Fintech companies and their partners are on alert as a flurry of new state and federal cybersecurity requirements take effect. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both recently finalized changes that will create additional compliance obligations, expand existing regulations to new entities and mandate that banks and fintech firms move quickly to update their cybersecurity policies and incident-response capabilities ...
Shoosmiths' Living sector co-heads, Judy Fawcett, Kathryn Jump and Lisa Tye examine what 2024 might bring for the UK’s residential landscape. The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA) is set to reshape the planning system and wider residential landscape in 2024. The Act introduces significant changes to the planning system, hinting at a shift toward centralised decision-making in the planning process – impacting all areas of the UK’s living sector ...
Jon Bew and Wayne Gibbard, co-heads of the Financial Services Sector at Shoosmiths, comment on upcoming trends and developments to expect in 2024 for the sector. Everyone is feeling it, the rumbling of a technological storm. The immergence of generative AI, RegTech and increased fraud and cyber risk, have swept clouds of uncertainty across the Financial Services Sector… ...
January 2, 2024 By: Braeden Mansouri and Alicia Guerra The California Legislature’s laser focus on addressing the state housing crisis did not subside during the 2023 legislative session. While legislators proposed over 150 housing bills, only a fraction of those bills were approved by both chambers. Still, Governor Gavin Newsom signed 56 housing bills into law ...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on March 13 issued a highly consequential decision in U.S. Securities andExchange Commission v. Rashid, interpreting and applying the mental state for liability of investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act. Over a strong dissent, the court reversed a finding of liability of the defendant investment adviser under basic principles of negligence law, and in doing so, provided a road map for future enforcement actions under the act ...
The glacial pace at which the federal government has implemented cannabis policy–particularly in light of the rapid evolution of cannabis laws at the state level–is at the same time predictable and frustrating to those seeking a measure of certainty ...
The Site Report has extensively discussed the developments of 3-D printing building construction and its impact on the construction industry. 3-D printing structures is becoming more commonplace. Last month, Iowa State University began designing 3-D printed housing for rural Iowa. ICON Technology, Inc., an Austin, Texas company, is currently planning to build an entire subdivision in Texas using its 3-D printing technology ...
Many founders are familiar with tax-exempt charitable organizations. These nonprofit entities—which are commonly known by reference to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code—are operated exclusively for a broad range of charitable purposes. 501(c)(3) organizations come in a wide range of flavors, including private foundations, donor-advised funds, and public charities ...
On 14 October 2022, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) made amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Control Regulations, 2002, which will come into force on 14 November 2022. In terms of these amendments, the prescribed amount for reporting cash transactions under section 28 of FICA to the Financial Intelligence Centre has increased from ZAR24 999 to ZAR49 999.99 ...
As described in our earlierclient alert, dated September 13, 2016, under certain specific circumstances, section 1129 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”) permits a bankruptcy court to confirm a Chapter 11 plan and rewrite the terms of a debt instrument (including mortgage debt or mezzanine debt), including the interest, amortization, and maturity ...
The Davis Tax Committee (“DTC”) issued a media statement on 25 April 2017, calling for written submissions on the introduction of a possible wealth tax in South Africa. This proposal comes two months after an increase in the top income tax bracket for individuals by 4% to 45%, resulting in an effective capital gains tax (“CGT”) rate for individuals of 18%. This should be seen on the back of the increase the CGT rate by nearly 5% from 13 ...
What is litigation funding and why is it attractive? Also known as legal finance or litigation finance, third party funding – historically – was considered an improper or corrupting influence on litigation. These old offences of champerty and maintenance were first decriminalised in England in 1967 ...
We have this year assisted with numerous new financings, covering everything from new bank syndicates, refinancings, direct lending and bond loans. It has in periods been especially hectic within the shipping, aviation and renewable energy sectors. On the regulatory side, we have had a particular focus on the LIBOR transition ...
Houston Business Journal Internal Revenue Code section 179 contains an important benefit for small businesses—the ability to completely expense the costs of certain assets. In general, businesses who purchase assets with a useful life of greater than one year are required to depreciate the cost of the property over a number of years. Section 179, however, allows a business to fully expense the cost of certain qualifying property in the year it is purchased ...
In February 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 (Subchapter V) took effect.[1] Subchapter V amends Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to allow certain individuals and businesses with debts of less than $2,725,625 to file a streamlined Chapter 11 case with the goal to make small business bankruptcies faster and cheaper ...
Law firms periodically receive requests for advice from CPAs regarding a client’s need to come into compliance with the relatively new and sometimes confusing “economic nexus” or “Wayfair” rules for selling goods or providing services to customers in another state ...
In its most basic form, the guaranty is an agreement (importantly it is the guarantor’s separate contract with lender) by one party to be responsible for the debt or obligations of someone else. We all know it and love it – it is the lender’s friend. But like so many friendships, when it is built on a fundamental misunderstanding or problem, a train wreck ensues and we feel the pain ...
February 2, 2023 By: Manuel Fishman In what may turn out to be a lesson on the limits of the application of equitable doctrines supporting rent relief in the face of good lease drafting, a California court of appeal panel in San Diego has taken a narrow view on the application of the doctrines of quiet enjoyment, frustration of purpose, impracticability and impossibility as a defense to the payment of rent under a lease following State and local closure orders issued in response to the COVID 1
In Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Ltd v Simply Construct (UK) LLP, the Court of Appeal recently determined that a collateral warranty, signed four years after completion, was a construction contract that applied retrospectively, therefore an adjudication award applied to the dispute under the warranty and was enforceable. The court’s decision provides clarity that a collateral warranty can be sufficient evidence of contractual obligations to seek enforcement of an adjudication award ...
There is no bespoke legislation dealing with “pre-pack” restructuring or sale of the business or assets of an insolvent British Virgin Islands (BVI) company, and in practice, as primarily a holding company jurisdiction pre-packs are not in high demand in the BVI ...
1. What measures are available in your jurisdiction to allow struggling businesses to enter into a “pre-pack”? There is no bespoke legislation dealing with “pre-pack” restructuring or sale of the business or assets of an insolvent Cayman Islands company ...
1. What measures are available in your jurisdiction to allow struggling businesses to enter into a “pre-pack”? Guernsey stands out against many offshore jurisdictions because it has a dedicated administration regime designed to facilitate corporate rescue. The procedure is broadly similar to that in the United Kingdom, albeit it has been simplified and tweaked to suit Guernsey’s finance industry ...
Article PDF On April 17, 2019, the Treasury Department released a second round of proposed regulations (the "4/19 Regulations") providing additional guidance on the implementation of the Opportunity Zone (“OZ”) tax incentive included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The 4/19 Regulations are taxpayer-friendly and expand upon (but in some cases modify) the guidance provided in the initial proposed regulations released on October 19, 2018 (the "10/18 Regulations") ...
Article PDF On April 17, 2019, the Treasury Department released a second round of proposed regulations (the "4/19 Regulations") providing additional guidance on the implementation of the Opportunity Zone (“OZ”) tax incentive included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The 4/19 Regulations are taxpayer-friendly and expand upon (but in some cases modify) the guidance provided in the initial proposed regulations released on October 19, 2018 (the "10/18 Regulations") ...
