In this week’s U.S.-focused edition, we look at the world’s largest asset manager’s updated voting guidelines which seek to strike a balance amidst the fraught political rhetoric surrounding sustainable investment. The...more
The government had another busy year in 2023, investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud cases on multiple fronts. Contending with the enormous healthcare crises of the now-concluded COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing...more
For nearly 200 years after its inception in 1792, the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) faced insignificant competition as the premier stock exchange within the United States. Then, alongside the technological surge of the...more
The Court of Appeal’s (“CA”) ruling in April 2024 in the case of BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC v HMRC (“BlackRock”) considered the deductibility of interest on a $4 billion intra-group loan put in place as part of the funding...more
Demand for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) is rapidly growing across the decentralized finance (DeFi) community, with growing interest among existing crypto-native participants and across the traditional finance industry...more
This is the final post in our 2024 Year in Preview series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year... Politicians in Republican-led states have painted a target on environmental,...more
Morrison Foerster’s State and Local Government Task Force is pleased to provide our bimonthly newsletter summarizing some of the most important and interesting developments from state attorneys general across the country and...more
Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: •Washington AG Adds to Nationwide Efforts to Prevent (A)I,...more
A group of 15 Republican AGs sent a letter to BlackRock, Inc.’s fund directors (collectively, “BlackRock”) reiterating concerns as to whether the investment adviser has sufficiently investigated its ESG policies and potential...more
Texas AG Ken Paxton announced that, “until further notice,” Barclays is no longer permitted to purchase or underwrite public securities, or otherwise be a party to a covered contract relating to the public security, after...more
Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti filed a lawsuit against BlackRock, Inc. that accuses the world’s largest asset manager of violating state consumer protection laws by making false and misleading representations to consumers...more
In August 2023, American Airlines, Inc. moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the airline for allegedly jeopardizing employees’ retirement savings by investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter and, where...more
We have previously blogged on the flurry of class action lawsuits challenging 401(k) plan investments in the BlackRock LifePath Index Target Date Funds. District courts around the country—seven of them in total—have granted...more
On August 30, the bankruptcy court for the District of Delaware confirmed Boxed Inc.’s second amended plan of liquidation on a fully consensual basis. The plan is the result of a global settlement among the debtors, the...more
Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit organization claiming to challenge “companies that have chosen to put woke politics above consumer interests,” announced in June 2023 that it was launching a publicity campaign against a...more
On July 12, 2023, Vinson & Elkins counsel Jon Solorzano, former Senior Director, Legal and Corporate Development for The Clorox Company, joined Pam Cone of Amity Advisory for “ESG: Balancing Priorities at the Leadership...more
15 Republican AGs wrote a letter to ten mutual fund directors who helm funds for which BlackRock, Inc. serves as an investment adviser, requesting information regarding potential conflicts of interest and ESG investments....more
A U.S. District Court judge threw out a case against Microsoft which claimed that the BlackRock LifePath Index Funds suite of target-date funds was an imprudent investment choice for their plan participants....more
Whole Foods recently scored a victory in its fight to defend its dress code prohibition on non-Whole Foods brands and logos. The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, (“the Court”) granted Whole...more
Two lawsuits questioning the prudence of plans holding the BlackRock Lifepath target-date funds were thrown out. The two suits, one involving Capital One Financial Corp., and the other involving Booz Allen Hamilton were...more
Since late July, at least 10 lawsuits have been filed against large 401(k) plan sponsors that offer certain BlackRock Inc. target-date funds (TDF) among their investment options. In an unexpected pivot away from the 401(k)...more
A decision in late-July 2022 of the UK’s Upper-tier Tax tribunal (“UTT”) has held that interest recognized by a UK resident company on loan notes issued to its parent was non-deductible under the UK transfer pricing rules, as...more
The world’s largest asset manager stressed that sustainability issues will continue to be fundamental to companies’ long-term economic outlook. On 17 January 2022, Larry Fink, the founder and chief executive of...more
In his annual letter to CEOs, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink asked that CEOs "issue reports consistent with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures." As the head of the biggest asset manager in the world, Fink's...more