Block.

April 27, 2007 | Law.com

A surprise attempt to let small companies opt out of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act was shot down on the Senate floor Tuesday, an overwhelming show of support in Congress for the much-maligned law. By a 62-35 vote, the Senate set aside an amendment that would make compliance with the most controversial and costly provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, Section 404, optional for companies with total market value of less than $700 million.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

June 12, 2006 | New Jersey Law Journal

The applicability and enforceability of prepayment premiums and exit fees for commercial loans has been the subject of recent litigation around the country, with lenders and borrowers advancing contrary positions based upon their particular reading of the relevant loan documents.

By Kenneth M. Block and Jeffrey B. Steiner

8 minute read

November 19, 2004 | Law.com

Congress is unlikely to pass legislation this year that would block a proposed accounting standard directing companies to expense employee stock options. Lawmakers are close to completing a host of government spending bills and are wary of attaching amendments that could derail passage of the legislation, said one Capitol Hill source.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

December 16, 2005 | Law.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission has the legal authority to overturn fines imposed by the NASD, a federal appeals court ruled this week. A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit rejected an appeal Tuesday by the NASD, formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers, which had argued its ability to regulate would be at risk if the SEC could overturn its disciplinary actions. The court said the NASD lacked legal standing as "a person aggrieved" in dismissing the suit.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

June 22, 2005 | Corporate Counsel

By Donna Block

6 minute read

March 11, 2009 | New York Law Journal

Kenneth M. Block, a partner of Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt, and Hilary Semel, a senior associate of the firm, review the programs included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that are intended to improve the energy efficiency of federal buildings and public housing, which may lead to widespread green retrofitting of both public and private buildings, along with other federal and state incentives available for retrofitting and LEED criteria for green building certification.

By Kenneth M. Block and Hilary Semel

10 minute read

May 18, 2005 | Law.com

For public companies struggling with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, help is on the way. Regulators from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued guidance Monday meant to ease compliance with §404 of the act, the part that has prompted the lion's share of complaints about the law. Among other things, the PCAOB recommended that companies allow auditors to use discretion rather than rely on a "check-the-box" approach.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

January 23, 2006 | Law.com

Grant Thornton, one of the larger accounting firms outside of the Big Four, is under fire from regulators for the way it conducted audits of 15 publicly traded companies. Inspection reports by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board found failures to identify errors in a company's application of generally accepted accounting principles; failure of the firm to perform, or to perform sufficiently; and errors that appeared likely to be material to the issuer's financial statements.

By Donna Block

5 minute read

July 19, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Legislation that would prohibit government prosecutors from pressuring companies to waive the attorney-client privilege was introduced last week in the House of Representatives.

By Donna Block and William McConnellThe Deal

2 minute read

November 30, 2006 | New York Law Journal

After years of on-and-off negotiations, the stars have finally aligned for Wall Street's two main self-regulatory organizations to merge into a single enforcement arm for the securities industry.

By Donna BlockThe Deal

4 minute read