Corporate & Commercial

By Molly Nelson on August 24, 2019

Every Saturday, we have been running a series of blog posts that take a close look at the Democratic Party candidates for President in 2020. We examine each candidate’s historic approach to marijuana law and policy, and we also canvas their current respective stances on marijuana. Over the past eight weeks, we covered Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Corey Booker, Beto O’Rourke and Andrew …

Adams on Contract Drafting

Stop Using Consent-to-Jurisdiction Provisions!

By Ken Adams on August 24, 2019

Recently I devoted this post to John F. Coyle’s article on governing-law provisions. I’ve now gotten my hands on his recent article Interpreting Forum Selection Clauses (here). (I call them “jurisdiction provisions.” More on that later.) In John’s words, jurisdiction provisions are “contractual provisions in which the parties agree to litigate their disputes in a specified forum.” Here’s an example: If either party brings against the other party any proceeding arising out of…

China Law Blog

Repeat After Me: There Will be No US-China Trade Deal

By Dan Harris on August 24, 2019

The US-China Trade War Is and Will be the New Normal I hate to say we told you so, but for nearly a year, WE TOLD YOU SO. Since October, 2018 we have been all but screaming at anyone and everyone who has product made in China and sold into the United States to get out of China fast, if at all possible. We say this and we set out the below timeline to prove…

International Trade Insights

President Trump Announces Increases to Tariff Rate on Products from China

By Cortney Morgan, Jeffrey Neeley & Katherine Stubblefield on August 23, 2019

On August 23, 2019, President Trump announced via Twitter that the tariff rates on Lists 1, 2, and 3, worth approximately $250 billion worth of goods imported from China, will increase from 25% duty to 30% beginning October 1, 2019. Additionally, the President indicated that the tariff rate on the List 4 tariffs currently set to begin on September 1 will increase to 15% from 10%. It is unclear if the tariffs currently set to…

Free Writings + Perspectives

SEC Brings Regulation FD Action

By Alex Speyer on August 23, 2019

On August 20, 2019, the SEC charged a pharmaceutical company with violations of Regulation FD based on its sharing of material, nonpublic information with sell-side research analysts on two separate occasions without also disclosing the same information to the public. The SEC found that on two separate occasions in June 2017, the company selectively disclosed material information to analysts regarding its correspondence with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the pending approval of…

Libation Law Blog

UPDATE – Governor signs Illinois bill allowing craft distillers greater freedom, self-distribution, and distilling “pubs.”

By Ashley Brandt on August 23, 2019

It’s officially a public act. As we wrote about before on this bill, many new rights (in line with those available to wineries and breweries) are in store for Illinois craft distillers now that Governor Pritzker has signed this amendment to the Illinois Liquor Control Act. These include creation of two new classes of craft distillers – a class 1 and class 2 that can: Class 1 Craft Distiller Ability to self-distribute Increase from…

The Blockchain Monitor

Blockchain Financial and Capital Markets Initiatives, U.S. Enforcement Across Agencies, Ethereum Vulnerability Paper Published

By Simone O. Otenaike, Robert A. Musiala, Joanna F. Wasick & Diana Stern on August 23, 2019

In this issue: • Blockchain Capital Markets Platforms Achieve and File for Regulatory Approvals • New Initiatives by Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Payment Platforms and Financial Institutions • U.S. Enforcement Actions Continue from OFAC, SEC, DoJ and IRS • Study of Ethereum Vulnerabilities and Defenses Released, While Dusting and Mining Malware Attacks and Cryptojacking Continue Blockchain Capital Markets Platforms Achieve and File for Regulatory Approvals By: Simone O. Otenaike The Intercontinental Exchange recently received approval from the…

Trade and Manufacturing Monitor

China Announces New Tariffs on $75 Billion of U.S. Products

By Kathleen Cusack on August 23, 2019

On Friday, August 23, China announced its plans to impose 5% to 10% tariffs on $75 billion of American products in response to Washington’s recent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese products. China’s new tariffs will take effect in two stages, the first on September 1, 2019 and second on December 15, 2019. The new tariffs will affect items such as beef, small aircraft, and soybeans. China also plans to revive a 25% tariff on…

Manufacturing Law Blog

Manufacturing a Summer (Employment) Potpourri

By Matthew Miklave on August 23, 2019

This blog post is dedicated to those of you who took a heathy summer break and want to catch up on the summer’s major developments. Let the speed reading begin! As predicted here, the Trump Administration launched a series of not-so-surprising raids to arrest undocumented workers. As of this writing, there has not been a noticeable increase in the prosecution of employers who employ undocumented workers. We can expect more ICE raids…

Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest

SEC Division of Corporation Finance Issues C&DIs Regarding Inline XBRL

By Mark J. Reyes, Mark D. Wood & Brian Hecht on August 23, 2019

On August 20, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (the staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission released several new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) relating to interactive data/eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), with a focus on items relating to Inline XBRL format requirements.…