Archive for the ‘Business Law’ Category

From last week in international business news, we cover Apax’s plans to acquire Rue21, Google in hot water … again, and allegation of price fixing in oil.

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This is the first in a series of blog posts intended to provide a high level overview of the business, structural, tax, employment and legal considerations for conducting business in India, written in collaboration with Manish Mishra, Executive Director of Meritas Indian member firm Khaitan & Co.  By no means do our posts address every aspect and consideration for conducting or seeking to conduct business in India. To address any specific business structure, joint venture, employment or consulting relationship, tax issue or dispute, we recommend that you contact your legal or tax advisor.  The information contained in this blog is provided on an ‘as is’ basis on the date of publication.

Part I. Starting Up

Being a former colony of Britain, the Indian legal system has historically followed the principles of common law and derives significantly from a tradition of rich jurisprudence. The system has been flexible enough to adapt to the ever changing global marketplace, which facilitates inviting investment in both venture capital and private equity from all sectors.

So, if you are interested in establishing a business operation in India, what are your basic structural considerations?

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So, just when you thought Cyprus would fall below the radar for a while, today Cyprus Finance Minister Michael Sarris resigns.  Sarris’ resignation comes just days after the European financial community bucked up Cypriot banks with a 10 Billion Euro bailout. Some in the Cypriot political community believe that the deal should have come sooner and it remains to be seen whether Sarris has become the fall guy for the bailout taking as long as it did. Cyprus did get some concessions on an extension from three to five years to meet the fiscal conditions of the bailout, as well as the preservation of healthcare for 170,000 Cypriots. Cypriot government spokesman Christos Stylianides noted that the agreement “should have taken place a lot sooner, under more favourable political and financial circumstances.” But he noted that the situation in Cyprus is now “normalizing,” paving the way for the economy to get back on solid footing.

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While I post here from time to time on international economic and tax matters, most recently on economic and financial issues facing Cyprus and Greece, our Meritas affiliates are on the ground in those and many other EU member countries.  In the March 2013 Meritas Tax Newsletter, from their perspective, it seems that many European nations are refocusing on national tax priorities.  Meritas explains:

With a continuation of the general downturn in Government finances across much of Europe, greater efforts are being made to open up the tax base, to clamp down on evasion and reassess the most aggressive avoidance schemes. The result is new, more targeted legislation, say lawyers, at both the individual and corporate level.

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BERNANKE AND HIS FED COLLEAGUES MEET TODAY AND TOMORROW – WILL QE AND INTEREST RATE SUPPRESSION CONTINUE?  HAVE A BANK ACCOUNT IN CYPRUS, WATCH OUT!

The U.S. economy continues to recover and grow, but probably not fast or solid enough for Bernanke and the Fed to table its Quantitative Easing (QE) policy or allow interest rates to rise.  The Fed seems to believe that notwithstanding the growth in the job market and modest recovery in the housing sector that the economy continues to be weak behind the obvious numbers.

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Melinda Fellner Bramwit, a Member of the firm, will serve on panel for the live webinar, “Outbound Transactions & U.S. Federal Tax: Tackling Compliance Challenges for U.S. Companies With Foreign-Based Income or Business Relationships,” hosted by Strafford, on Tuesday, January 15, 2013.  The panel of tax advisors will review the most important principles of U.S. taxation of outbound transactions in a practical context to meet the toughest challenges in preparing related IRS forms.

For more information, please visit our website.  Register here.

Regulation in the financial markets will continue and may even accelerate in the U.S. in the next few years.  Elizabeth Warren has been elected to the Senate from Massachusetts and will most probably join the Senate Banking Committee. Warren is a former Harvard professor who is a fierce pro-consumer advocate.

With the resignation of Mary Schapiro as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, President Obama has named a current member of the Commission to take her place.  Elisse Walter is a Bush appointee and a Yale and Harvard educated lawyer.  She appears to share Shapiro’s and the President’s view that stricter regulation of the financial industry is critical.

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NJ BIZ reports: New Jersey continues to expand its support for in-state businesses engaged in international trade and also provides economic and structural support for foreign business seeking to conduct business in the United States.  On Monday, the Christie Administration announced the creation of its Office of International Development and Protocol. In announcing the new office, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno promoted New Jersey support of innovation and technology, its proximity to global businesses, its access to world markets and its highly trained workforce.  In particular, New Jersey will focus its outreach efforts to its top investor nations – Germany, Switzerland, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada – and also countries where New Jersey enjoys rich business and cultural relationships, such as Taiwan, India, Korea and Israel.  If you are a New Jersey business looking to conduct trade abroad or are a foreign business located in one of the noted countries, New Jersey offers support for you.

Guadagno unveils effort to court overseas business

Jeanne Hamburg discusses the need for terms of use and privacy policies on company websites in “Why Does My Company Need Terms of Use and a Privacy Policy for Its Web Site?”  TOU govern the relationship between the user and the site owner.  A Privacy Policy advises users how their personal information will, and will not, be used. In the case of a web site with global users whose country’s laws may differ from those of the U.S., the Privacy Policy will take into account all applicable privacy laws. The TOU and Privacy Policy are important documents that govern the relationship between you, as site owner, and your site’s users and if they are well-crafted, you can avoid misunderstandings as well as liability to the user. Rather than giving these documents short shrift, you should invest some time and money into them. With minor updates, they will serve you well for many years to come.

Click here to read alert.

Norris McLaughlin & Marcus attorneys Robert Gabrielski and Oren Chaplin recently participated in a luncheon discussion with The Honorable Elizabeth Littlefield, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (“OPIC”).  The lunch discussion was presented by the Business Council for International Understanding (“BCIU”) and with the goal of providing a forum where participants could learn more about OPIC’s operations and objectives.

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