TheCorporateCounsel.net

May 3, 2016

Trust Indentures: 28-Firm White Paper

This 28-Firm White Paper provides guidance that should facilitate the closing of certain debt restructurings and indenture amendments in the wake of two recent court decisions that interpreted Section 316(b) of the Trust Indenture Act as prohibiting amendments to an indenture that would impair the issuer’s ability to pay amounts due on the debt securities even if those amendments are otherwise expressly permitted by the indenture.

The decisions caused uncertainty over whether legal opinions typically required for indenture amendments can be delivered in connection with a debt restructuring or in circumstances where the issuer may be in financial distress. Also see these memos in our “Trust Indentures” Practice Area.

Webcast: “Legal Opinions – The Hot Issues”

Tune in tomorrow for the webcast – “Legal Opinions: The Hot Issues” – to hear from the foremost authorities on legal opinions as they analyze the most difficult topics today: Goodwin Procter’s Don Glazer, Mike Kendall and Ettore Santucci. The topics include:

1. Opinions on forum selection clauses when the contract chooses the law of another state or country
2. Opinions on arbitration provisions, including contrasting practice on agreements governed by US and foreign law
3. Opinions on provisions shortening or lengthening the statute of limitations
4. Drafting the “no violation of law” opinion
5. Excluding agreements governed by non-US law from the list of agreements covered by the “no breach” opinion
6. Giving separate opinions on “choice of law” clauses choosing the law of another state or country (exclude fundamental policies for both)
7. Venture capital opinion issues, including DGCL Section 204 opinions
8. Dealing with New York’s recent extension of its shareholder liability statute to non-NY corporations whose stock is not publicly traded
9. Dealing with the possibility that a limited partnership has dissolved when giving opinions – validly existing and power – on a LP.
10. Giving opinions on Delaware LPs when a gap exists between the filing of its certificate of limited partnership and its satisfaction of all the requirements for becoming an LP
11. Not giving “as if” opinions on cross-border agreements choosing foreign law

How Many Companies Are Filing With the SEC? 9100

I’m always curious how many public companies are filing disclosure documents with the SEC. A sentence from the SEC Chair’s recent budget testimony before Congress reveals that “the SEC is responsible for selectively reviewing the disclosures and financial statements of over 9100 reporting companies.” Meanwhile, as captured in these notes from a panel of Corp Fin speakers, in fiscal 2015, Corp Fin reviewed the periodic reports of 4400 companies and 600 IPOs…

Also check out this blog by Kevin LaCroix about “Yes, But WHY Are There So Many Fewer Publicly Traded Companies?“…

Broc Romanek