Linda Feinberg, President, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) Dispute Resolution, Inc.; John M. Gannon, Senior Vice President, FINRA Office of Investor Education; and Laura Gansler, Associate Vice President, FINRA Emerging Regulatory Issues, shared program updates with over 1,700 arbitrators yesterday during a FINRA – sponsored phone-in workshop.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "Commission") has adopted a final rule amending Regulation 18.05 to enhance the Commission’s ability to detect and prevent market manipulation or other disruptions to the integrity of regulated futures markets, and to ensure the avoidance of systemic risk.

We are sure that the recent (and continuing) financial markets turmoil is creating new and challenging issues for firms on an almost daily basis.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") yesterday voted unanimously to publish a release proposing for comment certain amendments to Regulation S-P, which governs the privacy of consumer financial information.

During the past few weeks, a number of securities regulators have announced investigations of the trading practices of certain mutual fund providers.

On June 2, 2010, the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island ruled on motions to dismiss in a series of cases brought by insurers arising out of stranger-initiated annuity transactions.

The Multistate Tax Commission kicked off the New Year with its Executive Committee Meetings in San Diego, California on January 3rd and 4th. While numerous projects were on the agenda, the MTC’s working group on revising the Uniform Division for Income Tax Purposes Act (UDITPA) generated the most vivid discussion. The working group clearly indicated that the MTC is determined to forge efforts to review UDITPA.

In August 2005, the SEC approved proposed changes to NASD Rule 2790 to exclude business development companies, real estate investment trusts and direct participation programsfrom the definition of "new issue" securities offerings.

A January 27, 2006 opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in the bankruptcy case of Calpine Corporation raises potential difficulties for future bankrupt energy companies’ efforts at restructuring.

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP has completed its annual review of disciplinary actions brought by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2009. On June 22, 2010, FINRA issued its "2009 Year in Review."

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in "Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company", Case. No 09-448 (May 24, 2010), that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not impose a "prevailing party" requirement for an award of statutory attorneys’ fees and costs in most ERISA cases.

On August 8, President Bush siged into law the Domenici-Barton Energy Policy Act of 2005 (the "Act"). The Act creates a new category of tax credit bonds called Clean Renewable Energy Bonds ("CREBs"). H.R. 6, 109th Cong. (2005) (enacted) § 1504.

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the "Act") requires parties to certain mergers or acquisitions (based on the size of the parties, the size of the transaction, and nature of assets or voting securities to be acquired) to notify the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice before consummating the proposed acquisition.

Because the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is still fairly new, federal courts are just now being asked to decide what kinds of activities will be considered "protected" for purposes of triggering a whistleblower claim under the statute. A Michigan district court managed to duck the issue recently when it held that, even assuming the former employee had satisfied the "protected activity" requirement, he had failed to establish a causal connection between those activities and his termination.

On December 11, 2009, in Private Letter Rulings 200950016 and 200950017, the IRS ruled that quota share reinsurance arrangements qualified as "insurance" for federal income tax purposes based upon the fact that both risk shifting and risk distribution were present in the arrangements.

The recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in "Vanderbilt University v. ICOS Corporation" contains rulings regarding joint inventorship that should be of interest to all participants in sponsored research.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that claims to isolated DNA and methods of use for diagnosis do not qualify as patentable subject matter in "Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office", 09 Civ. 4515 (RWS), March 29, 2010.