the EIB Group subsidiary specialising in support for micro-enterprises and SMEs – to grant a EUR 125 million guarantee to CaixaBank, which...

By AEM Carnelutti  Pursuant to 15 CFR 801.3, 801.10, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) has issued a mandatory five-year benchmark survey to obtain data on foreign direct investment (“FDI”) in the United States. The information collected on the survey is confidential and will be used for statistical purposes only. The survey, known as the BE-12 survey, is required for U.S. entities in which a foreign individual or entity holds, directly or indirectly, 10 percent or more...

KEY EVENTS THIS WEEK: BREXIT UK considers EU customs rules extension as ‘’bridge’’ to future eventual arrangement The British government is developing plans to stay within the EU customs union beyond 2021 in order to act as a ‘’bridge’’ to an eventual future customs system and prevent a hard border emerging on the island of Ireland.  This temporary scheme would mean that rather than the UK moving immediately to a post-Brexit customs scheme at the end of the transition period on the...

In June 2018, the Embassy of Portugal and the Consulates in the US, together with many local partners, will organize a series of cultural, artistic, economic and scientific events to commemorate a “Month of Portugal” in the US. The program will span almost 60 cities and one dozen states and will celebrate celebrate Portugal, a 900 years young country, the Portuguese-American Community and the friendship between Portugal and the United States, our neighbors across the ocean. Download the entire program HERE Compliments of AICEP...

By Andrea Guerzoni | EY Transaction Advisory Services Leader for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa Eurozone companies build confidence by making their portfolios fit for an optimistic future, according to EY’s 18th Global Capital Confidence Barometer. Our M&A survey finds Eurozone companies optimistic about economic and capital market conditions over the next 12 months. The turnaround in market conditions signaled in the previous two Barometers looks set to continue, with 70% of respondents expecting the Eurozone economy to perform better than in...

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, has today launched its new company name, following the amendment of the company's articles of association changing its name from Philips Lighting N.V. to Signify N.V. "The choice of our new company name originates from the way light becomes an intelligent language, which connects and conveys meaning," said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify.  "It is a clear expression of our strategic vision and purpose to unlock the extraordinary potential of light for...

By Thomas J. Engellenner , Reza Mollaaghababa | Pepper Hamilton  On April 24, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, held that inter partes review (IPR) proceedings conducted by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) do not violate Article III or implicate the Seventh Amendment. This decision in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, No. 16-712, validates administrative proceedings that were put into place by Congress in the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act (AIA) of 2011. The Court, however, made sure to emphasize...