The United States has been a magnet for skilled and talented immigrants from all around the world for the past several decades. The diverse set of ethnicities and cultures that surround us in our daily lives is living proof of this undeniable fact. Yet, as it has proven time and time again, the federal immigration system…
Month: April 2018
Foreign-listed Chinese Tech Giants May Come Back to Home Stock Market Soon
A securities regulation reform is taking place in China. The Chinese regulators are trying to entice its foreign-listed tech giants back to the home stock exchanges—the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Many Chinese tech companies, such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, have earned a place alongside the most powerful tech giants in the…
Carpenter v. United States Raises Important Privacy Concerns
In November 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Carpenter v. United States. Carpenter was charged and convicted for his role in a string of armed robberies occurring mostly in the Detroit area. Investigators identified Carpenter as a suspect and were able to place him near the scene of multiple robberies by…
New York’s Highest Court Holds that Discovery of Private Social Media is Governed under Traditional Discovery Rules
Background On February 13, 2018, the New York Court of Appeals held that an individual’s private social media account receives no special protection from discovery.1 In the case, Forman v. Henkin, the plaintiff fell off a horse and sued the owner of the horse for negligence.2 The plaintiff claimed severe injuries including spinal damage, brain…
Amazon and the Uncertain Future of American Healthcare
Healthcare spending accounted for close to 18% of the U.S. economy in 2017, far more than in any other developed nation.1 “Compared to 35 other [developed] countries, Americans have spent more on their health every year since 2000.”2 But in spite of all that spending, the U.S. continually ranks below even its most frugal peers…
Uber-Waymo Settlement
The Uber-Waymo1 trade secret dispute was one of the biggest intellectual property disputes of the last few years, with overarching ramifications for the race to bring autonomous driving technology to market. In the summer of 2015, it was reported that Anthony Levandowski, a self-driving-car engineer, began asking other Google employees to join him at…
Both Valuable and Troubling: Virtual Annual Shareholder Meetings
When thinking of annual shareholder meetings, one may be tempted to think of lavish, fun-filled annual get-togethers like the type Berkshire Hathaway puts together.1 But in reality, most annual meetings are not nearly as exciting or glamorous.2 That is not to say, though, that they are not important. Annual shareholder meetings are valuable for a…
Bitconnect: A Case Study in the Government Regulation Paradox
Within the past year, cryptocurrency has undoubtedly become the hottest topic of discussion in the investing world. A “collective insanity” over cryptocurrencies has spurred something akin to a 21st century gold rush.1 This is clearly reflected in the valuation of the cryptocurrency market as a whole. The cryptocurrency market cap increased by over 3,300%…
Wells Fargo’s Punishment: A New Approach to Corporate Governance or Just a Mirage?
Wells Fargo Co., one of the largest banks in the United States, has been punished by multiple government actors for its allegedly deceptive banking practices dating back to 2011.1 From 2011 to 2015, the bank’s employees opened roughly 1.5 million new bank accounts and applied for 565,000 credit card accounts that may not have been…
Avoiding an IPO: Spotify’s Unique NYSE Entrance
Startup unicorns, defined as those nascent companies with valuations greater than $1 billion, are increasingly undergoing IPOs and listing on national exchanges.1 Following the high-profile failures of the Snap2 and Blue Apron3 offerings, the next unicorns to turn public are being intensely scrutinized. At the end of 2017, digital music giant Spotify announced that it…