Bankman-Fried Tech Deputy Who Parsed Code Avoids Prison

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge allowed tech expert Zixiao "Gary" Wang to avoid jail Wednesday for his role in the $11 billion FTX fraud, crediting his effort to detail programming "back doors" that enabled Sam Bankman-Fried to loot the bankrupt crypto exchange.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC Cooperators More Likely To See Pay Reprieve In 2024

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent emphasis on cooperation seems to have paid off for both the agency and some of the entities it regulates, according to a report released Thursday, which found that more public companies entered into nonmonetary settlements with the SEC in fiscal year 2024 than in any year over the previous decade.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Musk, Ramaswamy Say High Court Rulings OK Federal Cuts

By Lauren Berg

Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead a newly created "Department of Government Efficiency," on Wednesday said two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings will give them the authority to cut off power to regulatory agencies and conduct massive federal layoffs.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Biden Bank Regulators Punt Big-Ticket Rulemakings To Trump

By Jon Hill

Top Biden administration banking regulators told House lawmakers on Wednesday that they don't plan to move forward on efforts to strengthen banks' requirements for capital, liquidity or long-term debt before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, although the Federal Reserve's supervision chief said he's not leaving anytime soon. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

US Called Upon To Lead Cross-Border Payment Overhaul

By Sarah Jarvis

A senior official with the U.S. Department of the Treasury has warned that wide adoption of a poorly designed, cross-border payment system could threaten international financial stability and economic security, advising the U.S. to take the lead in developing and governing such systems.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Not So Fast: Lenders Say CFPB Payday Rule Must Stay On Ice

By Jon Hill

Lender trade groups challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday loan rule have told the Fifth Circuit that they anticipate pursuing another U.S. Supreme Court appeal in their case, and that the rule should be kept on hold for even longer in the meantime.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Apple Says DOJ Case Has Too Much Speculation To Survive

By Bryan Koenig

Apple's attorneys pressed a New Jersey federal judge Wednesday to toss the U.S. Department of Justice's monopolization lawsuit, asserting in oral arguments that the government is simply trying to force them to work with rivals when attacking controls imposed on iPhone app developers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

5 Charged For 'Scattered Spider' Phishing Hacks, Crypto Theft

By Rachel Scharf

California federal prosecutors unveiled a criminal case Wednesday accusing five alleged members of the "Scattered Spider" cybercrime group of using a phishing scheme to access the confidential data of media and technology companies and steal $11 million worth of cryptocurrency from digital wallets.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wells Fargo Must Turn Over E-Docs In TelexFree Litigation

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts magistrate judge on Wednesday ordered Wells Fargo Advisors LLC to hand over electronic files maintained by a compliance manager who investigated potential misconduct by an employee handling accounts of TelexFree associates under investigation in a $3 billion Ponzi scheme.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty With Tom Brady's Blockchain Co. Rejoins Loeb & Loeb

By Adrian Cruz

Loeb & Loeb LLP has rehired an experienced entertainment attorney who most recently was head of business operations for Tom Brady's blockchain startup Autograph as a partner in the firm's Los Angeles office, the firm announced Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hinshaw Brings On Ex-JPMorgan Counsel From Ballard Spahr

By Katryna Perera

A Ballard Spahr LLP attorney and former in-house counsel for JPMorgan Chase & Co. has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as a partner in the firm's consumer financial services practice group in New York, where he will advise banks, lenders and fintechs on state and federal regulations, compliance matters and litigation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

BigLaw Begins Matching Milbank On Associate Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

Following the news Tuesday that Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP will pay associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those handed out by Milbank LLP this year, the firms' peers have begun to respond, with swift matches Wednesday by Paul Hastings LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Settles With Atty Who Reported Judge's Sexual Misconduct

By Lauren Berg

A former Alaska federal prosecutor who made allegations of sexual misconduct against then-U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred has reached an undisclosed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving claims she suffered retaliation for speaking up, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Foley Shouldn't Face Data Breach Claims, Calif. Panel Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A California appellate panel affirmed the dismissal of Accellion Inc.'s cross-complaint against law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in an insurance company's lawsuit claiming the software-maker should be held liable for a $1 million ransomware attack that targeted the law firm, finding that Accellion's cross-claims are untimely.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Weil Litigation Leaders Jump To Paul Weiss In NY

By Tracey Read

The co-chair of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's global litigation department and the co-head of Weil's patent litigation practice will soon be joining Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, the latter firm announced Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Akerman Opens In Charlotte With 2 Moore & Van Allen Hires

By Xiumei Dong

Akerman LLP announced Wednesday the firm opened its second North Carolina office in Charlotte and brought on two new partners from Moore & Van Allen PLLC, including the former head of its renewable energy project finance team and a tax law expert.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Touts Reforms In Handling Workplace Complaints

By Ryan Boysen

The federal judiciary is successfully reforming the controversial process that aims to protect its 30,000 employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a new internal report released Wednesday, even as lawmakers have called for scrapping that process altogether and replacing it with a new one.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Wants 'Immediate Dismissal' Of NY Hush Money Case

By Frank G. Runyeon

President-elect Donald Trump's legal team told the New York judge who presided over his hush money trial that his conviction should be thrown out due to his "overwhelming victory" at the polls, according to a filing released Wednesday.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

House Dem Proposes Vote Forcing Release Of Gaetz Report

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten on Wednesday introduced a resolution that would require the House of Representatives to vote on whether the House Ethics Committee must release its report on the allegations against former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a proposal unveiled the same day the ethics committee failed to reach a consensus.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Judges Still Seek New Bench Seats Amid Dems' Loss

By Courtney Bublé

The Federal Judges Association is urging the House to pass the bipartisan bill that would expand the federal courts in order to meet rising caseloads, even as the Biden administration appears to be cooling on the idea it once supported.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Judicial Nominee Asked About Race, Parenting Writings

By Courtney Bublé

A California judicial nominee's previous writing about the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked a national reckoning on race, was the subject of debate during a Senate nomination hearing on Wednesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Washington State, DC District Court Picks Secure Seats

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Wednesday voted 50-48 to confirm Washington Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca L. Pennell to the Eastern District of Washington and 50-49 to confirm Amir Ali, former president and executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center and co-director of the Criminal Justice Appellate Clinic at Harvard Law School, to the District of Columbia.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Girardi Pushes For New Trial Over Competency Claims

By Cara Salvatore

Counsel for Tom Girardi told a federal judge the disbarred attorney is plainly mentally incompetent and deserves a new trial over charges he defrauded clients of $15 million worth of settlement money.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »