Asset Management

  • April 29, 2024

    Davis Polk, Wachtell Steer $2B Heartland-UMB Bank Merger

    UMB Financial Corp. has agreed to purchase Heartland Financial USA Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at roughly $2 billion, with Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz serving as their respective legal advisers, the regional banking competitors said Monday. 

  • April 29, 2024

    'Fearless Girl' Trial Off After Sides Reach Weekend Accord

    A lengthy breach of contract and trademark infringement dispute between investment manager State Street Global Advisors and the artist behind New York City's well-known "Fearless Girl" bronze sculpture settled Saturday evening ahead of a scheduled jury trial.

  • April 26, 2024

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.

  • April 26, 2024

    CFTC Receives Competing Visions For AI's Regulatory Future

    Business lobbyists have urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to lean on existing regulations to address the financial industry's use of artificial intelligence, while skeptics say those regulations don't go far enough to guard against the technology's potential to spur market crashes and data breaches.

  • April 26, 2024

    ERISA Suits Targeting Annuity Deals Could Escalate

    A quartet of lawsuits targeting employers who terminate their pension plans and exchange them for annuity insurance contracts could trigger a new wave of class action litigation if they gain traction, since hundreds of thousands of retirees have been subject to pension risk transfers in recent years, attorneys say.

  • April 26, 2024

    Republic First Bank Fails In Biggest Bust Since 2023 Turmoil

    Republic First Bank, a roughly $6 billion bank based in Philadelphia, was shuttered Friday by Pennsylvania state banking regulators and sold to Fulton Bank NA, capping off a prolonged decline that only worsened in the wake of last spring's regional bank failures.

  • April 26, 2024

    Truist Unit Survives Early Dismissal Bid In NC Poaching Suit

    Truist Financial Corp. and its real estate finance arm can move forward with the bulk of their suit accusing three former executives of absconding for a competitor with several dozen colleagues in tow, after North Carolina's business court judge largely denied the defendants an early exit.

  • April 26, 2024

    CBD Co's CEO Agrees To Pay $350K To End SEC Suit

    The one-time chief officer of cbdMD Inc. has agreed to pay $350,000 to end a civil enforcement action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accusing him of defrauding investors of a private investment fund he managed.

  • April 26, 2024

    Locke Lord Strikes $12M Deal To End Claims Over Gas Fraud

    Locke Lord LLP will likely pony up $12.5 million to settle claims it stood by as its clients carried out a fraudulent $122 million oil and gas scheme, with a Texas federal magistrate judge recommending approval of the settlement at a hearing in Fort Worth.

  • April 26, 2024

    Therapy Co. SPAC Investors To Settle Del., Ill. Merger Suits

    An attorney for a blank-check company that took ATI Physical Therapy Inc. public told Delaware's Court of Chancery it has agreed to settle two proposed stockholder class actions in conjunction with pending federal class and derivative suits in the Northern District of Illinois.

  • April 26, 2024

    Freshfields Guides PE Giant CVC Capital's Upsized $2.1B IPO

    European private equity giant CVC Capital Partners PLC rose in debut trading Friday after the firm priced an upsized €2 billion ($2.1 billion) initial public offering, marking the latest high-profile listing in Europe, represented by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.

  • April 26, 2024

    Insurer Can't Avoid Coverage Suit Against Escrow Agent

    First American Title Insurance Co. must continue to be a party in Wesco Insurance Co.'s declaratory action seeking to avoid covering claims that Wesco's insureds improperly diverted escrow funds in real estate transactions to third parties with no valid claims to the funds, a Florida federal court ruled.

  • April 26, 2024

    JPMorgan Says Ex-Adviser Is Pilfering Clients For Wells Fargo

    J.P. Morgan has accused a former investment management adviser of trying to poach clients for her new job at a competing Wells Fargo unit, saying she's been making unsolicited phone calls and sending emails to convince clients to leave in breach of her employment contract.

  • April 26, 2024

    Wachtell Guides Apollo On $1.85B Deal For Minerals Co.

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz-led Apollo Global Management has agreed to purchase Morrison Foerster LLP-advised U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. at a $1.85 billion enterprise value, the producer of commercial silica disclosed Friday, sending its stock soaring more than 20%.

  • April 25, 2024

    FDIC Tables Plans To Scrutinize Big 'Passive' Bank Investors

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. leaders on Thursday debated two competing proposals intended to address concerns about asset managers and other investors amassing outsized influence over banks whose shares they own, ultimately taking the rare step of tabling the measures as neither garnered majority support.

  • April 25, 2024

    McDermott Judge U-Turns, Says Some Investors Deserve Cert.

    A Texas federal magistrate judge reversed his recommendation that investors be denied class certification in litigation over McDermott International's $6 billion merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron, saying a former CB&I shareholder class "should be certified now" and a putative McDermott stock purchaser class be created for subsequent consideration.

