Hammonds and Squire Sanders Firm Up Merger Terms | Legal Week
Squire Sanders & Dempsey Chairman Jim Maiwurm is set to become global chairman following its proposed merger with Hammonds, as details of the new firm’s framework begin to emerge.
The proposed tie-up, announced last week, would see Maiwurm head the trans-Atlantic firm, with a European chair position also being discussed, likely to be filled by Hammonds Managing Partner Peter Crossley.
The deal is likely to see the firms retain separate profit pools, in common with recent mergers between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson and Denton Wilde Sapte and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.
The name of the combined entity, if it goes live as planned on January 1, 2011, is still under discussion, although Squire Sanders Hammonds has been cited as one possibility.
Europe Starts Antitrust Inquiries Against I.B.M. – NYTimes.com
The European Commission opened investigations Monday into whether I.B.M. had abused its dominant position in mainframe computers, signaling that the era of aggressive prosecution of American technology leaders in Europe did not end with the Microsoft antitrust case.
The commission said that it would examine whether I.B.M. had shut out rival mainframe software vendors and service providers. The investigation could lead to charges and potential fines against the company.
Joaquín Almunia, who took over in February as the European competition commissioner, “is making it clear that the Internet and the information technology sector will be an enforcement priority for him and for the commission,” said Alec Burnside, a competition lawyer in Brussels at the law firm, Linklaters. “It is clear that he is building on the precedent left him by his predecessor.”
via Europe Starts Antitrust Inquiries Against I.B.M. – NYTimes.com.
Goldman seeks settlement with SEC | FT.com
Goldman Sachs is hoping to avoid the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charge of fraud by reaching a settlement on a lesser offence and agreeing to a fine of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to people familiar with the bank’s negotiating position.
Goldman, which has been accused of civil fraud over a complex mortgage-related security called Abacus, is trying to focus settlement talks with the SEC on the less serious charge of omitting or mis-stating material facts to investors.
Regulatory experts say that companies charged with fraud often seek a settlement on a lesser charge but it is unclear whether the SEC would agree to downgrade such a high-profile case.
A lesser charge would reduce Goldman’s risk of being sued by investors and help the bank avoid the reputational damage of having settled a fraud charge, according to people familiar with the situation.
People involved in the discussions say that, even if regulators agree to consider a lesser charge, Goldman would neither admit nor deny wrongdoing – a common practice among companies settling with the SEC.
Goldman and the SEC declined to comment.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Brad Hintz of Bernstein Research estimated that Goldman might pay a fine of $250m and compensate investors by buying out their exposure to the Abacus deal at a cost of $370m.
via FT.com / Companies / Banks – Goldman seeks settlement with SEC.
U.S. Is Said to Scrutinize Apple’s Online Music Tactics – NYTimes.com
The Justice Department is examining Apple’s tactics in the market for digital music, and its staff members have talked to major music labels and Internet music companies, according to several people briefed on the conversations.
The antitrust inquiry is in the early stages, these people say, and the conversations have revolved broadly around the dynamics of selling music online.
But people briefed on the inquiries also said investigators had asked in particular about recent allegations that Apple used its dominant market position to persuade music labels to refuse to give the online retailer Amazon.com exclusive access to music about to be released.
All these people spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the delicacy of the matter. Representatives from Apple and Amazon declined to comment. Gina Talamona, a deputy director at the Justice Department, also declined to comment.
In March, Billboard magazine reported that Amazon was asking music labels to give it the exclusive right to sell certain forthcoming songs for one day before they went on sale more widely. In exchange, Amazon promised to include those songs in a promotion called the “MP3 Daily Deal” on its Web site.
The magazine reported that representatives of Apple’s iTunes music service were asking the labels not to participate in Amazon’s promotion, adding that Apple punished those that did by withdrawing marketing support for those songs on iTunes.
via U.S. Is Said to Scrutinize Apple’s Online Music Tactics – NYTimes.com.
U.S. Trade Policy Nears Zero Hour | National Law Journal
In most matters of international trade, the United States is like a popular seventh-grade girl, surrounded by throngs of admirers and wannabes.
But when it comes to math — specifically a method of calculating duties on certain imports — the United States is eating its lunch alone.
Millions of dollars each year ride on this calculation, known as “zeroing,” which is used by the Commerce Department to determine whether a foreign company is selling goods here at less than fair value. If a company is dumping its products, the U.S. government adds a duty to even out the playing field.
But virtually every one of the World Trade Organization’s 153 member countries objects to how Washington juggles the numbers. The United States has been hit with more than a dozen suits at the WTO challenging zeroing — and lost them all before the trade body’s highest court.
Now, the United States faces the prospect of retaliatory sanctions from the European Union, Japan and Mexico. A WTO arbitrator is currently weighing the first request from Europe to impose $311 million in tariffs, with a decision due as early as next week.
The Obama administration is in an awkward position. If it quits using zeroing, it will trigger the wrath of the domestic industries it benefits — primarily steel makers, but also producers of products ranging from shrimp to ball bearings to plastic bags. If it clings to zeroing in the face of WTO condemnation, American exporters will be punished by sanctions.
The official position from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is that Washington “has indicated that it intends to work to bring itself into compliance,” according to a spokeswoman.
Australia’s position as an International arbitration centre to be enhanced – Deacons
The Australian position in relation to international arbitration has always been complicated by virtue of its federal system of laws which allows parties to choose to resolve their dispute “under arbitral laws other than in accordance with the internationally accepted Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).” This creates confusion and not insignificant legal difficulties concerning the interaction of different laws. Additionally, the finality sought by parties to an international arbitration is not always certain by virtue of the appeal/review powers contained in the State and Territory Commercial Arbitration Acts. As well, there has been in recent years a general concern about the trends surrounding the nature of international arbitration with the widespread view that arbitration has become too litigious with proceedings increasingly resembling those of a court. Such complications and trends had led many to believe that Australia was unlikely to establish itself as a major player in the field of international arbitrations. In light of a new Bill currently before Parliament, all of this could now change.
In an effort to counter such trends, overcome the difficulties with Australia's federal system and in a bid to promote Australia as a centre for international arbitration and dispute resolution, the International Arbitration Amendment Bill 2009 was introduced into Parliament on 25 November 2009, following the Commonwealth Government's year long review of international commercial arbitration in Australia.
via Legal update: Australia’s position as an International arbitration centre to be enhanced – Deacons.
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