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February 15, 2013

Legal News in Brief

Corporate Spotlight

Analysis: Huge M&A deals return after half-decade of doldrums
After a dry spell that lasted half a decade, the volume of multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions soared at the beginning of 2013. A key factor is the more than $1 trillion of cash accumulated by Standard & Poor's 500 corporations that is generating almost no returns. The renewed health of U.S. banks is also driving the trend. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/DealBook blog (2/14)

National News

FASB proposal would give banks flexibility when valuing assets
A rule proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board would reduce the importance of market value when banks report the worth of assets on financial statements. The rule would give banks broad flexibility in establishing the value of financial assets. Reuters (2/14), The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (2/14)

Legislative Dispatch

Sen. Warren asks regulators about lack of prosecutions
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., used her first Senate banking committee hearing to question officials from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators about prosecution of Wall Street companies. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., chairman of the committee, said regulators should focus on completing Dodd-Frank Act rules before addressing the issue of "too big to fail." Reuters (2/14), The Hill/On the Money blog (2/14), Bloomberg (2/14), WealthManagement.com (U.S.)/Rulebook blog (2/14), The Wall Street Journal/Washington Wire blog (2/14)

Employment Focus

Calif. exchange establishes benefits structure
California has standardized the benefits structure for its health insurance exchange, becoming the first state to do so. Health plans that participate are required to adopt the structure, but the state says it will consider alternative proposals. San Francisco Chronicle/The Associated Press (2/13)

Supreme Court and Federal Court Watch

Court OKs Transocean's settlement with U.S. over Gulf spill
Transocean's $400 million settlement with the Department of Justice over criminal charges arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been cleared by U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, a company spokesman says. Milazzo accepted the company's guilty plea to one criminal misdemeanor charge of violating the Clean Water Act. Transocean will also pay $1 billion in civil penalties for Clean Water Act violations, but another judge needs to clear that settlement. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (2/14)

Professional and Business Development

Are you falling behind, or do you just think you are?
While it's useful to compare yourself to colleagues, keep in mind that such comparisons are more complicated than they seem, Rhymer Rigby writes. For instance, someone working at a different firm may be making more money than you but might also have a less flexible schedule. "Similarly, some metrics can be deceptive: a colleague may earn more than you for no reason other than that they drive a harder bargain," Rigby writes. Fast Company online (2/13)

Tips for getting good references
The best job references are past managers who will "speak glowingly of you," Alison Green writes. You need to alert references they may be contacted and prepare them on key points that you want to highlight with employers, she writes. U.S. News & World Report/On Careers blog (2/13)

PLI News

Free Friday Has Something to Tell You
At the free on-demand Web segment Disclosure Basics, taken from Understanding the Securities Laws 2012, learn about the duty to disclose, Regulation FD and dealing with analysts, stock exchange disclosure requirements, rumors and leaks, and loss contingencies.

There Is a Lot to Learn From Apple's Patents
We all know that Apple is an innovator in technology, but did you know that their patent applications are also the best in the business? Gene Quinn writes on PLI's Patent Law Practice Center that he has long told students and others that if you work in an area where Apple innovates and you are looking for good, well-written patents to learn from, then read whatever Apple patents you can find.

Lawyer Life

Lanai, Hawaii, is blooming once again
Restoration and renovation efforts under way in Lanai, Hawaii, are helping bring back the island's former beauty, this feature says. Dole Park in Lanai City offers dining areas and retail outlets, while the island's two Four Seasons resorts offer refreshed interiors and amenities. San Francisco Chronicle (2/8)

Bring on the darker beer this winter
Save the bottles of Corona and Rolling Rock for the summer and sip on something darker during the colder months. European brews such as Innis & Gunn's Oak-Aged Rum Cask Beer and Allagash Black are the perfect dark beers that pair with heavier winter fare without being overpowering. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (2/14)

SmartQuote

If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal. Not to people or things."

--Albert Einstein,
German-born theoretical physicist

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