Three-peats as a Latinvex Top Energy Law Firm for Latin America

(Los Angeles) – Akin Gump is pleased to announce that, for the third consecutive year, it has been named one of the top energy law firms in Latin America by Latinvex, a provider of news and analysis on the continent’s business, as well as ranked among the top international law firms in Latin America, more generally.

Akin Gump was again ranked in fourth place for its energy work in the region.

Latinvex’s rankings are based on a combination of factors, including value, prominence and scope of work between July 2015 and July 2016 and references among clients and peers.

Most recently, Akin Gump’s projects and energy work in the region has been recognized by Chambers and Partners (read more here) and The Legal 500 (read more here).

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP published this content on 11 October 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 October 2016 14:18:07 UTC.


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Possible Chinese investment in Canadian tech firms raises security concerns

Canadian clean technology companies could be the next major investment for China’s business elite.

But cyber-security experts and the opposition are warning that the keen interest from Chinese investors must be treated carefully.

“For us at the moment, natural resources is not the top priority,” said Wang Chaoyong, the chairman and CEO of 
ChinaEquity, one of the country’s most successful independent venture capital firms. 

“We are more interested in investing in environment technology, clean tech [and] innovative sectors such as creative industries,” Wang said in an interview with CBC News.

The investment mogul is part of a delegation from the elite China Entrepreneur Club, which is touring Canada to get a closer look at potential investments. 

The group, which is often called China’s club for billionaires, met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday.

“Canadian product, brand and innovative design are very popular in China, so we see the synergy between the Canadian product and the Chinese market,” Wang said.

CDA China 20161018

Wang Chaoyong is chairman and CEO of ChinaEquity, one of the country’s most successful independent venture capital firms. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

He explained his firm is looking to become a minority stakeholder in companies with products or systems that could be successful in China’s massive market. 

Wang said he’s noticed a new spirit of willingness for economic co-operation between China and Canada. 

“At the moment, I think we see the Chinese government and the Canadian government are doing a lot of work to help us.”

‘Attractive target’

According to a report by Ottawa-based Analytica Advisors, Canada’s clean technology sector is made up of nearly 800 companies employing about 55,000 people. 

The industry is expected to grow, as countries around the world become more environmentally conscious. 

But because the industry is still developing, one cyber-security expert says Canadian companies could be vulnerable to hacking attacks.

“It’s very much a new industry, and they can get in at the ground floor,” said Keith Murphy, the CEO of Defence Intelligence, an Ottawa based cyber-security firm.

“It makes for a very attractive target,” Murphy said. 

Murphy said he understands Canadian businesses want to grow their companies, but owners should be weary of major investments from Chinese firms.

“Especially with a lot of the history we’ve seen with Chinese businesses, they’ve been used to attack the Canadian government, Canadian citizens, Canadian businesses in the past. And certainly the U.S. has fallen victim to this as well.”

In 2014, Chinese state-sponsored hackers were accused of breaking into the computer system of Canada’s National Research Council. The Chinese government adamantly denied the claim.

Former technology giant Notrel said extensive cyberattacks by Chinese spies played a role in the company’s downfall. 

Security checks in place, Ottawa says

As the federal government tries to strengthen ties with China, it is also downplaying concerns about investment and security.

“There’s a well-established Canadian process for dealing with these issues under the Investment Canada Act with all of the appropriate safeguards in place,” said Public Safety Minster Ralph Goodale.

“Canada’s a country that welcomes foreign direct investment. Obviously, it needs to be a net benefit to Canada and all the security requirements need to be met. The procedure is there already in the law to deal with that,” he added.

The opposition is warning the government to move slowly and to vet foreign investors carefully, for all sectors.

“We should … do a little due diligence on the history of these individuals, how their billions were acquired, their relationships with state-owned industries in China,” said Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent.

“Canada is open for business, and should be open for business. But I think we have to be very careful about who is doing the buying and how that purchase will look down the road in terms of the Canadian economy and Canadian security interests.” 

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PSUs, private firms on par in bankruptcy bill

The proposed law is credit positive for banks and it will deter senior unsecured creditors

The draft bill on the resolution of bankruptcy of financial firms would put public sector financial companies on par with their private counterparts, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

“Under existing laws, resolution of public sector banks can only happen by order of the government and in the manner it directs,” according to a note prepared by Moody’s. “This differential treatment would be removed if the bill becomes law, and they would be brought on an equal footing with other financial firms in terms of resolution.”

