Aarthi Belani

With protectionist trends globally fueling a heightened focus on cross-border investments and acquisitions, investors and investees have to assess the application of overlapping regulatory regimes to their transactions. This article outlines some of the main areas of regulation that non-US investors seeking minority equity stakes in US companies, and the companies seeking such investments, should be aware of: CFIUS, export controls, sanctions, ownership reporting, and taxation.

Baker McKenzie mergers and acquisitions partners Derek Liu and Aarthi Belani share five tips on how best to approach M&A to ensure successful dealmaking and outcomes. They include taking time to map the entire deal, including integration of the companies.

Partnerships among players in disparate industries, or "convergence transactions," are increasingly common in healthcare, to inject innovation and efficiency into the system. For M&A professionals who help broker these alliances, the challenges include distinct regulatory regimes, potentially incompatible corporate cultures, and differing expectations for executive compensation. Successful deal-making requires anticipating and then effectively navigating these issues.

California's governor signed into effect a new law requiring public corporations whose principal executive offices are located in California to have a certain minimum number of female directors on their boards of directors. The new law will immediately apply to public corporations headquartered in California (regardless of place of incorporation), with the first deadline for compliance occurring at the end of 2019. The new law is likely to face court challenges, but if it survives, corporations… Show more

California's governor signed into effect a new law requiring public corporations whose principal executive offices are located in California to have a certain minimum number of female directors on their boards of directors. The new law will immediately apply to public corporations headquartered in California (regardless of place of incorporation), with the first deadline for compliance occurring at the end of 2019. The new law is likely to face court challenges, but if it survives, corporations headquartered in California will need to ensure that they comply with the minimum requirements for female directors or pay fines starting at $100,000. Show less

It’s a cliche to compare NYC and the Bay Area. And it makes zero sense to compare them. But, inevitably, they get held up for comparison, one, because so many New Yorkers end up out in Northern California — probably because we walk fast and talk fast, with increasing speed, until we generate escape velocity and find ourselves suddenly wandering around, blinking in the sunshine, in Palo Alto. Also, New Yorkers are prone to evaluating, ranking and comparing everything. Let me be the umpteenth to… Show more

It’s a cliche to compare NYC and the Bay Area. And it makes zero sense to compare them. But, inevitably, they get held up for comparison, one, because so many New Yorkers end up out in Northern California — probably because we walk fast and talk fast, with increasing speed, until we generate escape velocity and find ourselves suddenly wandering around, blinking in the sunshine, in Palo Alto. Also, New Yorkers are prone to evaluating, ranking and comparing everything. Let me be the umpteenth to give my take on NYC versus the Bay Area. Show less

Many people tell me they want to be part of a book club, but either don't know how to get one started, or start one that inevitably devolves (people don't read the book, or life gets in the way). I thought I'd share the elements that I think make ours "sticky."

This paper focuses specifically on project finance and the lessons that can be
derived from international experience with project finance: how to harness the private
sector, how to structure financing, and how to mitigate risk. I begin with some case
examples, then provide a typology of the spectrum of public-private partnership (PPP)
models from least to greatest private sector involvement, and conclude with a rundown of
common risks associated with PPPs.

Joint effort of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committees on International Human Rights and Military Affairs and Justice, undertaken to consider allegations – reported in the press and by human rights and humanitarian organizations conducting their own investigations – that individuals detained by the United States at its military and intelligence facilities in connection with the initial War in Afghanistan and the subsequent ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, are being… Show more

Joint effort of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committees on International Human Rights and Military Affairs and Justice, undertaken to consider allegations – reported in the press and by human rights and humanitarian organizations conducting their own investigations – that individuals detained by the United States at its military and intelligence facilities in connection with the initial War in Afghanistan and the subsequent ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, are being subjected to interrogation techniques that constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Show less

The South African Constitutional Court in Minister of Health v. Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) ordered the government to nationalize a prevention ofmother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) program in the public health sector, finding that its failure to do so violated the right to health. The Court in TAC followed the line of reasoning in South Africa v. Grootboom, formally rejecting “minimum core obligation” analysis developed in international law, and instead applying a test of… Show more

The South African Constitutional Court in Minister of Health v. Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) ordered the government to nationalize a prevention ofmother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) program in the public health sector, finding that its failure to do so violated the right to health. The Court in TAC followed the line of reasoning in South Africa v. Grootboom, formally rejecting “minimum core obligation” analysis developed in international law, and instead applying a test of “reasonableness,” well-entrenched in Anglo jurisprudence, to evaluate government action or lack thereof. This paper argues that the Court formally passes up the “minimum core” approach 1) to earn domestic legitimacy and 2) to reserve discretion to decide future economic rights cases under the very fact-dependent “reasonableness” rubric. But its pragmatic approach confines the transformative effect of the decision in TAC and does not give due weight to the provisions in the South African Constitution that elevate international law, foremost as an interpretive tool. Show less

Joint Report of the International Human Rights Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of Law analyzes the legal standards applicable to the practice of Extraordinary Rendition.

Educational materials on the international right to health.