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The 2025 proxy season marked a turning point in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) administration of shareholder proposals. Over the course of the season, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (staff) received a significant increase in no-action requests under Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Rule 14a-8), granted relief to nearly 70% of requests and, under newly issued Staff Legal Bulletin 14M…

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) is a landmark piece of legislation for regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom. It will become law on 1 September 2025. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) are prepared and have set the tone for what we anticipate to be a significant change in the enforcement environment in the UK, as they published Joint Corporate Prosecution Guidance on…

A Cooley team led by lawyers Elizabeth Wright and Ethan Glass earned a shoutout on The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs list for its representation of JetBlue. Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld a district court order denying a request for $34 million in attorney fees brought on behalf of private plaintiffs who had sued to block the…

Palo Alto – August 29, 2025 – Cooley advised Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries on its joint venture with Meta that will build and scale enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for enterprises in India and select international markets.   Under the agreement, Reliance and Meta have jointly committed to an initial investment of approximately $100 million to capitalize the joint venture. This partnership combines Reliance’s digital backbone with Meta’s open-source Llama models…

Cooley partner Brian French was featured in a Law.com article, offering insights into the mindset and skills that help make successful litigators. In the article, French reflects on his career path and why he joined Cooley, emphasizing the importance of relationship-building for associates early in their careers. Comparing litigation to a team sport, he notes that the best client outcomes result from working together as a single, cohesive team. French…

San Diego – September 2, 2025 – Cooley advised Enlaza Therapeutics, the first covalent biologics platform company, on its multi-target drug discovery collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to utilize Enlaza’s proprietary War-Lock technology platform to develop small format drug conjugates and T-cell engagers for certain autoimmune diseases and improved conditioning in sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.    Under the terms of the collaboration, Enlaza will receive $45 million inclusive of…

New York – September 3, 2025 – Cooley advised Thirty Madison, a specialty healthcare company offering high-quality virtual specialized care for patients experiencing a range of conditions, on its definitive agreement to be acquired by Remedy Meds in an all-stock transaction valued in excess of $500 million. Lawyers Izzy Lubarsky, Adam Dinow, Bill Roegge, Jenny Ge, Teddy Nimetz and Scott Rudin led the Cooley team advising Thirty Madison. Cooley previously…

Palo Alto – September 3, 2025 – Cooley advised TBO, a leading global travel distribution platform, on its agreement to acquire Classic Vacations from Arizona-based investment firm, the Najafi Companies. India-based TBO (NSE India: TBOTEK) aims to simplify the buying and selling travel needs of travel partners across the world, and this acquisition brings together the power of TBO’s first-class technology platform and worldwide inventory with Classic Vacation’s vast network…

Michael Yu, partner in charge of Cooley’s Hong Kong office, was quoted in a South China Morning Post article about the increase in biotech and tech initial public offering (IPO) applications in Hong Kong. Cooley also was mentioned for advising Innogen Pharmaceutical on its IPO, the eighth completed Hong Kong IPO for the firm in 2025. Read the article This content is provided for general informational purposes only, and your…

Boston – September 3, 2025 – Cooley advised 1WorldSync, a portfolio company of Battery Ventures and a leader in product content orchestration, on its acquisition by Syndigo, creating a $3.5 billion+ enterprise backed by Summit Partners, TJC LP and Battery Ventures. Together, the company powers 90% of the top 20 retailers in the US as the leading artificial intelligence-first software provider behind ecommerce product pages. Lawyers Alfred Browne, Izzy Lubarsky,…

An executive order (EO) issued August 7, 2025, Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking, announced significant changes in the way federal grants are awarded and administered. The Trump administration’s bases for the proposed overhaul, as described in the EO, include concern over whether certain federal grants are truly advancing the public interest, whether oversight in grants administration is sufficient to ensure their efficacy and perceived shortcomings in the grant review process.…

