On March 14, 2011, Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar introduced a bill titled the Startup Visa Act of 2011, which is an updated version of a 2010 bill.  If passed, the act would provide temporary work visas to various kinds of foreign workers if certain financial benchmarks are met. 1.       For foreign entrepreneurs: (a) a…

The Status of Regulation in the European Union With Dodd-Frank taking effect in less than a month, officials on both sides of the Atlantic have been pressuring one another to implement stricter financial regulations, while equivocating on the regulations that they are willing to accept at home.  Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and…

Testimony by Mary Schapiro on Financial Regulatory Reform: The International Context In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro noted that the US regulators have consulted, and will continue to consult with, international securities regulators that are considering OTC derivatives market reforms.  Schapiro explained that because the OTC derivative marketplace already…

As discussed in my December 13, 2010 post, the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBBs) offers a streamlined, self-regulatory mechanism for remedying false advertising claims made in nationally distributed advertisements.  While NAD has a 95% success rate, those advertisers who fail to follow NAD’s recommendations may find themselves before the FTC upon NAD’s recommendation. On February 16, 2011,…

Investment Advisor Registration Deadline Causing Confusion In the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010, Congress adopted changes to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to require many more managers of hedge funds or private equity funds to register as investment advisers. Registered advisers are expected to update their books and records practices in order to…

SEC to provide guidance on Dodd-Frank requirements and extend temporary rules under the Exchange Act. As previously noted, the Securities Exchange Commission granted itself an extension to finalize the rules mandated by Dodd-Frank.   The Commission announced that it will shortly clarify which provisions of Title VII will automatically go into effect on July 16, alter…

FIA and ISDA Publishes Documentation for Cleared Swaps in an effort to add structure to OTC market pending full implementation of Dodd-Frank Act and similar regulation in foreign jurisdictions. In anticipation of the clearing requirements in Dodd-Frank, each of the major clearing houses published proprietary agreements with the intent to best fit OTC swaps clearing…

Concerns Facing the OTC Derivatives Market in the Absence of a Workable Regulatory Structure The delay of Title VII rulemaking in the Dodd-Frank Act, arguably one of the largest pieces of financial legislation to come out of Congress since the Great Depression, is concerning to those involved in all aspects of the OTC market. On…

A Dodd-Frank Overview According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) addresses the gap in U.S. financial regulation of OTC swaps by providing a comprehensive framework for the regulation of the OTC swaps markets.” Dodd-Frank goes into effect July 16, 2011 (360 days after it…

The evolution of alternative fee arrangements and value billing. In 1904, George Heber Smith, a recent Harvard Law School graduate, became the head of the Legal Aid Society in Boston. Smith found the lawyers working there overwhelmed with work for the Society’s indigent client base and sought to devise a method to improve the efficiency…