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Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Stephen Taeusch, Daniel Turinsky, and Carsten Reichel; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2024/01/what-to-know-about-noncompete-agreements-in-2024

As we head into 2024, employers can expect more risk related to the use of restrictive covenants at both the federal and state level. From the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) anticipated final rule and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) unfair labor practice charges to new state laws and court decisions, employers are monitoring the landscape, preparing to meet compliance deadlines, and reassessing their approach to noncompete agreements.

Continue Reading What to know about noncompete agreements in 2024

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Jeffrey Hare, John Clarke, John Sullivan, and Adam Dubin; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2023/03/buying-assets-from-the-fdic

In the wake of the appointment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank (SB) on March 10 and March 12, respectively, investors may be considering whether there will be opportunities to acquire failed bank assets. This alert provides a high-level overview of the process for acquiring assets from the FDIC as receiver.

Overview

An FDIC insured bank fails when the chartering regulator closes the bank and appoints the FDIC as receiver. Upon its appointment, the FDIC as receiver succeeds by operation of law to all of the assets and liabilities of the bank, ensuring that depositors have access to their insured deposits. To address potential systemic risk arising from the failures of SVB and SB, federal authorities determined that the SVB and SB receiverships would each be handled “in a manner that fully protects all depositors.” The Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) overseen by the FDIC absorbs the costs of covered deposits. The DIF is funded mainly through quarterly assessments on all insured banks.Continue Reading Buying assets from the FDIC

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Richard Marks, Kevin Criddle, Curtis Mo, and Jeffrey Lehrer; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2023/03/applying-the-lessons-of-the-svb-and-signature-bank-failures

The failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank sent many companies into credit and liquidity crises. With the most pressing short-term impacts now stabilized, corporate boards and management should consider steps to be better prepared in the future.

What happened

On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. Two days later, New York regulators stepped in to close Signature Bank under the same structure. On March 12, 2023, the Federal Reserve, FDIC and Treasury Department jointly announced an emergency program to backstop all deposits at both SVB and Signature Bank.Continue Reading Applying the lessons of the SVB and Signature Bank failures: Steps for boards and management

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Jeffrey Hare, Margo Tank, Christopher Steelman, David Whitaker, and Adam Dubin; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en-us/insights/publications/2023/03/takeaways-from-the-silicon-valley-bank-and-signature-bank-receiverships

On Friday, March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed by its chartering regulator, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed as receiver which is typical for a bank receivership. The FDIC formed Deposit Insurance National Bank of Santa Clara (DINB) (chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) and immediately transferred to DINB all insured deposits of SVB. No loans or other products were transferred to DINB nor were uninsured deposits.Continue Reading Takeaways from the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank receiverships

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleague Brooke Goodlett; originally published here: https://www.dlapiperaccelerate.com/knowledge/2020/texas-cracks-down-on-cryptocurrency-fraud.html 

Texas continues to be a leader in the United States when it comes to cracking down on fraudulent cryptocurrency offerings, and the novel COVID-19 virus has not curtailed these efforts. In 2017, the Texas State Securities Board (the TSSB) became the first state securities regulator to issue a cease-and-desist order against a promoter of a cryptocurrency investment scheme. The TSSB has since issued 26 administrative orders involving 79 individuals and entities for illegally, fraudulently or deceptively offering cryptocurrency investments to Texas investors. The circumstances underlying these enforcement actions have numerous commonalities – promises of high returns, irreplaceable losses, commissions for recruiting new investors and the omission of pertinent information.
Continue Reading Texas cracks down on cryptocurrency fraud: 2020 developments

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Christine Daya, Thomas M DeButts, Danish Hamid, Sarah E. Kahn, Richard Newcomb, Ignacio E. Sanchez, Lawrence E. Levinson and Dana Zelman; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2020/01/new-regulations-reinforce-cfius-expanded-role/.

On January 13, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury released two sets of new regulations that comprehensively implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) – a law that strengthens the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS is an interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury and is responsible for screening foreign investments into the United States to determine if they could impair US national security. The new CFIUS regulations will become effective on February 13, 2020 and are titled (i) Provisions Pertaining to Certain Investments in the United States by Foreign Persons (31 CFR Parts 800 and 801) and (ii) Provisions Pertaining to Certain Transactions by Foreign Persons Involving Real Estate in the United States (31 CFR Part 802).  These CFIUS regulations reflect the Treasury Department’s response to comments provided after its issuance of certain proposed rules in September 2019, as described in our previous alert. Among various developments, the new regulations:
Continue Reading New regulations reinforce CFIUS’s expanded role with respect to foreign investments in the US

Article prepared by and republished courtesy of our colleagues Larry W. Nishnick, Bradley E. Phipps, and David Kurlander; originally published here: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/asiapacific/insights/publications/2020/01/sec-proposes-changes-to-accredited-investor-definition/.

The SEC recently proposed amendments to the long-standing definition of “accredited investor,” an important qualification standard under the securities laws that determines what types of investors may invest in certain kinds of private securities offerings, including securities offerings conducted pursuant to Rules 506(b) and 506(c) of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 and other important federal and state securities law exemptions.

The current definition of “accredited investor” has been in place without any significant update since 1985. At a high level, the proposal would expand the number of natural person investors that qualify by adding categories of eligibility based on their professional knowledge, experience or certifications. The proposal would also expand the types of entities that qualify as “accredited investors.” The proposed changes would allow additional persons and entities to qualify as “accredited investors,” thereby allowing them to purchase securities through private offerings, including shares and interests in certain private investments funds.

Notable changes
Continue Reading SEC proposes changes to “accredited investor” definition

Yesterday, the SEC issued an enforcement order regarding Munchee’s token offering and SEC Chairman Jay Clayton released a general public statement on cryptocurrencies and ICOs.  For those who previously read our post about the SEC’s report in the DAO, much of this might not be a surprise – although the SEC staff did answer the call of discussing so-called “utility tokens.”
Continue Reading The SEC has the Munchees: Eating away at the “utility token” theory

One of the more interesting phenomena in early-stage investing is the recent emergence of initial coin offerings (“ICOs”), token generation events (“TGEs”), or similar distributed ledger or blockchain-enabled means for raising capital. Much has been written, including by many skilled lawyers in the technology sector, about whether the tokens issued in these structures involve “securities” – and, frankly, some of it is unhelpful. Hungry for something that seems like crowdfunding, but that actually works to raise meaningful capital for promising technology initiatives, many in the technology space really want these…
Continue Reading SEC Report on Tokens as Securities: Seven Takeaways

DLA Piper is pleased to announce the launch of Prize Promotions Around the World, an updated edition of our popular handbook.

Prize Promotions Around the World is an online tool designed to assist companies across the globe in managing the early development stages of a prize promotion, such as a sweepstakes or a skill-based contest, and to bring to their attention potentially problematic issues.

Key features include:

  • Additional jurisdictions, now with over 35 countries
  • Expansion of topics, including rules on judging and sanctions
  • Interactive map, highlighting the range of

…
Continue Reading Prize Promotions Around the World: New Handbook