2015 was a record year for private equity fund exits, with firms disposing of a large wave of assets, surpassing expectations. The record rate of funds realizing their investments has led some to suggest we could be reaching the peak in the cycle. Managing Director Adam Bradley makes the case for funds refreshing their focus on the performance of longer-held assets.

Executive compensation continues to be bombarded with scrutiny by shareholders, shareholder advisory firms, politicians and the media. With say-on-pay voting now well established, the voices of shareholders are getting louder, and companies are listening. Many companies have made significant changes to their compensation strategy in recent years to appease stakeholders. In particular, companies have altered their course on benefits provided to executives in connection with a change in control, commonly called "golden parachutes."

Because of costly new drug therapies, demographic changes, government regulations and expanded screening efforts, payers now face a variety of highly complex decisions around how to best manage the growing number of individuals infected with the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). This paper intends to explore all of these issues and present an entirely new approach for improving outcomes and reducing costs related to caring for this high-risk population segment.

Congress recently passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the “PATH Act”).

If you haven’t heard, the latest installment of the Star Wars saga arrived in theaters in mid-December. Incredibly, it’s been almost 40 years since the original Star Wars premiered. In that first episode, Luke Skywalker and a plucky group of rebels band together to destroy the Galactic Empire’s Death Star. In the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, the Galactic Empire, led by evil Darth Vader, pursues and captures many of the rebels and severely wounds Luke Skywalker.

Human Behavior in Financial Crises: A&M examines what happens in periods of financial crises, specifically human behavior in periods of stress, and suggests ways that bankers and regulators can make stress tests more sensitive to the impact of that behavior and its consequences for bank capital.

The Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) recently issued a decision that is likely to subject director compensation to increased judicial scrutiny, making it easier for shareholders to bring suits against companies for issues regarding their director compensation.

Emerging business models necessitate a care delivery model focused on the total cost of care while ensuring outcomes inclusive of clinical performance, the experience of care and ready access. The advent of a value-oriented payment system (e.g., Accountable Care Organizations, Comprehensive Care Joint Replacement model) requires that the “right” patient receives the “right” care in the “right” place at the “right” time by the “right” provider.

This edition of Tax Advisor Weekly revisits the history of REIT spinoffs by analyzing the PATH Act and the evolution of the Treasury’s position on such transactions

Over the last year, the energy sector has been plagued with low commodity prices. The plunge in crude oil and natural gas prices has in many cases shaved over 50 percent off stock prices of many exploration and production (E&P) companies.

We have been dealing with a lot of aggressive auditors lately — not just aggressive from the standpoint of inflexibility on audit assessments, but aggressive in seeking to dictate the terms of how the audit is going to be managed from their point of view only (or for their convenience). A number of years ago, we wrote an article on managing a state department of revenue auditor and the audit process. We thought a refresher was necessary, given that we are finding that, more often than not, a “fair” auditor or audit may be becoming more the exception versus the rule. This edition of Tax Advisor Weekly focuses on ways a company can manage audit execution without allowing the auditor to manage the company.

Given the volatility we have experienced in the financial markets, many would-be acquirers are understandably wary of taking on defined benefit pension plan risk. This is a risk that no one is eager to take on and that some actively seek to avoid even when the target sponsoring the plan is an attractive asset.

Executive compensation continues to evolve, but the goals remain the same: align the incentives of the shareholders with the executives. Financial engineering will progress in all areas, and executive compensation is not immune. We have seen complex incentive structures created to reward executives for specific performance or market-based achievements. While these structures remain relevant and can be used to tailor an executive’s compensation, we have also observed an increase of standard equity awards with post-vesting restrictions. In general, equity compensation is intended to align the objectives of shareholders and executives. The addition of post-vesting restrictions promotes executive retention and incentivizes stable long-term growth.

This article discusses recent developments in antitrust damages actions in Europe. Years ago, antitrust damages actions were the exception rather than the rule, particularly in continental Europe where disclosure / discovery were largely unfamiliar concepts. This has considerably changed.