Securities

  • June 07, 2024

    Shein's Pursuit Of London IPO Proves US-China Rift Persists

    Online fashion giant Shein's expected pivot to London rather than the United States for its initial public offering — triggered by persistent tensions between China and the U.S. — will be closely watched by IPO prospects mulling where to list their shares in a dicey geopolitical climate, experts say.

  • June 07, 2024

    Emboldened SEC Spells Double Trouble For Defense Bar

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement division has taken an increasingly aggressive stance in recent years thanks in part to an influx of federal prosecutors joining the agency and court decisions that have gradually become more permissive on parallel civil and criminal investigations, defense lawyers say.

  • June 07, 2024

    Former Allianz Unit Exec Admits Role In $6B Fund Fraud

    A former portfolio manager at Allianz SE's U.S. unit told a Manhattan federal judge Friday that he lied to investors about the risks of the German finance giant's now-defunct Structured Alpha Funds, admitting to his role in a $6 billion fraud.

  • June 06, 2024

    Tesla Sued Over Vote On Revived $55B CEO Pay, Texas Move

    Tesla, its board of directors and CEO Elon Musk were hit with a proposed class action in Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday over the company's plan to seek stockholder approval for the same $55.8 billion Musk compensation plan voided in January, along with reincorporation of Tesla as a Texas company.

  • June 06, 2024

    NY Prosecutor Says DOJ Self-Disclosure Policies Are Working

    The proliferation of policies across the U.S. Department of Justice crediting firms and individuals for voluntarily self-disclosing misconduct indicates the approach is effective, even though instances of such disclosures aren't overwhelming, a senior federal prosecutor in New York told a gathering of compliance officers on Thursday.

  • June 06, 2024

    Health Co. CEO Sold Stock Amid Souring Cigna Deal, Jury Told

    A stock analyst told California federal jurors Thursday he noticed in disclosure forms that the founder of healthcare company Ontrak Inc. was starting to sell company shares a few weeks before Cigna announced it was terminating its $90 million contract with the company.

  • June 06, 2024

    Treasury Eyes AI As OCC Chief Calls For More 'Accountability'

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Thursday launched an inquiry into the rollout of artificial intelligence in financial services, a move that came as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's acting chief cautioned that a Wall Street "nightmare" scenario involving the technology "seems uncomfortably plausible."

  • June 06, 2024

    White Collar Boutique Sued By Ex-Client Over Representation

    White collar boutique Clark Smith Villazor LLP and one of its name partners is facing a lawsuit from a former client, a convicted securities fraud defendant who claims the firm caused him to be arrested by the FBI and face millions of dollars in fines.

  • June 06, 2024

    Calif. Judge Pauses Wells Fargo Investor Row Over State Case

    A California federal judge has paused a pension system's proposed class action accusing top Wells Fargo & Co. officers of enabling a "culture of lawlessness," making way for a state court suit that alleges similar wrongdoing.

  • June 06, 2024

    SEC Sued For Info On Text Message Sweeps

    The American Securities Association sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Florida federal court on Thursday, pushing for the disclosure of evidence it says could shed light on how the regulator came to impose billions of dollars' worth of fines against firms whose employees communicate business-related information over unmonitored texting and chat apps.

  • June 06, 2024

    Pharma Co. Misled Investors On Seizure Drug Trial, Suit Says

    Marinus Pharmaceuticals has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action alleging that the company understated the risks of an epilepsy drug trial and did not warn investors that trial enrollment would be suspended when it failed to meet certain criteria.

  • June 06, 2024

    Investors Say Fund Preyed On Alums For RICO Scheme

    A group of Chinese and American investors alleged this week that they were ripped off to the tune of millions of dollars by a group of fraudsters who, through a series of fraudulent bank loans, bogus tax filings and false advertising, induced them into putting their money into a Los Angeles real estate project.

  • June 06, 2024

    NY AG Says $1B Crypto Pyramid Scheme Targeted Immigrants

    The New York Attorney General's Office on Thursday accused a digital assets trading firm, its founders and an affiliated crypto mining firm of running a billion-dollar pyramid scheme that defrauded hundreds of thousands of investors, many of whom are members of Haitian and other immigrant communities.

  • June 06, 2024

    Kwok's 'Whole Movement Is A Scam,' Ex-Fundraiser Tells Jury

    A former top deputy in exiled Chinese billionaire Ho Wan Kwok's anti-Chinese Communist Party movement testified in Manhattan federal court this week that she raised millions of investor dollars out of a deep belief in the cause, but has since realized the entire enterprise was a "scam."

  • June 06, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy CEO, VP Both Cleared In HP Criminal Fraud Trial

    A California federal jury on Thursday acquitted former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and former finance Vice President Stephen Chamberlain of criminal fraud and conspiracy charges following an 11-week trial over allegations that the two conned HP into overpaying billions for the British tech company.

