On February 8, 2012, the IRS released proposed regulations (Proposed Regulations) interpreting the new Chapter 4 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, commonly referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

On 22 November 2011 the Criminal Chamber of the Italian Supreme Court ("Corte di Cassazione") heard case No. 7739; on 28 February 2012 it issued the judgment deciding, "inter alia", on the criminal tax consequences for the managers of a company formally resident abroad but "de facto" managed in Italy.

On June 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") issued a notice and request for comment ("Notice") on defining which entities should be included as "larger participants" in its nonbank supervision program.

The outcomes of The Takeover Panel’s (the "Panel") review of the regulation of takeover bids were implemented and came into effect on 19 September 2011.

On August 1, 2012, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission ("CIETAC") headquartered in Beijing, the leading arbitration institution in China, posted an announcement on its website ("Announcement"), declaring that CIETAC’s authorization to two of its branches, i.e., the CIETAC Shanghai Sub-Commission and the CIETAC South China Sub-Commission (located in Shenzhen), for accepting and administering arbitration cases has been suspended since the same date.

Acquisitions of French companies raise a number of employment law issues, including issues related to employee share compensation plan, information and consultation of employee representatives, management transition and treatment of employee personal data.

After two years of debate and several rounds of amendments, the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (中国国际经济贸易仲裁委员会) (CIETAC) has finalized revisions to its arbitration rules, which came into effect May 1, 2012 (the "Revised Rules").

Rule 506 is a non-exclusive safe harbor under the Securities Act which exempts transactions by an issuer "not involving any public offering" from the Securities Act’s registration requirements.

"Mortified" is the reported reaction of Robert Collins, a former corrections officer with the Maryland Department of Corrections (DOC), when DOC requested his Facebook username and password about a year ago.

On November 30, 2012, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection ("CFPB") Ombudsman’s Office delivered its first annual report ("Annual Report") to the CFPB Director.

In a proposal published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2011, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") issued guidance ("Proposed Guidance") addressing issues related to the safety and soundness of deposit-related consumer credit products.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of consumers use credit cards to pay for goods and services in California. In connection with these transactions, it has become almost routine for retailers to ask consumers to provide their ZIP code.

A discussion on the important step towards implementing its long-awaited Wetland and Riparian Area Protection Policy.

On February 20, 2013, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Court in Fontainebleau held that term lenders did not have standing to assert claims against revolving lenders under the same credit agreement for failure to fund, absent specific contractual provisions to the contrary.

The ECJ also decided that the website operator, rather than the plug-in provider, is responsible for obtaining consent and providing notice for such plug-in's data collection and transmission.

The first important step to facilitate the issue of bonds by Italian corporations with subsequent investment from non-resident investors was made in 1996 through Law 239.