Corporate charter provisions that require shareholders to bring 1933 Act lawsuits in federal court are facially valid, the Delaware Supreme Court has held. See Salzberg v. Sciabacucchi, No. 346, 2019, ___ A.3d ___, 2020 WL 1280785 (Del. Mar. 18, 2020) (“Blue Apron”). The unanimous, en Banc March 18 opinion paves the way for Delaware corporations to adopt those provisions in their charters or by-laws. If widely adopted, those provisions could slow or reverse the trend of 1933 Act lawsuits’ being filed in state court, a trend that has accelerated since the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in 2018 that investors could file such lawsuits in federal or state court. Given Delaware’s influence in corporate law, Blue Apron’s impact will likely be felt beyond Delaware, including by international companies with subsidiaries incorporated in the U.S. or considering incorporating subsidiaries in the U.S.

FINRA has issued a Regulatory Notice related to the recent outbreak of coronavirus disease, "Pandemic-Related Business Continuity Planning, Guidance and Regulatory Relief".

Read our Client Alert on the National Nursing Home Initiative recently launched by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Justice Department has already initiated investigations into approximately 30 individual nursing facilities in nine states as part of this effort.

The Client Alert from our Health Care Practice outlines eight areas for effective compliance by nursing homes.

Elizabeth Lan Davis, a shareholder in Murphy & McGonigle’s Washington, DC office, has been selected to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) 2020 Fellows Program. The program recognizes attorneys with distinguished leadership capacity from diverse  backgrounds. LCLD is comprised of over 320 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who serve as mentors and leaders dedicated to fostering diversity.

In an unusual development, Judge P. Kevin Castel of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order in an enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inviting the General Counsel of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to express views on the issues presently before the Court.

With the country seemingly having survived its most recent Presidential impeachment process, what is not commonly appreciated is the outsized role that Presidents involved directly or indirectly in impeachment proceedings have had on commodities regulation. 

OCIE and FINRA have announced that cybersecurity will, again, be at the top of their examination priorities for 2020. On top of that, cyberattacks and data privacy scandals are among the most potentially costly and harmful risks facing businesses and financial institutions today. With that in mind, Joseph Facciponti and Katherine McGrail of our Cybersecurity Team have authored “10 Practical Steps to Protect Your Firm from Cyber Threats.”