Compliance into the Weeds: Episode 141-PwC Spanked Edition
Arbitration can be an effective alternative for parties seeking to avoid drawn-out and costly litigation. As a result, it has become common practice for parties to negotiate arbitration clauses into their agreements....more
On July 26, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held, after a bench trial, that Plaintiff Botta failed to prove that Defendant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PwC”) terminated his...more
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Laurent v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which held that retirees could receive money damages in the form of recalculated benefits in a class action...more
In its Oncale decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that same-sex sexual harassment violates Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition. In that case, the court said that plaintiffs can demonstrate same-sex harassment...more
The Big Four bogeyman has haunted the U.S. legal market for years. Like any good horror movie villain, it’s shrouded in mystery. We don’t know when it’s coming, or exactly what will go down, but we know that a...more
Your Federal Reserve update based on Chair Powell’s testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, including pushing back against concerns that the “economy is on the cusp of running too hot” ...more
It’s not unusual to find buy-out provisions in shareholder and operating agreements that commit the pricing of the buy-out to the “final and binding” determination of one or more appraisers. The same agreements also may...more
The Second Circuit recently considered for the first time whether the equitable remedy of reformation was available under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) where a court determined that the written terms of...more
Bloomberg is reporting that Walgreens Boots is weighing a potential deal “to take the company private in what could become the largest leveraged buyout in history.” PE firms like KKR are apparently in the mix to assist in the...more
Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this episode, Matt Kelly and I go into the weeds...more
Succession planning is just as significant as governance, enterprise risk and strategic oversight. In other words, it is just as important. Sadly, many companies fail to give it the attention it requires. ...more
Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum to U.S. Attorneys announcing that the Department of Justice has reversed its position on the coverage of transgender people as protected under Title VII of the...more
A recent court decision exemplifies the challenges that businesses face in attempting to predict the law that will control privilege questions. The court decided that the law of the state where the court is located governs...more
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and CB Insight recently released the results of its US MoneyTreeTM Report on U.S. venture funding for the first quarter of 2017. The report indicates that venture capitalists invested $13.9...more
Crisis PR is an art akin to an F16 dogfight; it happens at lightning speed, there’s little room for error, and a decent percentage of those who know what happened may not survive....more
At least as far back as the Enron scandal and subsequent enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley, accountants and auditors have been viewed as uniquely positioned to serve a crucial watchdog role. Among their many functions, they...more
Court Refuses to Dismiss Malpractice Claim Against MF Global Accountant: PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP failed in its effort to have a federal court in New York City dismiss a malpractice claim brought against it by the plan...more
A new report on securities class actions records an increase in the number of filings in 2015. Most of those actions were brought against smaller issuers, according to the report. PWC, Small Companies, Big Targets – 2015...more
PwC recently released a study on the effect of disclosing material weaknesses (MWs) during an issuer’s initial public offering. Disclosing material weaknesses, which are defined by the SEC as “a deficiency, or a combination...more
In a case of first impression at the appellate level, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri has held that the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual...more
Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez recently made statements regarding regulation of the developing “sharing economy” exemplified by on-demand apps and websites such as Uber and Airbnb that connect sellers of a...more
This past June, leaders from health systems, outpatient services companies, health insurers, IT and equipment suppliers, health retailers, home care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and investors gathered in Chicago for...more
Lake Charles Location Terminated Employee Because of Transgender Status, Commission Charges - NEW ORLEANS - Mississippi-based First Tower Loan, LLC violated federal law by firing a Lake Charles, La., manager-trainee...more
Much of the nation’s infrastructure, from energy to transportation, depends upon telecommunications for safe and efficient operation. The facilities that provide such communications services generally are proprietary...more
A recent publication by PricewaterhouseCoopers announced that patent suit filings in 2014 had reduced by 13% from the prior year, and concluded that this "dramatic shift" was "[d]riven by Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, which raised...more