  • April 25, 2024

    Atty Sued For Malpractice Can't Rep His Firm, Ex-Client Says

    A Seattle real estate broker suing her former attorney for allegedly botching arbitration proceedings has told a Washington state judge that that attorney can't both be a defendant and represent his firm in their counterclaims for unpaid fees. 

  • April 25, 2024

    Crypto Co. Sues 'Crusading' Gensler Over SEC's Ether Stance

    Cryptocurrency software company Consensys Software Inc. sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday in Texas federal court over the agency's treatment of the Ethereum network's ether token as a security after the company received a so-called Wells notice that agency staff intends to recommend an enforcement action over its products.

  • April 25, 2024

    Rubrik Leads Trio Of IPOs That Buoy Recovering Market

    Three companies debuted trading Thursday following initial public offerings that raised nearly $1.4 billion combined under guidance from six total law firms, including two offerings that priced above range by data security firm Rubrik and aerospace company Loar, providing fresh energy for a strengthening IPO market.

  • April 25, 2024

    7th Circ. OKs Pausing Nail Polish IP Suit For Ownership Fight

    A company registered in New Jersey that sells nail polish has failed to persuade a federal appeals court to let it move ahead with its trade secrets case in a Chicago federal court against its former business partners in China until first resolving an ownership dispute "lurking just beneath the surface."

  • April 25, 2024

    Manufacturer To Pay $3M To End Retirement Kickback Suit

    An aerospace and auto parts manufacturer will pay nearly $3 million to settle a suit claiming it pushed workers' retirement savings into lackluster funds through an investing tool that prioritized kickbacks for the plan's recordkeeper over returns for employees, according to a filing Thursday in Michigan federal court.

  • April 25, 2024

    4 Takeaways From DOL's Final ERISA Investment Advice Regs

    The U.S. Department of Labor’s finalized regulations broadening who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will bring more investment advisers under the purview of federal benefits law, but the final version contains some important differences from what the DOL initially proposed. Here are four key takeaways.

  • April 25, 2024

    Standard General Claims Racial Bias By FCC In Tegna Deal

    Hedge fund manager Soo Kim is suing the Federal Communications Commission and a cadre of media players over what he calls a racially charged conspiracy to block his fund's $8.6 billion purchase of media company Tegna, claiming the agency discriminated against him when it sidelined the deal last year.

  • April 25, 2024

    Antitrust Enforcers Warn FERC About Ownership Overlaps

    The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice warned energy regulators Thursday about competitive risks that can arise from investment firms that own stakes in multiple electric utilities, even if they don't have controlling interests.

  • April 25, 2024

    SEC, Trade Group Ask DC Circ. To Revive Proxy Advisory Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a leading trade group called on the D.C. Circuit Thursday to revive a rule imposing heightened disclosure requirements on proxy advisory firms, appealing a lower court decision that threw out the requirements.

Expert Analysis

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Intent-Based Theory Of Liability In Hwang Creates Ambiguity

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    A case against Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang alleging that he participated in a securities manipulation scheme, which goes to trial next month in New York federal court, highlights the need for courts to clarify the legal standard defining "market manipulation," says Edward Imperatore at MoFo.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • Flexibility Is Key In Hybrid Capital Investment Strategies

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    Flexible or hybrid capital funds have become a solution for some owners adverse to private debt or requiring short-term capital support not otherwise available in the market, but the complexity and possible range of structures available means that principals need to consider how they may work in different scenarios and outcomes, says Daniel Mathias at Cohen Gresser.

  • How American Airlines ESG Case Could Alter ERISA Liability

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    Spence v. American Airlines, a Texas federal case over the airline's selection of multiple investment funds in its retirement plan, threatens to upend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's legal framework for fiduciary liability in the name of curtailing environmental, social and governance-related activities, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Tipsters May Be Key To Financial Regulators' ESG Efforts

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are looking to whistleblowers to assist their climate and ESG task forces, suggesting insider information could be central to the agencies' enforcement efforts against corporate greenwashing, false investment claims and climate disclosure violations, says John Crutchlow at Youman & Caputo.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • 2nd Circ. Adviser Liability Ruling May Shape SEC Enforcement

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rashid, applying basic negligence principles to reverse a finding of investment adviser liability, provides a road map for future fraud enforcement proceedings, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • New Concerns, Same Tune At This Year's SIFMA Conference

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    At this year's Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference on legal developments affecting the financial services industry, government regulators’ emphasis on whistleblowing and AI washing represented a new refrain in an increasingly familiar chorus calling for prompt and thorough corporate cooperation, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • 8 Tips As GCs Prep For New SEC Climate Disclosure Rules

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted rules governing climate-related disclosures represent a major change to the existing public company disclosure regime, so in-house counsel should begin to evaluate existing systems and resources related to emissions data, and identify the changes that will need to be made, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • An Overview Of Key Financing Documents In Venture Capital

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent Moelis decision highlights the importance of structuring corporate governance around investor demand, meaning early-stage companies seeking venture funding through sales of preferred stock should understand the legal documents needed to do so successfully, say Daniel Bell-Garcia and Tristan Kaisharis at Winstead.

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