Effective January 1, 2019, California Senate Bill No. 954 will require California lawyers representing clients in connection with mediation to (1) provide written disclosures to their clients about confidentiality restrictions applicable to statements made during or in connection with mediation and (2) obtain written acknowledgments from clients indicating that they have read and understand the confidentiality restrictions before theyagree to participate in mediation.

2018 was an active year for the California legislature in enacting laws that will impact the financial services industry—both directly and indirectly. In this Legal Update, we summarize the most pertinent, many of which become effective on January 1, 2019.

A manufacturing company was recently served with a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

On December 18, 2018, the US Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a final rule requiring companies to disclose their hedging policies and practices for employees, officers and directors. This Legal Update discusses details of the requirements as well as related practical considerations for companies.

This update covers the key differences between the current 2004 Law on Competition and the 2018 Law on Competition, and highlights the key abuse of dominance enforcement trends from the past decade.

On December 20, 2018, the staff (Staff) of the Division of Investment Management of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted conditional no-action relief to Madison Capital under Section 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (Advisers Act), and Rule 206(4)-2 (Custody Rule) thereunder for administrative agents (Administrative Agents) under syndicated loans that also act (or that have affiliates that also act) as investment advisers for pooled investment vehicles or separately managed accounts that are also lenders under such syndicated loans.

On December 19, the EU Commission ("Commission") published its report to the European Parliament and the Council on the second review of the functioning of the EU-US Privacy Shield (the "Report").

Partner Anna Pinedo and associate Joanne Sur-Young discuss the top 10 practice tips relating to registered direct offerings.

Partner Anna Pinedo and associate Joanne Sur-Young discuss the top 10 practice tips to consider in drafting and negotiating lock-up agreements.

Partner Anna Pinedo and associate Ryan Castillo discuss the top 10 practice tips for navigating the task of reviewing and negotiating comfort letters.

Innovative companies face stiff challenges when trying to comply with moribund US consumer protection rules that have not kept pace with technological advancements in the financial services industry.

28 U.S.C. § 1782 allows requests for US discovery in aid of a foreign proceeding. In the latest case to address the scope of that section, Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) partially denied an application for discovery from Banco Santander for lack of personal jurisdiction.

On December 19, 2018, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) amended Rule 251 and Rule 257 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), which are part of Regulation A, in order to allow companies subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act) to make offerings in reliance on the Regulation A exemption.

Our Mayer Brown NextGen Round-up reflects on NextGen’s successes during 2018; and also gives you the first chance to see the exciting events that we have planned for 2019.

Bylined article by US Insurance Regulatory partner Lawrence Hamilton (Chicago) and associate Sanjiv Tata (New York), as well as Technology Transactions partner Brad Peterson (Chicago).

The next phase of the European Union’s (the “EU”) new regulatory regime for securitizations will become applicable from January 1, 2019 pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (the “Securitization Regulation”).

On December 18, 2018 the Commission published a Request for Comment on Earnings Releases and Quarterly Reports (the “Request”), which solicits public comment on both earnings releases and the frequency of periodic reporting.