TN IPO talk

Bass Berry's Page Davidson is decidely not hawking IPO's, rather he urges level-headedness. Read about it here.

Bass Berry on Hospital ownership changes

Health Reform legislation will have tremendous impact on physician ownership of hospitals, as outlined in a good overview published today by Bass Berry & Sims, in Nashville.

Antitrust and High Tech

Three Nashville-based attorneys with Bass Berry & Sims sound-off in a recent issue of National Law Journal with notes on what recent federal anti-trust enforcement actions suggest, including heightened scrutiny of dominat firms, M&A in the crosshairs and aggressive action against cartels. The reprint is here. Among firms mentioned are Microsoft, Intel and Yahoo!

e-Discovery grows at CoC

Brentwood-based Counsel on Call announced today adding former King & Spalding and Bass Berry lawyer Barry Willms to its e-Discovery team. The release isn't posted yet, but the site's here.

SEC rules comment from Bass Berry

Nothing less than exec compensation, proxy rules, reporting directorships and explaining just why you chose the corporate organizational structure you did, in light of your circumstances... Hmm, even if you're not a reporting company, you might want to peruse Bass Berry & Sims' attorneys quick-ins on the latest SEC rules, here.

M&A: Protecting acquired companies from defectors

Attorneys in the Corporate and Securities practice at Bass Berry & Sims today issued an alert, detailing lessons learned from a recent case involving damage done to an acquired company, following defections by key executives, following the arrival of new owners. Beyond non-competes, the lawyers mention employing earn-outs, employment agreements and other devices to preserve the value of the targeted company. Read the alert here.

VCs, entrepreneurs land in same foxhole

Tuesday's VC panel discussion at the VU Law School -- sponsored by Nashville Capital Network and the Owen Entrepreneurship Association -- was a richer-than-usual discussion. Please read our summary, here. We couldn't include all the pithy comments, of course. For instance, with reference to how American business is embracing the Feds' bank bailout, Bass Berry & Sims attorney Page Davidson said, "There are no laissez faire capitalists in this foxhole."

'Weather outside frightful, life still delightful'

Please don't hold me to my euphoria...but, over and over, again, we hear variations on this theme: 'The economy is scary - but my pipeline's full." Maybe we're whistlin' while walking by the graveyard, but there's a lot of interesting stuff going on, reminiscent of the way Londoners carried-on, despite the blitz (petrol shortage, and all). Middle-agers who can afford to stay on the sidelines are starting new ventures, like Joe Maxwell. And, M&A deals, albeit more often under duress, are still getting done, just ask Bass Berry. And, today, we take our first go at much-touted SHOUTAmerica, an inter-generational story. There's plenty of other evidence of life going on. Yes, odds are, it will indeed get darker before the dawn. Still, somehow, it's a great time we live in. Cheers!