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Compliance
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October 02, 2024
Justices Asked To Short-Circuit Mass. Offshore Wind Project
Massachusetts residents are telling the U.S. Supreme Court it's the last hope for endangered North Atlantic right whales that were overlooked when the federal government approved a large offshore wind energy project in the waters off of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
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October 02, 2024
MSU Halted Paying Legal Bills After Critical Report, Firm Says
Michigan State University stopped paying outside counsel to defend its board of trustees chair after an investigative report appeared to support claims the chair bullied colleagues, the counsel said, filing a state complaint seeking two months' worth of fees.
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October 02, 2024
SEC's Top Cop Departing After Record-Breaking Tenure
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that enforcement director Gurbir Grewal will be leaving the agency next week following a three-year tenure, during which the agency brought in record penalties and frequently clashed with crypto industry participants objecting to a string of lawsuits brought under Grewal's leadership.
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October 02, 2024
Conn. Receiver Gains Access To Apt. Co-Op's BofA Accounts
Bank of America agreed to provide a court-appointed receiver with access to a distressed housing cooperative's bank accounts Wednesday amid efforts by the municipalities of Bridgeport and Stratford, Connecticut, to obtain a court order.
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October 02, 2024
DC Circ. Urged To Scrap EPA Mercury Rule For Coal Plants
States and industry groups fighting a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule curbing mercury and other toxic metal emissions at some coal-fired power plants told the D.C. Circuit it would impose exorbitant and unjustifiable costs for no public health benefit, and is actually aimed at forcing plants to retire to advance climate goals.
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October 02, 2024
NYC Mayor Adams May Face More Charges, Feds Say
Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday it was "possible" they would charge New York City Mayor Eric Adams with additional crimes in his corruption case, indicating they have evidence he told witnesses to lie to the FBI.
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October 01, 2024
Meta Must Face Bulk Of Social Media Harms Securities Suit
A California federal judge on Monday trimmed but refused to throw out a proposed securities class action claiming Meta Platforms Inc. and its executives misled investors about the harmful effects of social media, finding that the investors pointed to plausibly misleading statements regarding mental health and keeping children safe.
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October 01, 2024
Ex-Cognizant Worker's Emails Show His Prejudice, Jury Told
A former Cognizant Technology IT worker who is among a class of employees alleging the company is biased toward Indians and South Asians was confronted on cross-examination Tuesday during a California federal trial about emails he sent that a company attorney argued show a longstanding "problem" with Indian visa holders.
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October 01, 2024
CFPB Warns On Collecting 'Invalid,' Unverified Medical Debt
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday cautioned debt collectors about significant potential compliance risks when working in the medical debt market, issuing guidance that identified a number of practices as illegal and capable of triggering "strict liability" under federal law.
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October 01, 2024
Merrill Lynch To Pay $2M FINRA Fine Over Trade Report Flaws
Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc. has agreed to pay the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority $2 million to settle allegations of trade-reporting compliance shortcomings, including its alleged failure to properly trace millions of relevant retail customer transactions for over a decade.
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October 01, 2024
CFTC Fines Barclays, 3 Others Over Swap Rule Violations
Barclays Bank PLC on Tuesday agreed to pay the Commodity Futures Trading Commission $4 million for swap reporting violations, and three other swaps market participants copped to reporting and safeguards violations and agreed to pay more than $2 million combined in settlements that drew criticism from one commissioner.
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October 01, 2024
From AI To Enviro: The Top Biz Bills Calif. Gov. Inked Into Law
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills into law ahead of an Oct. 1 deadline, meaning major changes are on the horizon for employers, tech companies, healthcare providers and others doing business in the Golden State.
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October 01, 2024
Bribe-Laundering Gets Ecuador Ex-Official 10 Years In Prison
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Ecuador's former comptroller to 10 years in prison after a jury earlier this year convicted him on multiple counts related to laundering millions of dollars in bribe money he received in exchange for eliminating fines connected to a defective hydroelectric dam and other projects.
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October 01, 2024
Foley & Lardner Accused Of Malpractice In GWG Transactions
Foley & Lardner LLP did not heed the fiduciary duty it owed to GWG Holdings when it facilitated loans and other transactions unfair to the life insurance-backed bond seller and, instead, enriched a group of "corrupt" shareholders, according to a lengthy adversary lawsuit filed in Texas bankruptcy court.
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October 01, 2024
NJ Hotels Beat Room Price-Fixing Suit For Good
Another algorithmic antitrust suit is off the table after a New Jersey federal judge said Monday that a room-rate proposed class action against Atlantic City casino-hotels has the same failings that doomed a case over room prices on the Las Vegas Strip.
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October 01, 2024
Judge Stays Calif. Locomotive Emissions Rule Challenge
A California federal judge halted litigation brought by rail industry groups challenging a regulation requiring railroads to transition to zero-emission locomotives in the Golden State over the next decade, finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming authorization decision will greatly impact the case.
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October 01, 2024
University Can Keep Conduct Records, Texas Justices Hear
Texas Supreme Court Justices asked the University of Texas at Austin why it was trying to keep from releasing records of students who violated policies against violence and sex offenses during oral arguments Tuesday, saying that the category of students the university was protecting seemed the "least defensible."
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October 01, 2024
Novel FCA Decision Amplifies Voices Of Whistleblower Critics
A Florida federal judge's characterization of whistleblowers as self-appointed "special prosecutors" when they file lawsuits on the federal government's behalf amplifies the voices of critics questioning the constitutionality of a key enforcement tool for fighting fraud, while threatening to create a circuit split.
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October 01, 2024
Google Ad Tech Trial: 15 Days On The Rocket Docket
The Justice Department wrapped an extraordinary antitrust trial last week that left a Virginia federal judge pondering whether Google is even dominant in the display advertising placement technology market or just another player.
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October 01, 2024
Mich. Court Says It Can't Force Gov't To Speed Up U-Visas
A Michigan federal judge dismissed a proposed class action from U-visa petitioners who sued over government processing delays, saying federal courts lack power to force the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process visas in a required time frame.
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October 01, 2024
EPA Can't Justify Water Permitting Rule, La. Judge Told
Republican-led states and industry groups fired back at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's defense of its rule broadening states' and tribes' power to veto infrastructure projects over water quality concerns, telling a Louisiana federal judge it goes against what Congress intended with the Clean Water Act.
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October 01, 2024
CFPB, NY Pan Subprime Auto Lender's 'Attempt To Distract'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state of New York have fired back at subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corp.'s bid to exit its predatory lending lawsuit in New York federal court, slamming its move as a Wizard of Oz-like effort to escape scrutiny "behind the curtain."
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October 01, 2024
Binance GC Is Building The Firm's Future, One Atty At A Time
Binance general counsel Eleanor Hughes says she inherited "probably one of the most stressful situations a lawyer can face" when she entered her role as the company negotiated a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, but since then her focus has been on building the right team to guide the firm's compliance forward.
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October 01, 2024
Ga. Must Go 'Wheels Up' On Vote Certification, Judge Says
A Georgia state judge signaled Tuesday that a new rule from the State Election Board that directs local election officials to conduct "reasonable inquiries" into voting irregularities doesn't relieve them of their obligation to certify results within the state's mandated time frame.
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October 01, 2024
Tennessee Judge Affirms TVA-Approved Gas Turbine Project
A Tennessee federal judge rejected the Sierra Club's challenge of an environmental assessment that the Tennessee Valley Authority completed to install new gas combustion turbines at one of its existing facilities in the Volunteer State.
Expert Analysis
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Inside OCC's Retail Nondeposit Investment Products Refresh
In addition to clarifying safe and sound risk management practices generally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's revised booklet on retail nondeposit investment products updates its guidance around certain sales practices in light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of Regulation Best Interest, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Loper Fuels Debate Over Merchant Cash Advances As Credit
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent rejection of the Chevron doctrine in Loper Bright may escalate a Florida federal court dispute between the Revenue Based Finance Coalition and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over whether merchant cash advances should be considered credit under the Dodd-Frank Act, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Bank M&A Continues To Lag Amid Regulatory Ambiguity
Bank M&A activity in the first half of 2024 continued to be lower than in prior years, as the industry is recovering from the 2023 bank failures, and regulatory and macroeconomic conditions have not otherwise been prime for deals, say Robert Azarow and Amber Hay at Arnold & Porter.
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FTC's Drug Middlemen Probe Highlights Ongoing Scrutiny
The Federal Trade Commission's interim staff report on its inquiry into pharmacy benefit managers suggests that the industry will remain under an enforcement microscope for the foreseeable future due to concerns about how PBMs affect drug costs and accessibility, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Nuclear Power Can Help Industrial Plants Get To Net-Zero
In the race to fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, the industrial sector currently faces immense challenges — but the integration of nuclear energy is a promising solution, so companies should consider the financial and regulatory issues, opportunities, and risk-mitigating factors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Why The SEC Is Targeting Short-And-Distort Schemes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent crackdown on the illegal practice of short-and-distort trades highlights the urgent need for public companies to adopt proactive measures, including pursuing private rights of action, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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DOJ Paths To Limit FARA Fallout From Wynn's DC Circ. Win
After the D.C. Circuit’s recent Attorney General v. Wynn ruling, holding that the government cannot compel retroactive registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has a few options to limit the decision’s impact on enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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A Look At The Regulatory Scrutiny Facing Liquid Restaking
Recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions highlight the regulatory challenges facing emerging financial instruments like liquid restaking tokens and services, say Daniel Davis and Alexander Kim at Katten.
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5 Insights Into FDIC's Final Rule On Big-Bank Resolution Plans
Although the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recently finalized rule expanding resolution planning requirements for large banks was generally adopted as proposed, it includes key changes related to filing deadlines, review and feedback, and incorporates lessons learned — particularly from last year's bank failures, say attorneys at Cleary.
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Opinion
Time To Reimagine The Novation Process For Gov't Contracts
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, which recently extended a long-standing request for public comments on its novation procedures, should heed commenters' suggestions by implementing specific changes in its documentation requirements, thereby creating a more streamlined and practical novation process, say attorneys at Covington.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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NLRB Ruling Highlights Rare Union Deauthorization Process
A recent National Labor Relations Board decision about a guard company's union authorization revocation presents a ripe opportunity for employees to review the particulars of this uncommon process, and employer compliance is critical as well, say Megann McManus and Trecia Moore at Husch Blackwell.
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Cannabis Biz Real Estate Loan Considerations For Lenders
Now that cannabis sales are legal in some states, real estate lenders are interested in financing the land used by cannabis companies, but because cannabis sales are still illegal under federal law, lenders must make adjustments for cannabis-adjacent transactions, say Mark Levenson and Jeffrey Wendler at Sills Cummis.