  • June 06, 2024

    Trump Media SPAC Sponsor Must Post Bond In Chancery Row

    Dissenting members of the LLC sponsor for the blank check company that took Trump Media & Technology Group public in March must post a hefty 10% security for potential losses on more than 1.5 million shares — now trading at $46 — snarled in a sponsor control dispute.

  • June 06, 2024

    Biote Investors Sue Cooley, SPAC After Huge Merger Loss

    Family trust investors in Biote Corp. have sued Cooley LLP and the "hormone optimization" company's top brass over the $700 million merger Biote completed with a special purpose acquisition company, saying the deal was a "disastrous transaction to divert approximately $70 million of merger consideration to themselves and gain control of an enterprise they did not build."

  • June 06, 2024

    Latham Leads Robinhood In $200M Buy Of Crypto Exchange

    Robinhood said on Thursday that it will buy cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for approximately $200 million, as the electronic trading platform looks to scale up its global services for digital assets.

  • June 05, 2024

    Tokenizing Real Assets Touches Crypto Concerns, Reps Say

    Putting stocks and other real-world assets on the blockchain is markedly different from issuing cryptocurrencies, but federal lawmakers on Wednesday showed that the debate about how to regulate so-called tokenization is decidedly similar when it comes to weighing its potential efficiencies against threats to privacy and consumer protection.

  • June 05, 2024

    Adviser Can't Unfreeze Assets To Pay Atty Fees

    A Connecticut federal judge is standing by his earlier decision refusing to release $50,000 in frozen assets to pay the attorneys of an investment adviser and his wife, who face a $5.9 million fraud suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • June 05, 2024

    Bank Shareholders Say Venezuelan Takeover Cost Them $27M

    Shareholders in a small Miami bank told jurors Wednesday that board members working for the Venezuelan government had taken control of the bank and cost shareholders $27 million by engaging with the sanctioned Venezuelan government.

  • June 05, 2024

    StarTek Controller Sued In Del. After Public-Share Buyout

    Two public stockholders of global customer experience outsourcing consultant StarTek Inc. sued four company directors and its private equity controller in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Wednesday, alleging an unfair and conflicted $4.30-per-share buyout of the company's remaining public shares.

  • June 05, 2024

    Dems Urge SEC To Double Down On Climate Enforcement

    A group of 38 Democratic lawmakers is urging U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to step up enforcement of the agency's existing climate disclosure-related guidance, as the agency faces court challenges to its controversial climate rule.

  • June 05, 2024

    Axos Says Money Market Account Suit Should Be Arbitrated

    Axos Bank has urged a California federal judge to either toss or force into arbitration a proposed class action alleging it reclassified customers' high-yield money market accounts into lower-yield investment accounts without informing them, saying federal law allows banks to offer accounts with variable rates that the bank can change at its discretion.

  • June 05, 2024

    Wells Fargo Sued For Allegedly Aiding $300M Ponzi Scheme

    Wells Fargo Bank NA has been hit with a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging that it aided and abetted a $300 million Ponzi scheme that duped more than 1,000 investors, most of whom were elderly and lost substantial life savings due to the scheme.

Expert Analysis

  • New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks

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    Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • Strategies For Single-Member Special Litigation Committees

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    The Delaware Supreme Court's recent order in the Baker Hughes derivative litigation allowing testimony from a single-member special litigation committee highlights the fact that, while single-member SLCs are subject to heightened scrutiny, they can also provide unique opportunities, says Josh Bloom at MoloLamken.

  • Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling

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    A California federal court's recent decision in AmTrust v. 180 Life Sciences, requiring insurers to advance defense costs for a potentially covered claim, provides a valuable road map for directors and officers insurance policyholders, rebutting the common presumption that a D&O insurer's duty to advance costs is more limited than under other policies, say attorneys at Pasich.

  • How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts

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    Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

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    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Basics Of Bank Regulators' Push For Discount Window Use

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    As the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency emphasize short-term liquidity risk management as central to preventing spring 2023-style bank collapses, banks should carefully tune into regulators’ remarks encouraging use of the Fed’s discount window, which some policymakers identify as a key component in the evolution of liquidity regulation and backstop lending, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Broker-Dealers Can Prepare For New Remote Work Rules

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    Securities regulators recently expanded broker-dealers' ability to permit flexible remote working arrangements through the introduction of residential supervisory locations, a welcome change that better allows broker-dealers to attract and retain talent, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Considerations For Disclosing AI Use In SEC Filings

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    Recent remarks from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler should be heard as a clarion call for public companies to disclose artificial intelligence use, with four takeaways on what companies should disclose, says Richard Hong at Morrison Cohen.

  • Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls

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    Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

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    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling

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    While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

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    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Cos. Must Know How NY, Federal LLC Disclosure Laws Differ

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    Though New York state's new LLC Transparency Act and the federal Corporate Transparency Act impose similar beneficial owner reporting obligations on limited liability companies, New York LLCs should study the important differences between the laws to ensure they are prepared to comply with both, say Abram Ellis, Olenka Burghardt and Jane Jho at Simpson Thacher.

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