Fireworks over Dodd-Frank As the United States celebrates her birthday amidst the financial reform that is Dodd-Frank, many people both at home and abroad are unhappy with the legislation and its potential repercussions. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-27/fed-s-hoenig-sees-economic-danger-in-big-financial-companies.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/28/dodd-frank-fail-hoenig_n_885900.html http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2011-06-29/amf-jouyet-dodd-frank-emir-europe-us?mod=sectionheadlines-IB-AM http://www.cnbc.com/id/43318967/Geithner_Triggers_Asian_Backlash_on_Regulation

SEC Re-defines Family Office With the enactment of Dodd-Frank comes the end of the exemption historically granted to family offices under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  In the past, investors with fewer than 15 clients could take advantage of the Act’s “private adviser exemption.”  But with Dodd-Frank eliminating this exclusion, family offices are no…

SEC Finalizes Whistleblowing Rules With all the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has on its plate, one may wonder why the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act were one of the first to be finalized. These provisions will become effective August 12, 2011. The whistleblower provisions are perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Dodd-Frank…

Definition of “Commodity Pool” Expanded July 16 The CFTC is proposing to grant temporary relief from certain provisions of Dodd-Frank that will delay the requirement that a person register as a commodity trading advisor (“CTA”), for those persons whose  advice regarding commodity interests involves swaps, or commodity pool operator (“CPO”), for those persons who operate…

The most radical changes in law firm billing which have occurred during the last two years has been the advent of value billing Alternative Fee Arrangements (“AFA’s). These billing arrangements are aimed at destroying or at least seriously maiming the invidious hourly billing process, which creates economic incentives for inefficiency. The hourly rate may be…

Brazil and Argentina lead South America in Derivatives Regulation In the midst of the sweeping global financial reform, U.S. regulators could look to Brazil for some guidance on the derivatives market. The Brazilian monetary authorities regulate and supervise the financial sector tightly and have always adopted a very restrictive approach in the derivatives market.   Brazil…

Rimon’s Latest Partner Brings Strong Corporate and Start-up Experience to Growing Firm For Immediate Release San Francisco, CA – June 30, 2011 – Rimon Law Group, a growing international law firm headquartered in San Francisco, is enhancing its Washington D.C. presence as well as its corporate transactional practice with the addition of corporate partner, Samuel “Sandy”…

After filing for an IPO in Februrary, 2011, streaming music company Pandora went public on June 15, 2011 with little fanfare.  In contrast to LinkedIn which went public last month with a soaring valuation, Pandora’s valuation has been largely as expected.  Off the heels of LinkedIn, this could be seen as disappointing. Here is a…

Microsoft made the headlines on May 10, 2011, when it acquired videoconferencing giant Skype for a reported $ 8.5 billion.  Following the antitrust procedure of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, the companies filed a pre-acquisition notification to the various government bodies, required before the deal can be finalized. Generally, the companies need to show that the acquisition…

In recent years, the secondary market for stocks – a platform through which investors can buy and trade shares of private companies – has grown exponentially in size and use.  This year,    transactions on the online platforms of SharesPost and SecondMarket alone have totaled over $ 4.6 billion, and are projected to exceed $ 6.9…