FEATURE ARTICLES
Posted: April 27, 2012 |
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INSIDE BUSINESS LAW:
Highlights of Committee Work Product
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Recognizing the Efforts of the ABA and BLS Leaders to Preserve the Independence of the Legal Profession
Over the past several years, the ABA has fought vigorously to preserve the independence of the legal profession by successfully blocking or modifying numerous key legislative and regulatory proposals that would have undermined traditional state court regulation of lawyers, interfered with the confidential client-lawyer relationship, or otherwise imposed excessive regulations on lawyers engaged in the practice of law. The Business Law Section has been a vital part of this overall ABA effort, with our business lawyers leading the way in numerous key areas, including:
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Martin Lybecker (Chair-Elect of the ABA Business Law Section and a member of the ABA Task Force on Financial Markets Regulatory Reform) and other Task Force members played a leading role in crafting a new ABA policy opposing provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act that would have granted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sweeping new powers to regulate practicing lawyers and their law firms. Marty also joined the ABA Governmental Affairs Office (GAO) in helping persuade key congressional leaders to include a strong practice-of-law exclusion in the final version of the Dodd-Frank Act. This exclusion effectively exempts practicing lawyers and their employees from the expanded regulatory powers of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created by the legislation.
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Terry Franzen, Chair of the ABA Business Law Section's Consumer Financial Services Committee, worked with the GAO to craft detailed comments forwarded to the FTC, urging the Commission to include a broad practice of law exemption in the final "Mortgage Assistance Relief Services" Rule. The exemption spares the vast majority of practicing lawyers who help consumer clients to renegotiate their mortgages or avoid foreclosure from all of the burdensome federal regulations in the rule.
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Donald Lampe of the ABA Business Law Section Council and Andrew Smith of the Section provided valuable assistance to the GAO that eventually led to the enactment of P.L. 111-319, effectively exempting practicing lawyers from the FTC's Red Flags Rule that requires "creditors" to develop costly programs identifying, detecting, and responding to the warning signs of identity theft.
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William H. Clark, Jr., Chair of the ABA Business Law Section's Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Initiatives Committee, Martin Lybecker, and other members of the ABA Task Force on Gatekeeper Regulation and the Profession, helped to develop several new ABA policies opposing federal anti-money laundering legislation or regulations that would undermine the attorney-client privilege or the confidential lawyer-client relationship. They also helped to develop the "
Voluntary Good Practices Guidance for Lawyers to Detect and Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing" and to disseminate the Guidance to state bars, state courts, and the legal community in general.
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For a full summary of significant recent efforts by the ABA and the Business Law Section to preserve the independence of the legal profession, be sure to check here.
- Small and Midsize Companies Securities Law Update
Recent federal securities law initiatives promise to greatly simplify the raising of capital for small and midsize companies. The Business Law Section has been a national leader in both promulgating and analyzing such initiatives, with our contributions paying off in the form of President Obama's
recent approval of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act). Securities law reforms for small and midsize companies were understandably a hot topic at the Business Law Section's Spring Meeting held this past March, and while the Spring Meeting occurred prior to the president's approval
of the JOBS Act, you won't want to miss the meeting's informative presentations and articles covering these emerging issues, provided here
(audio) and here
(audio).
- Ethical Issues in Negotiating and Drafting Business Contracts
Good transactional lawyers always strive to negotiate and draft contracts that best achieve client goals, but what happens when ethical considerations conflict with achieving those goals? This is an issue most busy transactional lawyers will inevitably face, and the Business Law Education Committee
provides us with an invaluable opportunity to learn how to deal with such issues in this hypothetical-based presentation
(audio) from the Business Law Section's 2012 Spring Meeting.
- Annual Reviews of Legal and Business Developments
One of the most important functions of the Business Law Section is to track current legal and business developments that directly impact the day-to-day practice of the business lawyer, and to compile those developments in the form of annual reviews. Many of these reviews are published in connection with the Business Law Section's annual Spring Meeting, and 2012 is no exception. You will want to print these important reviews and keep them near your desk for ready reference:
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- Community Economic Development (Spring 2012)
- Consumer Financial Services (Spring 2012)
- Diversity Committee - The Business of Diversity (Volume 1, Issue 1, March 2012)
- Middle Market and Small Business - Business Visions (Volume 6, Number 1, March 2012)
- Intellectual Property (March 2012)
- Commercial Finance and Uniform Commercial Code - Commercial Law Newsletter (Spring 2012)
- Private Equity and Venture Capital - Preferred Returns (March 2012)
- Professional Responsibility - The Ethical Business Lawyer (March 2012)
- Corporate Counsel (March 2012)
- Business Bankruptcy (March 2012)
- Young Lawyer Committee (March 2012)
- Mergers and Acquisitions - Deal Points (Spring 2012 - Volume XVII, Issue 2)
- Women's Business Law Network - Network e-News (Spring 2012)
- LLCs, Partnerships and Unincorporated Entities - The LLC and Partnership Reporter (Volume XXIX, No. 1, March 2012)
- Banking Law - Banking Law Committee Journal (March 2011)
- Business and Corporate Litigation (Spring 2012)
- Legal Opinions - Legal Opinion Newsletter (Spring 2012, Volume 11, Number 3)
- Cyberspace Law (March 2012)
All Committee Newsletters »
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OTHER NEWSLETTERS BY SECTION MEMBERS |
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DEPARTMENTS
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Upcoming Section Meetings
Thank you for paying your membership dues! If you have not paid your ABA and/or Section dues for the 2011-2012 membership year, log in to myABA. You can pay online or print out your invoice.
Meg Milroy, assistant general counsel at Verizon, is the 2012 recipient of the Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award from the American Bar Association Business Law Section. Click here to read the full article.
The following comments recognizing Jean Allard's life were delivered at the March 24, 2012, Section Luncheon during the Business Law Section Spring Meeting at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. Jean Allard was the first woman elected Chair of the Business Law Section and the first recipient of the Glass Cutter Award named in her honor. She passed away on Sunday, January 29, 2012, at the age of 87. Click here to read the full article.
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THE LAST LAUGH
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THE BUSINESS LAWYER
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Transfer Restrictions in the Indirect Holding System: Is Alienability in the Form of Holding?
States Prepare to Bet the House on Online Gaming
Running a Proper Independent Committee Process: Practice Tips from Recent Delaware Cases
