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The Corporate Restructuring Machine: How AI Could Improve Workouts
Out-of-court corporate restructurings, or “corporate workouts,” involve high-stakes multi-party negotiations without a clear procedural framework, such as the one that Chapter 11 provides. This gives the parties the freedom to design workouts without the constraints imposed by a rigid legal process – and can save them significant amounts of money.
At the same time, corporate…
ISS Discusses Proposed $362.5 Million Settlement in GE Securities Fraud Class Action
On November 25, 2024, plaintiffs Sjunde AP-Fonden and The Cleveland Bakers And Teamsters Pension Fund (together “Plaintiffs”) moved Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) for preliminary approval of a proposed $362.5 million cash settlement, which will resolve securities fraud class action claims against the…
Other Countries Can Fill U.S. Void in FCPA Enforcement
Shifting U.S. enforcement priorities may soon create a crisis in international anti-corruption efforts. For decades, the United States spearheaded those efforts through prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). On February 10, however, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order pausing enforcement of the FCPA. During the pause, the Justice Department plans to…
Number of Accounting-Related Securities Class Actions and Settlements Steady in 2024, Size of Settlements Shrink
Taking Consequences Seriously in Bankruptcy
The dominant shareholder primacy model of corporate governance makes shareholder wealth maximization both the purpose of a corporation and the only legitimate consideration for decisions by corporate directors. Yet that single-stakeholder model is under attack on several fronts. Numerous scholars and leading business figures assert that corporations have a broader purpose and that the interests…
The Strategic Evolution of Shareholder Activism
Shareholder activism has undergone a striking transformation over the past four decades. What began in the 1980s as a brash and often combative movement led by so-called corporate raiders has matured into a sophisticated, globally attuned, and strategically agile phenomenon. In a new paper, I explore how activism has evolved in both form and…
Goodwin Procter Discusses DOJ’s Data Export Rule
Reflections from Columbia’s Forum on Climate-Related Fiduciary Duty
As the physical and economic harms of climate change accumulate, corporate managers have faced increasing pressure to reduce their companies’ greenhouse gas emissions and adapt their businesses to climate-related risks. In parallel, civil society organizations and activist investors have increasingly sought to compel private sector action on climate change, while the “anti-ESG” political movement has…
Michigan Court of Appeals Considers Challenge to New Process for Siting Renewables
Over the last five years, several states, including New York (2020), California (2022), Illinois (2023), and Michigan (2023) have adopted comprehensive permitting reforms that curtail the power of local governments to block development of large-scale renewable energy projects.
Amicus brief filed by the Sabin Center and Goodman Acker P.C. on behalf of landowners in Milan…