While the proposed law is a credit positive for banks, Moody’s said it would be a deterrent for senior unsecured creditors due to their altered rankings.

“Under the proposed law, uninsured depositors would rank above senior unsecured creditors in a liquidation scenario, compared to the existing scenario where they rank pari passu (on an equal footing),” the note said.

“Currently, resolution of financial firms in India is based on provisions spread across various laws,” according to the note. “More important, the current provisions are minor parts of laws made for other purposes. Thus, in practice, the resolution process has been ad-hoc to an extent. This bill addresses the lacunae of a having a legally codified framework for resolution, and hence is a credit positive in terms of enhancing overall systemic stability.”

Significant delineation

The note also highlighted the fact that once enacted, the Bill would create a significant delineation of regulatory powers between the Reserve Bank of India and the Resolution Corporation (RC), the organisation to be formed under the Bill.

“The RBI would have the predominant regulatory role for banks in the first three categories in terms of risk to viability, while the RC would be the key authority for banks in the last two categories.”

A key role of the Corporation will be to assign risk ratings to financial sector companies based on their viability, according to the draft Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2016. The ratings will range between ‘low’, “where the probability of failure of a covered service provider is substantially below the acceptable probability of failure”, to ‘critical’, “where the probability of failure of a covered service provider is substantially above the acceptable probability of failure.”

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Insolvency bill for financial firms credit positive: Moody’s

New Delhi: Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday said that the draft insolvency bill for financial firms was a credit positive move, which would help bankruptcy reform in the sector.

The government, in September, released the draft bill to address insolvency resolution for financial institutions. This follows the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code passed earlier this year for similar issues for non-financial firms.

The draft bankruptcy bill—Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2016—is crucial to have a comprehensive insolvency and bankruptcy framework in the country.

“Currently, the resolution of financial firms in India is based on minor parts of legislation enacted for other purposes,” said Srikanth Vadlamani, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s.

He added that the bill will improve the systemic stability for Indian banks. It will thus act as credit positive for financial firms in the country.

Also Read: Will personal insolvency resolution now be easier?

“At the same time, we note that the draft bill will have to go through multiple steps before becoming law, and could therefore be subject to changes and delays,” added Vadlamani.

In its report titled Draft Bill on Resolution Will Enhance Systemic Stability, Moody’s said that bail-ins do not seem to be the preferred form of resolution as suggested in the draft bill, with significant restrictions in place for their usage. A bail-in refers to cancelling or modifying a liability owed by a covered service provider (includes any banking institution, though not a cooperative bank, an insurance company, a financial market infrastructure and a non-banking financial company).

Bail-ins are allowed only if the same is contractually provided. Further, bail-ins are to be used only after means of recovery for a covered service provider have failed.

As a result, Moody’s expects India to continue to remain without an operational resolution regime.

The report says that the impact of bank failure and resolution on depositors and creditors is not clearly specified in the bill. As a result, Moody’s expects to continue to use the basic loss given failure (LGF) framework for rating Indian banks.

Also Read: Govt notifies draft rules for liquidation and insolvency

Moody’s also says that the bill ranks depositors above senior unsecured creditors in a liquidation scenario which is contrary to the current laws. This change will be a credit negative for unsecured creditors. The report highlights that law in other countries (with higher credit ratings) preserve such depositor preference. Moody’s rates senior debt ratings on par with deposit ratings, which is a likely outcome for Indian banks.

The draft bill also provides for a significant delineation of regulatory powers between the Reserve Bank of India and the proposed Resolution Corporation, the report says. Such a scenario would represent a change compared to the current structure, where the powers rest almost fully within India’s central bank.

Consequently, there could be some execution risk, as the system transitions to the new arrangement.

First Published: Tue, Oct 18 2016. 11 27 PM IST

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Four firms apply to help find Clarke County school superintendent

Top Clarke County School District administrators gathered Monday to begin the process of picking the search firm to help find the school district’s next superintendent.

Veronica Jackson, the school district’s purchasing and contract coordinator, spelled out the rules for the screening committee members. They should disclose any conflicts of interest, for example.

