http://www.pattonboggs.com/ en-us Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:21:13 GMT Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:21:13 GMT The Deepwater Horizon explosion, fire, sinking, and well blowout demonstrated the failure of BP’s contingency plans for a worstcase accident. Congressional hearings in June strongly suggested that some of the other plans currently in place in the Gulf of Mexico would not work any better. These plans use much the same language as BP’s, and contain similar errors, errors showing use of an Alaskan template without adequate updates of personnel or adaptation to local flora and fauna. The government’s repeated approval of these plans suggest that regulators were not just asleep but comatose. http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1265 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1265 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT We have all been paying attention to the looming legislation intended to amend the Mine Safety and Health Act (HR 5663). By now, everyone has heard the arguments for and against the amendments so I don’t know that we need to rehash them here. http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1256 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1256 Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1235 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1235 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT As global economies are gradually recovering, notwithstanding the current disrupti ons in Europe, we are beginning to see a resurgence of Islamic securitized transactions and other structured financing. For example, Standard Chartered plans to arrange more than US$4 billion of Sukuk in 2010, and GE Capital has announced it will issue a secondSukuk in late 2010 or early 2011 (GE Capital’s first Sukuk was oversubscribed). http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1232 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1232 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT Many of the gigantic bankruptcies of 2009 did not follow the usual bankruptcy rules. In cases such as General Motors Corp. (Case No. 0950026), Chrysler LLC (Case No. 50002) and Calpine Corporation, exigent circumstances forced creditors to make a dramatic shift in the strategies previously used in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases from preparing a plan of reorganization to making a fast sale of the bankruptcy estate assets under § 363 of the Bankruptcy Code. Traditional Chapter 11 reorganizations have proven to be costly and disruptive for corporate debtors. Section 363 sales have largely supplanted traditional Chapter 11 reorganizations because they are faster and more cost efficient. Though not a new concept, parties have recently opted to pursue “pre-packaged” bankruptcy filings or “pre-packs.” http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1228 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1228 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT I try not to write about “purely legal” topics but a recent decision could have an effect on everybody— even though, at first blush, it may not seem like it. The story is about nothing more (or less) than a broken leg. http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1207 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1207 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT On March 24, 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a change in its interpretation of the federal law governing employee compensation that will dramatically affect the compensation of mortgage loan officers, whether they are employed by mortgage companies, state chartered banks, federally chartered banks, bank subsidiaries, savings and loan associations, credit unions, insurance companies, or any other entity that makes or brokers mortgages. Mortgage loan officers generally have been treated by their employers as exempt from the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). In a Wage and Hour Opinion Letter issued in 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor opined that mortgage loan officers satisfied the administrative exemption of the FLSA, and thus were not entitled to overtime pay (time and a half ) for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. Now, in its first ever Administrator’s Interpretation (“AI”), the DOL has found that mortgage loan officers do not satisfy the administrative exemption because the typical mortgage loan officer’s primary duty is to make sales, which is production, as opposed to administrative, work of their employers. The 2006 Opinion Letter is now “withdrawn.” http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1195 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1195 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT When the U.S. Senate passed the financial services regulatory reform package on May 20, 2010, it did so without any apparent discussion of prepaid cards during several days of debate leading up to the final vote. Yet, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, S. 3217, and closed loop prepaid products. Much more telling is the inclusion of stored value or prepaid cards in key definitions. They are included in such terms as “consumer financial products or services,” which a new governmental body will regulate, and “debit cards,” which the legislation will subject to limits on interchange fees. Likewise, the bill could impact the future evolution of the product: it affects statutes and regulations that helped foster the rapid development of the industry in recent years and will probably eliminate a regulator that oversees some of the key players in prepaid card programs. http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1209 News http://www.pattonboggs.com/news/Detail.aspx?news=1209 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT