Capital Markets

  • August 16, 2024

    Customer Says AAA Must Improve Oversight Of Arbitrators

    The American Arbitration Association allows its arbitrators' decisions to go unchecked because the AAA operates without any formal audit mechanism, a disgruntled T-Mobile USA Inc. customer told a Florida federal judge as he fights an arbitral award favoring the company.

  • August 16, 2024

    Feds To Appeal Platinum Win Over Zero Loss, Count Toss

    Federal prosecutors have notified the Second Circuit that they'll appeal a judge's findings that the loss amount in the case of Platinum Partners co-founder Mark Nordlicht was zero and the wire fraud conspiracy counts against Nordlicht and another would be dismissed, despite Nordlicht's conviction.

  • August 16, 2024

    Nikola, Romeo Power Targeted In Del. Derivative Complaint

    A former Romeo Power Inc. stockholder has launched a double derivative suit seeking derivative damages from nine former Romeo directors and officers in part through derivative claims via Nikola Corp., which acquired Romeo in August 2022 for a fraction of the company's once $1 billion-plus valuation.

  • August 16, 2024

    Shaq Must Face Trimmed Suit Over Astrals Project NFTs

    Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal can escape some, but not all, claims in a proposed class action alleging his promotion of Astrals Project nonfungible tokens violated securities laws by marketing unregistered digital assets, a Florida federal judge ruled Friday.

  • August 16, 2024

    Challenge To SEC Database Not Too Late, Investors Argue

    The Texas investors suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to stop the collection of trading information through a central database have hit back against the agency's arguments that the lawsuit was filed 12 years too late, saying they have ongoing concerns that their private information could be compromised.

  • August 16, 2024

    SEC Gets Default Entry Against Crypto Ponzi Scheme Aides

    A Washington federal court entered an order of default against two accused Ponzi scheme promoters on Friday, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the pair failed to address its allegations that they helped the creator of a purported cryptocurrency trading bot service scam investors out of $295 million.

  • August 16, 2024

    Trump Media Sued In Del. After New Fla. Share-Sale Challenge

    Citing "contemptuous disregard" for Delaware Court of Chancery orders, two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group have sought a temporary restraining order to block the social media venture from seeking a Florida court order to stop their sale of some 18 million shares.

  • August 16, 2024

    Ex-Matterport Worker Sues In Del. Over 'Invalid' Trade Block

    A shareholder of 3D spatial mapping company Matterport Inc. sued the California company in Delaware's Court of Chancery Friday, alleging that when it went public by merging with a special acquisition company in 2021, the company prevented him from trading his shares for six months through an "invalid transfer restriction."

  • August 16, 2024

    Convicted Crypto Mixer Says Feds' 30-Year Ask Too High

    The convicted operator of the Bitcoin Fog crypto mixing service urged a Washington, D.C., federal judge to disregard federal prosecutors' 30-year recommendation and instead levy a below-guidelines sentence, arguing the scale of his money laundering operation isn't indicative of harm done.

  • August 16, 2024

    PE Firm's SpaceX Suit Belongs In Delaware, HK Co. Says

    A Hong Kong company that sued a California-based private equity firm for refusing to invest the company's $50 million into SpaceX says the firm has now sued the company's Chinese parent in California, creating "duplicative proceedings" that ought to be brought in Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • August 16, 2024

    Connecticut Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    Several high-stakes Connecticut cases came to a close in the first half of 2024, resulting in the resolution of Frontier Communications' $21.8 million feud with its ex-CEO and a $26.5 million deal for RTX Corp. subcontractors and employees who alleged that anticompetitive no-poach agreements prevented them from advancing their careers.

  • August 15, 2024

    SEC Nabs $5.75M Judgment Against Unregistered Broker

    A Florida man and his business have agreed to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $5.75 million to end claims they operated as unregistered broker-dealers for at least four years.

  • August 15, 2024

    Zymergen Investors Can't Beat Suit Over Pre-IPO Statements

    Three of the largest investors of biotechnology company Zymergen cannot escape a suit accusing them of misleading shareholders ahead of the company's initial public offering by approving misstatements about the company's commercial product pipeline.

  • August 15, 2024

    Judge Gives Plaintiffs' Attys $1M In Fees For Derivative Row

    A Massachusetts federal judge sliced 60% off a request for attorney fees in a shareholder derivative lawsuit Wednesday, awarding plaintiffs' counsel $1 million for their work on the case, which led to a noncash settlement.

  • August 15, 2024

    'What Is An NFT?': 9th Circ. Mulls Novel Bored Ape TM Fight

    A Ninth Circuit judge considering whether a trial court correctly found artists owe millions for ripping off trademarks on the Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible token collection questioned Thursday whether the NFT market is comparable to typical consumer markets, rhetorically asking, "What are we even talking about? What is an NFT?"

  • August 15, 2024

    Gemini Suit Raises Novel Question On Crypto Law, Court Told

    A suit from a consumer advocacy organization claimed Gemini Trust Co.'s user agreement unfairly put the onus on consumers to protect themselves from scams, but the Winklevoss-led crypto exchange said the litigation raises a larger question of whether the federal statute at the heart of the claims applies to cryptocurrencies.

  • August 15, 2024

    A&O Shearman Promotes 3 Attys As Latin America Co-Heads

    Three Allen Overy Shearman Sterling partners have been elevated as co-heads of the firm's Latin America practice, the firm has announced.

  • August 15, 2024

    Rising Star: Cooley's Milson Yu

    Milson Yu of Cooley LLP has shepherded grocery shopping app Instacart Inc. through an initial public offering in an otherwise sluggish market and advised an Australian life sciences company as it went public, earning him a spot among the capital markets law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 15, 2024

    Rising Star: Quinn Emanuel's Blair Adams

    Blair Adams of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has advised on numerous structured finance disputes focused on residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and has represented clients such as ACIS Capital Management LP and MBIA Inc., earning him a spot among the complex financial instruments practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 14, 2024

    SEC, CFTC To Collect $474M In Latest Texting Probe Fines

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday announced settlements totaling nearly $474 million with several broker-dealers, investment advisers and other registered firms over failures to maintain and preserve text messages and other electronic communications as required under federal law.

  • August 14, 2024

    New York Sues Lease-To-Own Fintech For 'Cheating' Users

    New York state sued lease-to-own fintech company Acima on Wednesday, accusing the firm of taking advantage of consumers with deceptive practices around its lease agreements and interest rates that go far beyond the state's standard for usury.

  • August 14, 2024

    FINRA Fines Morgan Stanley $400K Over Transaction Records

    A Morgan Stanley wealth management unit will pay the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority $400,000 to settle claims it left required information off of approximately 550,000 trade confirmations for certain municipal securities.

  • August 14, 2024

    Top Stories From Real Estate's Latest Quarterly Updates

    Catch up on the headlines made by the largest public real estate companies during their latest quarterly earnings calls with investors, from data centers and lease deals to market forecasts and casinos. 

  • August 14, 2024

    Class Split Disrupts Hearing On $8.7M Sears Suit Settlement

    A Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores stockholder that saw its share appraisal case tanked by the company's bankruptcy in late 2022 won Court of Chancery clearance Wednesday to intervene with a novel, alternative claim for recovery through a separate, ongoing SHOS class damages suit.

  • August 14, 2024

    CFTC Hits Vitol With First-Of-Its-Kind Position Limits Fine

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued its first-ever fine Wednesday against a trader exceeding position limits by holding the same contract across multiple exchanges, penalizing Swiss energy and commodities company Vitol SA for its positions on cattle and crude oil futures.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Proposed Customer ID Rule Could Cost Investment Advisers

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    A rule recently proposed by FinCEN and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make financial advisers collect more customer information parallels an anti-money laundering and counterterrorism rule proposed this spring, but firms may face new compliance costs when implementing these screening programs, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • What Passage Of House Crypto Bill Could Mean For Industry

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    While the prospects of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which recently passed the House in a bipartisan fashion, becoming law remain murky, the manner of its passage may give crypto markets a real cause for hope, say Neel Maitra and Dale Beggs at Dechert.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Advisers Can Avoid Gaps In SEC Marketing Rule Compliance

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    A recent risk alert from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the enforcement history of the marketing rule indicate that advisers have encountered persistent difficulties in achieving compliance — but there are steps advisers can take to mitigate risks of violations, say Scott Moss and Jimmy Kang at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

  • Banks As Crypto Custodians May Rest On SEC Bulletin's Fate

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    Banks' willingness to accept custody of cryptocurrency assets, like the exchange-traded funds approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this spring, may hinge on whether a 2022 SEC accounting bulletin directing banks to track customers' digital assets on their balance sheets can survive Congress' attempts to strike it down, says Roger Chari at Duane Morris.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Takeaways From Regulators' £61.6M Citigroup Trading Fine

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    Following the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority’s recent significant fining of Citigroup for its catastrophic trading error, and with more enforcement likely, institutions should update their controls and ensure system warnings do not become routine and therefore disregarded, says Abdulali Jiwaji at Signature Litigation.

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