Professor Ronald Gilson, an expert in corporate and securities law, comments on disclosing information to shareholders in Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch:

A federal judge rejected Bank of America Corp's (BAC) $33 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over Merrill Lynch & Co bonuses as a contrivance, and New York's top legal officer prepared to sue senior bank executives.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo may file civil charges against some Bank of America executives, including "some of the very highest-ranking," over the companies' January 1 merger, a person familiar with the probe said.

"The niceties about disclosures to shareholders were considered to be secondary," said Ronald Gilson, a law professor at both Columbia University and Stanford University.