My last blog post1 discussed the cumbersome financial regulations for FinTech firms in the United States, specifically as related to money transmitter laws. The nation’s challenging regulatory scheme may induce FinTech firms’ to do business in countries with friendlier regulatory environments like the United Kingdom. In an effort to be more accommodating to FinTech, the U.S….
Category: Blog Articles
Money Transmitter Laws and FinTech in the United States
Cumbersome and numerous, financial regulations in the United States have proven to be a daunting task for FinTech firms to navigate. The U.S. banking sector has a significant regulatory structure that can vary from state to state. This makes things difficult for FinTech firms because there is persistent confusion about what regulations apply to FinTech.1…
Implications for “Unicorn” Startups of the SEC’s Investigation of Theranos
Elizabeth Holmes aimed to revolutionize the blood test industry and was once regarded as a wunderkind that would become the Steve Jobs of the biotech industry. The company she founded, Theranos, was seen as one of the “unicorn” startups in Silicon Valley, a term given to startups that are privately-held and valued at $1 billion or more.1 Unfortunately,…
Missing Oxford Comma Costs Dairy Business Millions
In O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy, the First Circuit overruled a lower court and held that a group of drivers for a dairy company were collectively owed millions of dollars in overtime pay, all over a missing Oxford comma.1 In a list of three or more items—for example, bacon, egg, and cheese—the Oxford comma is the…
Legal and Practical Effects of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Part II of II)
Part I of this two-part blog post (available here) discussed the legal effects of findings by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (the Tribunal) in its South China Sea Arbitration award of July 2016. 1 In Part II, I will discuss the practical implications of those legal effects, with a particular focus on the shipping, energy, and fishing…
Life Sciences Firms at Risk of Strike Suits?
In recent years, the life science industry has been a primary target for securities fraud class action lawsuits as “nearly one out of every four securities fraud class action lawsuits filed in 2016 was brought against a life sciences company.”1 These fraudulent class action lawsuits have become increasingly common as 2016 highlighted a 70% increase…
Legal and Practical Effects of the South China Sea Arbitration Award (Part I of II)
This is Part I of a two-part blog post on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Part I explains the legal effects of the July 2016 arbitration award rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, and Part II will discuss the practical effects the decision will have on shipping, oil and gas…
The Government as an Unexpected Shareholder: Whose Interests Should Be Prioritized?
Until the 2008 financial crisis violently shook the foundation of the global economy, the United States federal government had never taken a controlling interest in a publicly traded company chartered under state law.1 While the government has since fully divested from its holdings acquired through the Troubled Asset Relief Program,2 this blog argues that it…
Examining the Board’s Oversight Duties in the Cybersecurity Context
Recent high-profile cyberattacks on companies including Sony, Home Depot, Target, and Yahoo underscore how important effective cybersecurity has become to a corporation’s stakeholders, including shareholders and customers. Given the serious threat hacks pose, oversight in this area has become a key duty of the corporation’s board of directors. Yet evidence shows that boards may not…
Change is in the Air at the S.E.C.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) is about to undergo a significant change under President Donald J. Trump. On Monday, November 14, 2016, Mary Jo White announced her plan to step down from her post as the 31st Chair of the S.E.C. Not long after her announcement, then-President-elect Trump nominated Wall Street lawyer…