Recent federal, state and litigation developments in artificial intelligence (AI) use in the workplace highlight the growing tension between fostering innovation and safeguarding against discrimination and other harms arising from using AI tools at work. This alert outlines key developments from this year and offers compliance tips for employers. Federal developments Guidance withdrawn, moratorium falters In a February 2025 Cooley alert, we reported that many federal agencies, including the Equal…

Singapore – September 4, 2025 – David He has joined Cooley as an emerging companies and venture capital partner in the firm’s Singapore office. He brings more than a decade of experience advising venture capital and private equity funds, as well as startups and technology companies across the world. During this time, he was based in New York, Silicon Valley and Asia. He’s practice covers the life cycle of high-growth…

On Tuesday, August 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposed rule that would likely decrease the number of nonbanks it supervises under Section 1024(a)(1)(C) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). Under this provision, the CFPB may supervise a nonbank company engaged in conduct that it has reasonable cause to determine poses “risks to consumers” with respect to the nonbank’s offering or provision of financial products or…

New York – September 5, 2025 – Cooley advised Hengrui Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company, on its exclusive license agreement with Braveheart Bio for HRS-1893, a small-molecule inhibitor of cardiac myosin independently developed by Hengrui Pharma with best-in-class potential. Hengrui Pharma is eligible to receive potential development and commercial milestone payments of up to $1.013 billion, in addition to related royalties based on net sales. Under the terms of the…

San Diego – September 5, 2025 – Cooley advised Wugen, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, on its $115 million Series C financing. The company is a pioneer in the next generation of allogeneic, off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies. Fidelity Management & Research Company led the financing, with participation from RiverVest Venture Partners, Lightchain Capital, Abingworth, ICG, LYZZ Capital, Tybourne Capital Management, Aisling Capital Management and other leading life sciences…

For the third consecutive year, Cooley was named a California Powerhouse by Law360 on the publication’s annual list of regional powerhouses, a compendium reflecting not only the work of exemplary firms but also emerging legal trends in each state. Cooley was recognized on the prestigious list with other California firms that “epitomized the industries and recurring legal issues within the Golden State, handling intellectual property litigation, privacy and securities class…

Cooley partner Reuben Chen led a team of litigators that earned a shoutout on The American Lawyer’s Litigation Daily Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout-Outs list for its successful representation of client RSB Spine. After first winning a patent infringement jury trial against Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy unit, the team turned back an attempt to undo Cooley’s $12 million trial verdict. In recent weeks, the firm successfully represented RSB…

Palo Alto – September 5, 2025 – Cooley advised Baseten, a company powering inference for the world’s fastest-growing artificial intelligence products, on its $150 million Series D financing, valuing the company at $2.15 billion. The round was led by BOND, with participation from new investors CapitalG, Premji, and Kevin and Elizabeth Weil of Scribble, as well as existing investors Conviction, 01a, IVP, Spark and Greylock. This new round of funding…

On August 26, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) instructed its network of more than 5,000 lenders to “cease any politicized or unlawful debanking actions,” in direct response to President Donald Trump’s recent Executive Order (EO) 14331, “Guaranteeing Fair Banking Access for All Americans.” The EO, issued on August 7, directs “Federal banking regulators,” including the SBA, to remediate past instances and prevent against future acts of politicized or unlawful…

New York – September 5, 2025 – Two Cooley life sciences attorneys received awards from LMG Life Sciences in its 13th annual Americas Awards program. The firm’s Washington, DC-based Eric Greig was named Regulatory Attorney of the Year for Pricing and Reimbursement. Greig recently joined the firm as a partner advising clients on healthcare regulatory, market access and reimbursement strategies across the pharmaceutical, medical device, digital health, biotechnology and healthcare services…

Key takeaways for cloud, SaaS, edge and other digital service providers Introduction On September 12, 2025, sweeping new rules under the EU Data Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854) will become applicable, introducing significant new obligations for cloud service providers in the European Union (EU), particularly around interoperability, termination rights and switching between providers. These rules are designed to make it significantly easier for customers of data processing services to switch between…

