Articles

10.16.13

New Swap Rules Bring New Risks

In secured lending transactions, "swaps" have allowed borrowers to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates and currencies. Earlier this year, new swap rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) have come into effect, resulting in new and ...


10.08.13

Landmark Green Chemistry Regulations Take Effect in California

California's groundbreaking Safer Consumer Product regulations took effect October 1, 2013. The long-in-the-making green chemistry regulations establish a process for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to identify consumer products containing chemicals of concern that ...


10.04.13

Return Tracking and The Consumer Privacy Issue

A recent string of media reports has focused on major retailers that track customers who return merchandise. While the plaintiffs' bar and the media are seeking to transform return monitoring into a headline-grabbing consumer privacy issue, the practice is hardly new, it is certainly justified ...


10.04.13

How Bank Boards Should Handle Regulatory Change

Bank directors should not think grimly about their service as a board member, even in the light of increased regulatory and shareholder pressure. While laws and regulations are constantly evolving, bank directors who approach their director work with clear focus, open lines of communication with ...


09.12.13

Assets Held By Charitable Organizations Are Safe From Claims or Creditors In Bankruptcy Cases … Or ...

A charity, fulfilling its charitable mission, is successful in raising money for a variety of worthy projects—rebuilding after a natural disaster, medical education and care, summer camp experiences for disadvantaged children, or financial support for senior centers. Everyone agrees that ...


09.04.13

Infrastructure Projects Drive Private Builds

Unless you have literally been living under a rock, anyone who lives or works in the San Francisco Bay Area recognizes that the development of new commercial real estate projects is booming. According to various industry sources, construction starts in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco ...


08.27.13

Who Is in Charge of Our Hospitals?

Literally, no one wants to "go there." We just want to know that physicians and hospitals are providing quality care. For decades, however, a debate has raged within hospitals for primacy over responsibility for deciding whether a physician's privileges to treat hospital patients ...


08.23.13

What Many Foreign Banks and Community Banks Have in Common

Strange as it may seem, community banks and the U.S. operations of foreign banks are often treated similarly; their interests are usually legislative and regulatory afterthoughts. Stated differently, the uncertainty that arises with new legislation or regulation forces these banks to mark time for ...


08.20.13

Why Content Creators Should Know About the New 'Share Economy'

"Disruption" is an over-used word in the entrepreneurial and technology worlds. But, it certainly isn't in the world of media. Gone (or going fast) are the worlds of content ownership - both physical (DVDs) and digital (iTunes downloads). Subscription services, social and sharing are ...


08.15.13

Seizing Underwater Mortgages: An Idea That's All Wet

The latest municipal attempt to seize underwater mortgages by eminent domain is an abuse of this most awesome governmental power.The plan is being pushed by San Francisco-based Mortgage Resolution Partners, which recently entered into an agreement with the city of Richmond, Calif. And the city has ...