Block.

January 06, 2006 | Law.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday that securities lawyer and former astrophysicist Brian Cartwright will take up the post of general counsel on Jan. 23. Cartwright succeeds Giovanni Prezioso, who said he plans to return to the private sector. Cartwright, 58, is a partner at Los Angeles-based international law firm Latham & Watkins, where he chaired the firm's public company practice and was one of five partners responsible for managing the firm.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

May 22, 2006 | Law.com

Calpine Corp. said it expects claims in bankruptcy court to be significantly greater than the $17.4 billion in liabilities it reported at the end of last year. In filing its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the beleaguered San Jose, Calif.-based power producer noted that the reason for this could be multiple claims from one creditor against more than one Calpine debtor or multiple claims by multiple creditors against a single liability.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

October 28, 2005 | Law.com

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, or COSO, issued for public comment Wednesday a draft report that gives small businesses guidance on how to comply with new internal control requirements in a more "cost efficient" and "practical" way. The report's recommendations include broadening the pool of audit committee members, using controls already built into accounting software, leveraging management monitoring and outsourcing some activities.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

March 06, 2007 | Law.com

The head of the House Financial Services Committee introduced legislation last week to give shareholders at public companies a say in how their top executives are compensated. The proposal by Rep. Barney Frank and 21 other Democrats provides for a vote on compensation awarded in the prior year to a company's five most highly paid executives. However, because the ballot would be nonbinding, managers are unlikely to lose compensation in the event investors opposed their pay packages.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

October 21, 2004 | Law.com

As a political battle rages on, the Financial Accounting Standards Board said Tuesday that smaller companies will get an extra year to prepare to expense employee stock options. The board's decision comes a week after it gave public companies until June 15 to start expensing options, a delay of six months from the initial proposal.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

March 02, 2006 | Law.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission cleared the merger of the New York Stock Exchange with electronic rival Archipelago Holdings on Monday in a deal that will change the centuries-old tradition of trading on Wall Street. The world's largest stock exchange will transform itself from a member-owned nonprofit institution into a profit-making company complete with high-tech trading capabilities and answerable to its shareholders. SEC approval was the final hurdle for the $9 billion deal.

By Donna Block

2 minute read

July 28, 2004 | Law.com

By Donna Block

3 minute read

August 01, 2008 | Law.com

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the California mortgage lender seized last month by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., says it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, IndyMac says it expects the court will appoint a bankruptcy trustee promptly. Alston & Bird is representing IndyMac, once the nation's second-largest independent mortgage lender. The company now has liabilities that are estimated between $100 million and $500 million.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

March 01, 2006 | Corporate Counsel

A missed phone call leads to an insider trading claim against Biogen's Thomas Bucknum and a $3 million settlement.

By Donna Block

1 minute read

April 15, 2005 | Law.com

House Democrats failed Wednesday to keep intact the Public Utility Holding Company Act, a 70-year old law that restricts mergers and acquisitions in the utility sector. During the second day of a marathon markup session on the House version of a wide-ranging energy bill, Republicans rebuffed an effort by Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., to substitute the bill's entire electricity portion with a draft that did not include PUHCA repeal.

By Donna Block

2 minute read