San Francisco – September 8, 2025 – Cooley advised Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER), a technology platform that uses a massive network, leading technology, operational excellence and product expertise to power movement from point A to point B, on its $2.25 billion investment-grade bond offering. Lawyers Mischi a Marca, Jason Savich and Matt Kong led the Cooley team advising Uber on debt matters, while Eric Blanchard, Carlos Ramirez, Siana Lowrey, David…

Colorado – September 8, 2025 – Cooley advised Infleqtion, a global leader in neutral atom-based quantum technology, on its definitive business combination agreement with Churchill Capital Corp X, with the aim to accelerate Infleqtion’s mission to commercialize quantum products that provide orders of magnitude improvement in computing and precision sensing applications. The business combination values Infleqtion at a pre-money equity value of $1.8 billion and is expected to provide more…

On October 1, Maryland’s law may be the last US state comprehensive privacy law to take effect in 2025, but it certainly is not least. While the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024 (MODPA) mirrors existing US state comprehensive privacy laws in many ways, certain key differences may pose unusual and operational challenges for businesses subject to the law, some of which we outline below. Lower thresholds and narrower…

London and Singapore – September 9, 2025 – Property Finder, a top property portal in the Middle East and North Africa, announced a combined investment of $525 million, led by funds managed by Permira and Blackstone. As part of the transaction, General Atlantic, which had been a cornerstone investor of Property Finder, undertook a secondary sale of part of its stake. Cooley advised Michael Lahyani, the founder and CEO of Property…

Cooley partner Lila Hope was quoted extensively in a Chemical & Engineering News article about the new life sciences and biotech companies in China and her optimistic outlook on the US biopharmaceutical industry. Read the article This content is provided for general informational purposes only, and your access or use of the content does not create an attorney-client relationship between you or your organization and Cooley LLP, Cooley (UK) LLP,…

New York – September 9, 2025 – Cooley advised Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ: TRML), a late-stage clinical biotechnology company developing transformative medicines that establish new standards of care for patients with life-altering inflammatory and immune diseases, on its merger agreement with Novartis. Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will acquire Tourmaline for $48 per share in cash at closing, or a total equity value of approximately $1.4 billion. Completion of…

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy (MAHA Strategy) this week. The MAHA Strategy, a cornerstone of the MAHA movement championed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and embraced by President Donald Trump in Executive Order 14212, “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,” outlines more than 120 initiatives, including one focused on curbing misleading direct-to-consumer…

Tom Epps, white collar defense and investigations partner at Cooley, was quoted in The Law Society Gazette about the entry into force of the “failure to prevent fraud” offense under the UK Economic and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. In the article, Epps describes the act as a “landmark piece of legislation,” emphasizing its potential to significantly strengthen UK enforcement capabilities against fraud and other economic crimes. He also predicts a…

The Federal Reserve (Fed) has devoted its entire Second Issue 2025 of Consumer Compliance Outlook (Outlook) to fraud – a rare, single-topic focus that underscores regulators’ and industry’s heightened concern for addressing financial fraud. The Outlook’s special fraud issue was published amid sharply rising fraud and scam losses. US consumers reported $12.5 billion lost to fraud in 2024, a 25% jump from 2023. Banks are feeling the strain too –…

This content is provided for general informational purposes only, and your access or use of the content does not create an attorney-client relationship between you or your organization and Cooley LLP, Cooley (UK) LLP, or any other affiliated practice or entity (collectively referred to as "Cooley"). By accessing this content, you agree that the information provided does not constitute legal or other professional advice. This content is not a substitute…

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy (MAHA Strategy) this week. Consistent with the MAHA Strategy’s overall theme of increasing transparency and trust with the American public, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to take several key actions in the food space, including reforming the process for establishing food that is Generally…

Cooley special counsel, Asha Allam, was mentioned in Home News Now about her presentation at the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) 2025 Regulatory Summit, where she explained that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was intensifying its enforcement of product recalls. Allam said that furniture makers, retailers and distributors must proactively report potential hazards and demonstrate product safety – or risk civil penalties and even criminal investigations. Read the…