The Trump administration last Wednesday proposed to loosen federal protections for endangered species. A draft rule from the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would repeal…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Ten years ago, Hovik Nazaryan sued Femtometrix, Inc. claiming that the company had issued shares to him than it had promised. The parties settled the lawsuit. The settlement agreement provided that the stock issued to Mr…
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/ Business Organizations, Commercial Law & Contracts, Taxation
Last week, several news outlets reported that the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) circulated a draft template dated April 8, 2025 among federal agencies to assist in updating their procedures for implementing…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law
On September 30, 2018, California enacted SB 1235, codified at California Financial Codes sections 22800–22805. SB 1235 requires that an offer of commercial financing for $500,000 or less be accompanied by disclosures of: (1)…
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/ Administrative Law, Commercial Law & Contracts, Constitutional Law
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal includes a story about the possible delisting of shares of Chinese companies. Shares of companies that are listed, or authorized for listing, on a national securities exchange (or tier or segment…
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/ Business Organizations, Finance & Banking, Securities Law
The application of the securities laws to digital financial assets has been fraught for lawyers and their clients. After taking a hard line that many of these assets were securities under the federal securities laws, the…
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/ Administrative Law, Finance & Banking, Securities Law
The Trump administration is moving to effectively eliminate a crucial protection in the half-century-old federal Endangered Species Act by redefining a single word: harm. A proposed rule, issued this Wednesday from the U.S. Fish…
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/ Administrative Law, Elections & Politics, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Fighting about rooftop solar in California never seems to get old. Kicking off the latest conflict is legislation that would reduce the benefits that longtime solar customers receive for extra electricity they produce and export…
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/ Administrative Law, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law
Globe Photos, Inc. owned a portfolio of millions of images of celebrities and musicians, including Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix, some taken by famous photographers such as Frank Worth. Despite these assets,…
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/ Bankruptcy, Business Organizations, Business Torts
Last year, I reported that the stockholders of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. had failed to approve a proposal to convert the corporation from a Delaware to a Nevada corporation. The company has not given up on the…
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/ Business Organizations, Securities Law
“The 'flight to quality' continues. Office building landlords with space available in upscale buildings (with state-of-the-art amenities) located in hot submarkets are very active right now. Most companies have realized…
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/ Real Estate - Commercial
Last week, the United States General Services Administration, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to Alan M. Garber, the President of Harvard University, and Penny Pritzker, Lead…
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/ Civil Rights, Securities Law, Taxation
In my experience, many securities lawyers are well versed in the federal securities laws, but have little experience with state securities laws. This is understandable because federal law in many cases preempts state…
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/ Securities Law
President Trump issued an executive order this Tuesday taking aim at state and local climate change laws and policies, including California’s landmark market program for reducing greenhouse gases. The order directs U.S. Attorney…
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/ Agriculture, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law
Only a few publicly traded corporations are incorporated in California. Most either started life in Delaware or later decamped to that state (and more recently other states). Nonetheless, many of these corporations have their…
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/ Business Organizations, Conflict of Laws, Securities Law
