Time To Review Shelf Registration Statements

All public companies with effective shelf registration statements should review whether such registration statements will expire under the three-year refiling requirement adopted in 2005 as part of Securities Offering Reform. The first refiling deadline – December 1, 2008 – applies to shelf registration statements effective on or prior to December 1, 2005. Shelf registration statements initially effective after that date will have individual refiling deadlines of three years from their initial effective date.

The three-year refiling requirement applies to many common shelf registration statements:

• any automatic shelf registration statement ("ASR") filed by a well-known seasoned issuer ("WKSI");