The Legal Pitfalls of Guaranteeing Bonds for Another Contractor

Jennings Strouss attorney Jay Mann discusses the considerable risk a large contractor can experience when guaranteeing bonds for smaller contractors in the February 2014 edition of Construction Executive. 

Read the full article here.

Jay Mann focuses his practice in the areas of construction, surety and fidelity law. In addition, Mr. Mann represents clients in other commercial litigation matters and serves as an arbitrator and mediator.

Law Talk Wednesday: Being A Public Power Lawyer

Al Robbins discusses being a public power lawyer. 

Brian Imbornoni Discusses Farm Bill with KAWC

Jennings Strouss attorney Brian Imbornoni speaks to KAWC’s Maya Springhawk Robnett about the Farm Bill and its potential impact on Arizona's agriculture industry.

Listen to the segment here: http://kawc.org/post/farm-bills-potential-impact-yuma-agriculture

B3 Strategies Talk: The State Society Of Arizona

 Russell Smoldon, CEO of B3 Strategies, discusses the State Society of Arizona. 

Law Talk Wednesday: Raising Capital

Richard Lieberman discusses raising capital in compliance with the securities laws. 

Law Talk Wednesday: PURPA

Gary J. Newell discusses the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 and if it remains relevant today. 

Law Talk Wednesday: Living Trusts

Nancy Pohl explains how assets are affected when creating a living trust.

 http://bit.ly/LUDMNn

Law Talk Wednesdays: Managing The Company

Richard Lieberman discusses possible issues that can arise when managing a new company. 

Norma Izzo Milner Elected to Maricopa County Bar Association Board of Directors

PHOENIX, Ariz. (January 13, 2014) – Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, a leading Phoenix-based law firm, is pleased to announce that Norma Izzo Milner has been elected to serve on the Maricopa County Bar Association Board of Directors.

Izzo Milner is a re-elected incumbent, and was selected by the board to serve as secretary. “It is a privilege to serve the Maricopa County Bar Association in this new capacity and I look forward to helping the association fulfill its mission of serving its members, the legal profession, the judicial system, and the public,” stated Izzo Milner.

Izzo Milner focuses her practice in the area of family law and domestic relations, assisting clients with collaborative divorce, mediation, arbitration, parent coordination, custody, child support, pre-and post-nuptial agreements, domestic partnerships, adoptions, guardianships and related litigation matters. She perceives her family law practice as a three dimensional experience for the clients she serves: legal, financial and emotional.

In addition to serving on the MCBA board, Izzo Milner also serves on the State Bar of Arizona Committee for Family Law Rules of Practice and Procedure, and is the current president of the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Arizona.

About Maricopa County Bar Association
Since its founding in 1914, the Maricopa County Bar Association remains the largest voluntary bar association in Arizona. Located in central Phoenix, MCBA is where the legal community connects. Through its continuing legal education (CLE) programs, social events, and charitable activities, MCBA provides a venue for professional growth, networking and public service to the county's diverse legal community.

About Jennings, Strouss & Salmon
Jennings Strouss & Salmon is one of the Southwest's leading law firms, providing legal counsel for over 70 years through its offices in Phoenix, Peoria, and Yuma, Arizona; and Washington, D.C. The firm's primary areas of practice include agribusiness; bankruptcy, reorganization and creditors’ rights; construction; corporate and securities; employee benefits and pensions; energy; family law and domestic relations; health care; intellectual property; labor and employment; litigation; real estate; surety and fidelity; tax; and trust and estates. For additional information please visit www.jsslaw.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

~JSS~

Contact: Dawn O. Anderson | danderson@jsslaw.com| 602.495.2806.

FERC and the CFTC Reach Agreement on Jurisdiction and Information Sharing

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed by President Obama in July 2010 (“Dodd-Frank Act”)[1] mandated that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") enter into a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) by January 2011 outlining how the two agencies can exercise their authority, share information, and cooperate in investigations without encroaching upon one another.

On January 2, 2014, three years after the deadline established in the Dodd-Frank Act, FERC and the CFTC have entered into two MOUs establishing: (1) a process for resolving overlapping jurisdictional issues ("Jurisdictional MOU"), and (2) a process for sharing information of mutual interest while maintaining confidentiality ("Information Sharing MOU"). These 2014 MOUs come after the retirement of former FERC Chairman Wellinghoff and after the decision of the D.C. Court of Appeal in Hunter,^[2] which affirmed the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction with respect to transactions conducted on futures markets.

1. 1.      The Jurisdictional MOU

The Jurisdictional MOU establishes three procedures for resolving overlapping jurisdictional issues. First, there is a notification procedure where the agencies commit to inform each other of activities that may arguably fall within the overlapping jurisdiction of the other agency. This commitment to notify the other agency is triggered when each agency, either acting sua sponte or upon filing by an entity, is considering an authorization or an exemption to engage in activities that fall in areas of potential overlapping jurisdiction. Such jurisdictional grey areas are not described in the MOU.

The MOU’s notification process does not convey acknowledgement of jurisdiction by either agency. Instead, there is a second procedure for resolving overlapping jurisdiction matters where the agencies commit to meet, coordinate, and develop an approach that meets both agencies’ regulatory concerns on case-by-case basis. The MOU does not establish jurisdictional presumptions. If the agencies cannot agree on a common approach to resolve an overlap, the MOU establishes a dispute resolution procedure escalating up to final decision by the agencies’ respective Commissions.

The MOU is, by its terms, "strictly for internal management purposes" and does not create, expand, limit or otherwise alter any existing legal obligations of the agencies under their governing statutes or regulations.

1. 2.      The Information Sharing MOU

The Information Sharing MOU establishes procedures concerning information that may be requested by FERC or the CFTC in connection with markets subject to their oversight or regulation. The purpose of the MOU is to ensure that such information requests are properly coordinated and not duplicated and to address the treatment of confidential information.

The MOU’s procedure for information requests by FERC targets: (1) designated contract markets, registered swap execution facilities, registered derivatives clearing organizations, or any other board of trade, exchange, or derivatives market or swap data repository; and (2) market participant information in the possession of CFTC. The MOU’s procedure for information requests by the CFTC targets: (1) the following entities regulated by FERC: a Regional Transmission Organization ("RTO") or Independent System Operator ("ISO"), the independent market monitor of the RTO or ISO, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation ("NERC"), or interstate pipelines and storage facilities; and (2) market participant information in the possession of FERC.

The MOU also establishes procedures concerning the sharing of information protected by privilege or proprietary information and disclosure of such privileged or proprietary information. Notably, the agencies commit to refer any FOIA requests relating to information shared under the authority of this MOU, for disposition by the agency initially holding the information.

Both MOUs became effective on January 2, 2014.

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[1] See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010).

[2] See Brian Hunter v. FERC, No. 11-1477 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 15, 2013).