Block.

October 08, 2004 | Law.com

The war over expensing employee stock options took an unexpected turn this week, with dozens of senators urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to dedicate more time to the issue and take a closer look at the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposal. The senators' letter to SEC Chairman William Donaldson is the result of an intense lobbying campaign by opponents, mostly from the technology industry, of the FASB standard.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

June 20, 2007 | Law.com

A coalition of chief executives, business groups and labor unions wants corporate America to stop providing quarterly earnings guidance to Wall Street in an attempt to limit the influence of short-term investors on stock prices. The coalition issued a series of recommendations Monday that it hopes will increase pressure on companies to focus on long-term objectives rather than short-term fixes. The group also addressed executive compensation amid the public outcry over outsize pay packages.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

May 13, 2005 | Law.com

A comprehensive energy bill being drafted in the Senate could go to the floor without a provision repealing the Public Utility Holding Company Act, a 1935 law that restricts mergers among power utilities. PUHCA's repeal has long been a priority for groups who say it inhibits investment in the power sector. Many in the power industry have come to view repeal as a foregone conclusion, and several recently announced power mergers seem predicated on the assumption that the law will be gone soon.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

July 26, 2004 | Law.com

The well-oiled tech industry lobbying machine is mobilizing to take on the Senate after scoring a huge win last week when House lawmakers voted to limit the expensing of employee stock options. The 312-111 vote in the lower chamber has the tech industry basking in the afterglow and hopeful that the options issue will now have a higher profile.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

January 18, 2006 | New York Law Journal

Kenneth M. Block and Jeffrey B. Steiner, members of Brown Raysman Felder & Steiner, write that it is now common for lenders to provide for an "exit fee"--additional or deferred interest due at any time the loan is paid off, even at time of maturity. A review of litigation arising from the applicability and enforceability of these fees shows that precision of drafting may have avoided the disputes.

By Kenneth M. Block and Jeffrey B. Steiner

8 minute read

October 03, 2005 | Law.com

The ranks of New York Stock Exchange seatholders opposing a merger with trading platform Archipelago Holdings is swelling. Seven more seatholders have joined a class action seeking to block the Big Board's proposed merger, bringing the total number of members suing the exchange to 11. But opponents of the deal still have a long way to go before they can claim to represent the views of most NYSE members. More than 400, by contrast, have petitioned the court to let the deal proceed.

By Donna Block

3 minute read

February 27, 2002 | New York Law Journal

D isinterested director approval is a significant factor in the determination of the level of judicial review given to corporate transactions under Delaware law. Thus, decisions of disinterested directors, in the first instance, are protected under the business judgment rule, an evidentiary presumption that "in making a business decision the directors of a corporation acted on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the company [and its st

By Dennis J. Block And Jonathan M. Hoff

12 minute read

September 08, 2006 | Law.com

Two Senate leaders on Wednesday called on Congress and the SEC to crack down on executives who manipulated their stock options grants. Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the recent options backdating scandal obligates lawmakers to ensure that the SEC's investigative budget remains sufficient to ferret out instances of options rigging schemes and gives Congress incentive to rework tax laws favoring stock-based compensation for executives over cash salaries.

By Donna Block and Ron Orol

6 minute read

November 22, 2005 | Corporate Counsel

The internal regulators of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq may team up to better police their member firms. However, complete dependence on governmental regulation "would be a tragic mistake," NYSE chief regulatory officer Richard Ketchum said during a hearing of the House Capital Markets Subcommittee. Although NYSE and NASD officials may have their hands full getting these two fierce competitors to play nice, both of the exchange police chiefs were clear about the benefits of cooperation.

By Donna Block

4 minute read

December 08, 2005 | Law.com

On Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange's 1,366 owners voted to trade in their history and embark on a new era. The overwhelming vote -- 90 percent of members cast a ballot -- to purchase electronic upstart Archipelago Holdings Inc. transforms the world's largest stock market from a nonprofit public utility into the NYSE Group Inc., a for-profit, publicly traded company. The deal brings new trading technologies to the NYSE, but the future of the floor remains one of the biggest unanswered questions.

By Donna Block

4 minute read