Publications

On June 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice and French National Financial Prosecutor’s office announced the first coordinated resolution by U.S. and French authorities in a foreign bribery case. The resolution represents a remarkable evolution in anti-corruption cooperation and enforcement between U.S. and French authorities. 

Deploying a plan support agreement (PSA) has become an essential component of U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, especially in larger, more complex reorganizations. Sophisticated debtors and creditors have effectively used PSAs to reduce the costs and risks associated with restructuring a distressed debtor and garner support for a new...

The coordinated resolution between the DOJ and the PNF—the first coordinated resolution between the DOJ and French authorities in a foreign bribery case—represents a new era in cross-border enforcement and cooperation between U.S. and French authorities. 

Businesses are now on notice that the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) intends to use its enforcement powers to police a broad array of potential interactions and relationships with sanctioned parties that cannot reliably be captured through traditional transaction due diligence and screening protocols because they involve...

In this article, RK&O partner Paul Devlin wades into some of the questions that the courts, CFTC regulators and commodity lawyers alike should be asking about the CFTC’s power to regulate cryptocurrencies. I

The legal profession is constantly changing, often prompted by new technology. Analytical tools that rely on artificial intelligence-powered software can assist lawyers in a wide range of document-intensive tasks that are critical to negotiating a transaction, conducting an internal investigation, or determining the evidence relevant to the prosecution or...

As U.S. economic sanctions have tightened, sanctioned countries, entities and individuals are engaging in increasingly sophisticated practices to evade their impact. Recent reports in the media and by U.S. regulators have described complicated sanctions evasion schemes involving false documentation, front companies and other deceptive trade...

Representing individuals in parallel or cross-border investigations and proceedings requires the ability to interact with counsel in multiple jurisdictions and disciplines, and a dogged focus on the desired result, often in the face of complex and competing jurisdictional, procedural and legal obstacles. In some instances, issues of foreign law or regulatory...

Investors currently relying on certain of the Bankruptcy Code’s safe harbor provisions to save them from clawback claims should consider finding new shelter. The U.S. Supreme Court in Merit Management Group, LP v. FTI Consulting, Inc., unanimously ruled that one aspect of the safe harbor under Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code does not prohibit a...

Market volatility’s resurgence has been followed by allegations that the VIX index - Wall street’s “fear gauge” - has been manipulated by traders. 

Over the last several months, the SEC has intensified its threats to so-called "gatekeepers," especially in the area of initial coin offerings ("ICOs") and cryptocurrencies. In testimony on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton reminded gatekeepers-including lawyers-that the SEC...

Market volatility’s resurgence has been followed by allegations that the VIX index - Wall street’s “fear gauge” - has been manipulated by traders. It is too early to know if these allegations are well-founded, but the inevitable investigations, like all alleged market manipulation cases, will be lengthy, complex, and expensive. These problems will likely be amplified in...

The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an important decision on February 9, 2018 that will have significant implications for CLO managers, investors and other securitization market participants. The D.C. Circuit’s decision vacates a federal district court decision upholding a federal rule that construed open market CLO managers as...

Participants in credit default swap (CDS) market know that moral hazards may arise when the parties to CDS contracts seek to influence transactions involving the companies referenced under the CDS. This risk is exponentially more pronounced when reference entities succumb to such influence. The controversy involving the home builder, Hovnanian...

In this article published in Compliance Week, RK&O attorneys Michael Mann and Margot Laporte address lessons learned from the Equifax incident and provide suggestions for companies seeking to re-evaluate their insider trading policies in light of evolving legal and reputational risks. 

The corruption probe launched by the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince last month has quickly reverberated in the global financial system beyond the desert kingdom, starting in Switzerland.

RK&O founding partner Lee S. Richards III recently contributed to the NYU Law Compliance & Enforcement blog, addressing American law enforcement’s focus on cooperation and self-reporting. 

On October 26, 2017 the SEC's Enforcement Division announced its efforts to address cyber-related securities law violations by creating a new Cyber Unit. The Enforcement Division, which has already developed significant expertise in its Market...

Technology is integral to a lawyer's ability to engage in the practice of law. Whether scheduling meetings with clients by email or text message, conducting due diligence is an electronic data room, using a database to produce electronic discovery in a litigation or government investigation, or filing pleadings in court, lawyers regularly rely on technology to represent clients.

While the Argentine business community is no stranger to transnational corruption investigations, the companies historically involved in those investigations have been local subsidiaries of major U.S. or European corporations (IBM and Siemens are the most...

Joining an ongoing discussion about renewed criminal justice reform efforts, RK&O founding partner Lee Richards recently took to the NYU Law Compliance & Enforcement blog to voice his opinion on...

Recent changes in the European loan and claims trading market may impact future investment strategies for fund clients focused on the secondary loan market. From new laws allowing limited direct lending to Italian borrowers, as well as simplified...

For years courts, prosecutors and SEC lawyers have twisted themselves into knots trying to figure out when those who leak insider information (“tippers”) benefit from the leak and thereby violate the securities laws based on the decision in Dirks v. S.E.C., 463 U.S. 646...

Bloomberg Law and Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP announced today the publication of Hedge Fund Equity Investing: U.S. Legal Issues, a portfolio that focuses on issues related to federal securities law that may apply to hedge funds when buying, holding and selling U.S. equity securities.

On July 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a penalty notice to ExxonMobil for violation of Ukraine/Russia-related sanctions targeting Russian government officials and their associates.

All counterparties in the equity derivatives market should be aware that the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (“ISDA”) opened the ISDA 2017 OTC Equity Derivatives T+2 Settlement Cycle Protocol (the “T+2 Protocol”) for...

On 27 June 2017 the Loan Market Association (the "LMA") published an update to the Standard Terms and Conditions for Par and Distressed Trade Transactions (Bank Debt/Claims) (the "Standard Terms and Conditions") which amended certain...

In its recent unanimous decision in Kokesh v. SEC, the Supreme Court concluded that disgorgement represents a penalty for purposes of the statute of limitations. But the impact of the case will extend well beyond its narrow holding.