Last week was the most dramatic week in financial markets since the Great Depression. Within a span of seven days, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Bank of America agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch, the federal government loaned US$85 billion to AIG to prevent its collapse, and the Secretary of the Treasury sought unprecedented and nearly limitless authority from the Congress to purchase US$700 billion of distressed mortgage-related assets from financial institutions.

On May 29, 2007 the US Supreme Court held that courts cannot consider claims of discriminatory pay based on decisions that occurred prior to the deadline to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

When faced with a distressed or troubled company, management, board members, regulators and other stakeholders will find themselves in the unfortunate situation of having to work together to determine the best course of action for the company.

NYSE And Nasdaq Modify Bright Line Tests For Director Independence The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market each recently modified certain bright line tests to be used when determining director independence for purposes of their corporate governance listing standards.

On March 13, 2008 US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) announced new, more stringent national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The new primary and secondary standards are both set at 0.075 parts per million (ppm) over an eight-hour period.

In a nuanced and intelligently written opinion that gives new life to key defense arguments opposing class treatment of medical monitoring claims, a federal judge in West Virginia has rejected certification of a class of persons allegedly exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in their drinking water, Rhodes v. E. I. du Pont De Nemours and Co., 2008 WL 4414720 (S.D.W.Va., 09/30/08).

Employers with commercial drivers or other transportation employees should prepare to comply with a Department of Transportation (DOT) Final Rule governing DOT-mandated workplace drug and alcohol testing programs that takes effect August 25, 2008.

On 30 July 2008 Germany's federal government published a revised draft (Kabinettsentwurf) of an act changing and amending the German Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz).

On August 4, 2011 the Federal Service for Financial Markets of the Russian Federation (FSFM) registered and sent to the Ministry of Justice the Draft Order "On the Amendments to the Regulations of Offerings and/or Trading of Securities of Russian Issuers Outside the Russian Federation".

If you are a multinational business with plans to employ a non-EU national to work in a UK-based branch of your company you may be unable to do so from November 2008 unless you have first registered with the UK Border Agency (UKBA) as a sponsor.

Amidst the much-discussed and analyzed provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) lies a provision that may be overlooked even though it will impact many public companies.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) final rule implementing amendments to the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) becomes effective May 13, 2009. The ACAA, which prohibits discrimination in airline service on the basis of disability, has been reorganized and expanded to cover foreign air carriers.

Following the enactment of Ohio House Bill 125, the Healthcare Simplification Act, health care providers were hopeful that use of "most favored payer" clauses would cease.

On June 6, 2008, President Bush signed into law the SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008.

On January 13, 2009 the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois entered its decision in “Young v. Goldman Sachs”, dismissing a putative class action brought by a shareholder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in connection with last year's acquisition of Wrigley by Mars, Incorporated.

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance increasing the opportunities for a US corporation to borrow money from a controlled foreign subsidiary without triggering tax on a deemed dividend.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2007-26 (Notice) soliciting applications from qualified issuers (including political subdivisions) for allocations of volume cap to issue clean renewable energy bonds (CREBs) for eligible clean renewable energy projects. Applications must be filed with the IRS by July 13, 2007.

Last year the Federal Trade Commission and the federal financial institution regulatory agencies published what have come to be known as the "Red Flag Rules," which require financial institutions and creditors to develop and implement an Identity Theft Prevention Program, 72 Fed. Reg. 63718 (Nov. 9, 2007).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2009-10 on January 14, 2009, providing one-year extensions for two measures aimed at ameliorating the liquidity crunch and economic market crisis.

Late last year, the penalties for export violations increased substantially. Although the new penalties have not yet been applied by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), BIS has indicated that it will look closely at the effectiveness of the violators compliance program.