Just Released: Marsh & Volk Updates

The publisher has now released the 2010 update to Marsh & Volk, Practice under the California Securities Laws.  Therefore, be sure that you check to see that you have an updated copy.

Can California Handle Dodd-Frank?

In 1996, Congress apportioned regulation of investment advisers between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the states based on the amount of assets that an adviser had under management. At that time, Congress drew the line at $25 million in...

Placement Agent Bill Advances

Assemblymember Hernandez introduced AB 1743 to require placement agents for funds and fund managers seeking business with California's public retirement system to register as lobbyists. The bill continues to progress through the legislature. On...

Compensation Committees – Whom Do You Represent?

Amongst the many, many, changes wrought by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act, is this requirement in Section 952(d)(1):  

More on CalPERS’ Director Database Proposal

On Bastille Day, I posted this item about Gina Chon's article in The Wall Street Journal about the plans of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (aka CalPERS) to create a director database.   Today, Broc Romanek has posted an excerpt of...

Section 2115: Beware of Double Counting

Many practitioners both in and outside of California struggle with Section 2115 of the California Corporations Code. That statute purports to apply a laundry list of California statutes to out-of-state corporations to the exclusion of the law of...

What is a Venture Capital Fund? (Part II)

The Securities and Exchange Commission has established a procedure for commenting on rule proposals even before the proposals have been made.    I've already taken advantage of this procedure to submit this comment on with respect to the definition of...

Placement Agent Bill to be Heard Today

Earlier this year, Assemblymember Edward Hernandez introduced AB 1743 to require placement agents who assist in obtaining business from California public retirement systems, such as CalPERS and CalSTRS, to register as lobbyists. Although there are a...

The Alter Ego Doctrine Yields Conflict of Interest

American journalist Ambrose Bierce defined a corporation in his The Devil's Dictionary as "an ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility". The alter ego doctrine is one tool that the courts use to address a...