Legal News

Today, the U.S. antitrust agencies announced a temporary suspension of the long-time practice of granting “early termination” of required premerger waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (the “HSR Act”). Historically, the agencies have granted early termination of the premerger waiting periods for transactions with no significant antitrust concerns....By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

In a direction consistent with 2020, the filing thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR Act) will decrease. Following statutory amendments made in 2000, the thresholds are adjusted annually based on changes in the U.S. gross national product (GNP). A key effect of this year’s indexing is that transactions will only be reportable if the Size of Transaction exceeds $92 million, a decrease from 2020’s $94 million threshold....By: Bryan Cave Leighto...

Along with the HSR filing thresholds, the Federal Trade Commission recently lowered the interlocking directorate thresholds under Section 8 of the Clayton Act. Section 8 prohibits, with certain exceptions, one person from serving as an officer or director of two competing corporations (the “interlocking directorate”) if certain thresholds are met....By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

The new National Security and Investment Bill, which aims to provide the Government with the necessary powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions to protect national security, will introduce a mandatory notification regime across 17 sectors in the UK economy. Although the Bill provides a carve-out for rights exercisable by administrators, insolvency practitioners will still need to be mindful of the risks that the Bill may have on distressed M&A transactions, which may be...By: ...

Questions about intellectual property rights routinely arise during construction contract negotiations and serve as a refreshing reminder that COVID-19 issues are not the sole focus of negotiations at the moment. Copyright is one type of intellectual property right and is the area where we tend to encounter the most queries. Originally published in Practical Law Construction - June 3, 2020....By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Question: What do the Oslo Picasso murals “The Seagull” and the “The Fishermen” and the Dutch De View Jaargetijden have in common? Answer: They both have been subject to recent high cost, high profile litigation that dragged on for years and which concerned moral rights. Originally published in Practical Law: Construction Blog - September 9, 2020....By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

The new National Security and Investment Bill, which aims to provide the Government with the necessary powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions to protect national security, will introduce a mandatory notification regime across 17 sectors in the UK economy. A voluntary notification scheme will encourage notification from parties who consider that their transaction may raise national security concerns....By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

The recent appeal decision in Hillside Parks Limited v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2020]1 has led some to question whether the established rules around ‘drop-in’ permissions have been curtailed; some authors query whether they have been lost altogether.  Rest assured – the option is alive and well.  This blog examines the foundation for any concerns and highlights the importance of a carefully constructed initial planning permission which should have an eye on the real possibility of.....

The recent U.K. judgment Premier Engineering (Lincoln) Ltd v MW High Tech Projects UK Ltd [2020] EWHC 2484 (TCC) provides some useful practical insights into the court’s approach to handling timesheet evidence and examining large amounts of disputed invoices. Introduction - It is not uncommon on construction projects for various aspects of the works to be done on a “dayworks” or other “time and cost” payment basis....By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

This Newsletter of the Competition and Distribution team of BCLP's Paris office features some of the key developments of the last quarter. In this newsletter: ..To enable national authorities to better apprehend killer acquisitions, the European Commission (the "Commission") announces the “return” of Article 22 of the European Merger Regulation; ..As part of the review of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation, the Commission publishes its roadmap and reveals the first reform options...By: ...