Global Securities Offerings: A Complex Road to Market

Issuing stock or debt has always been a labor-intensive task for counsel, but the major decisions on where and when to issue were largely confined to the boardroom. That's no longer the case, since Sarbanes- Oxley (SOX) legislation in the United States has unleashed a wave of new rules many non-U.S. companies would prefer to avoid if possible. Meanwhile, in Europe, continuing integration of the European Union (EU) has made the process a legal minefield with serious long-term consequences. While companies once chose markets based on advice from bankers and a sense of where the best-selling action was, legal advice is now essential and adds another dimension to in-house counsel's responsibilities, says Richard Baumann, a London-based partner with Dorsey & Whitney LLP.

By Counsel To Counsel Editor Brendan Coffey