Twenty companies asked for the school district’s lengthy list of requirements and questions firms had to answer if they wanted to be considered for the job. Only four followed through and submitted proposals, however, Jackson told committee members — chief financial officer Larry Hammel; Ted Gilbert and Mark Tavernier, two of the school district’s three associate superintendents; Dawn Meyers, the school district’s executive director for policy and school support services; and Monica Gant, executive director of secondary teaching and learning, sitting in for the third associate superintendent, Sherri Freeman.

Jackson sent the committee members home with their homework — copies of the four firms’ proposals, which they are to study carefully before giving each company a numerical grade on several scales, including price and the scope of services the company promises to supply.

The committee reconvenes Thursday to talk about their grading and decide the ones they will recommend for the school board interview.

That number could be all four, or a smaller number, depending on how they grade out, she said.

The administrators should be prepared to defend how they’ve graded the firms when they meet Thursday, Jackson said.

Being on the committee is an important job, she told them.

“It means you will be entrusted with a great deal of responsibility,” she said.

Unlike most such administrative meetings, Monday’s meeting was open to the public.

Some board members argued at a board meeting last week that the board should be more involved in choosing the firm than is usual when the school district vets companies to perform various services.

Usually, a group of administrators picks finalists when the board is picking a company to perform some service — grounds maintenance, for example. Administrators submit the list to the board, along with a recommendation on which company should get the job.

But choosing a search firm for a superintendent is different, said several board members at the board’s monthly meeting last week.

The board decided its members could attend meetings of the committee screening search firms. The one that ultimately gets the job is charged with finding and screening applicants to succeed Clarke County School Superintendent Philip Lanoue, who is resigning effective March 1. School board members hope to have a replacement lined up before Lanoue leaves.

But that decision to allow board members to attend meant a committee meeting might become an official board meeting, if enough board members came to form a quorum — the number required to conduct official business.

Because of that possibility, the committee meetings would be governed by a state law requiring board of education meetings be open to the public except under special exceptions, such as when the board deliberates about real estate transactions, explained the school board’s lawyer, Michael Pruett.

Not enough board members came Monday to form a quorum, however. Carol Williams sat in, and Greg Davis showed up just as the short, routine meeting ended after about 20 minutes. Williams and Davis also got copies of the four proposals, with the same warning committee members got — to keep the contents confidential.

Follow education reporter Lee Shearer at www.facebook.com/LeeShearerABH or https://twitter.com/LeeShearer.


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Bhargavi Zaveri: New law should have firm foundations

By providing a definitive legal framework to deal with the resolution of financial firms, the draft Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill takes a leap of sorts in Indian financial regulation. But some chinks in the armour need to be fixed

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Bhargavi Zaveri
Late last month, the Ministry of Finance solicited comments on a draft Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, which is the proposed legal framework for resolving financial firms. The draft Bill complements the recently enacted Bankruptcy Code, which does not automatically apply to the resolution of financial firms. The draft Bill also plugs another gaping hole in the Indian legal framework on the identification and resolution of systemically important financial institutions (SIFI). Simply put, SIFIs are firms, the breakdown of which can lead to a breakdown of the entire financial …


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Hinshaw Launches New Consulting and Coaching Services Focused on the Business and Management of Law Firms

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP announced today that it has launched a Consultants and Coaches for the Profession Practice™. The new practice will focus on helping law firm leaders address complex business- and management-related challenges and opportunities involved in effectively managing their firms.

Chicago-based partner Donald L. Mrozek – who served as Hinshaw’s chairman from 1989-2015 – will lead the practice. Under his watch, Hinshaw grew from a small Chicago-area law firm to a national firm with 25 offices, approximately 500 attorneys and more than $225 million in revenues.

The team will include members of Hinshaw’s leading Lawyers for the Profession® Practice, including nationally recognized partners Anthony E. Davis, Janis M. Meyer and J. Richard Supple Jr. They have decades of experience serving as trusted advisors to firms of various size and complexity, including many AmLaw200 firms.

The firm’s new services complement and add a more business- and management-focused perspective to its existing services for law firms. The many areas on which the group will help clients range from effective leadership techniques to firm expansion, contraction and combinations to motivating lawyers to work together in an increasingly competitive environment to succession planning.

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