Securities

  • October 16, 2024

    PE Firm Trashed Exec To Avoid Payout In $98M Deal, Suit Says

    A Summit Partners affiliate and several executives concocted false allegations of misconduct to get out of fully compensating the owner of an investment management firm as part of an acquisition worth a reported $97.6 million, according to a complaint filed in Massachusetts state court.

  • October 16, 2024

    2 SDNY Terror Finance Cases Against Binance Stay Separate

    Two suits claiming Binance unlawfully fostered terrorist activity, filed in the wake of the cryptocurrency platform's $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, will proceed separately in the Southern District of New York, a Manhattan federal judge said Wednesday.

  • October 16, 2024

    RTX To Pay $1B For Qatari Bribes And Defrauding US Gov't

    RTX Corp. and its Raytheon subsidiary have agreed to pay approximately $1 billion and enter into two separate deferred prosecution agreements in connection with a bribery scheme to secure Qatari military contracts, as well as separate ploys to defraud the U.S. government in deals for Patriot missile and radar systems.

  • October 16, 2024

    US Fails To Revoke Bail Of Crypto Chief Wanted In Fraud Case

    The U.S. government failed on Wednesday to keep the former chief executive of a $7.5 billion crypto-asset business in custody while he fights extradition for allegedly manipulating the market for his company's virtual tokens, as a judge deemed him a low flight risk.

  • October 15, 2024

    Conn. Trader Pilfered $4.1M From Struggling Firm, SEC Says

    A Greenwich, Conn.-based investment adviser stole more than $4.1 million from a pair of investment funds he managed to help prop up his family's "expensive lifestyle" and counter his personal financial woes, including several tax liens and foreclosure attempts on his home, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged.

  • October 15, 2024

    Santander Settles Investors' Squeeze-Out Suit For $162.5M

    Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. has agreed to shell out $162.5 million to put to rest stockholders' consolidated class action challenging a $2.5 billion minority squeeze-out merger, according to a stipulation filed Monday in Delaware's Court of Chancery.

  • October 15, 2024

    Exec's $77M WeWork Offer Was Stupid, Not Fraud, Jury Told

    Counsel for the former CEO of real estate investment firm Arciterra told a Manhattan federal jury Tuesday his client was a fool for making what prosecutors described as a fake $77 million tender offer for a controlling stake in WeWork before its bankruptcy, but he wasn't trying to falsely pump up the coworking company's stock price.

  • October 15, 2024

    Crypto Huckster Slammed With 20 Years For Forcount Fraud

    A New York federal judge on Tuesday sentenced an Ecuadorean man from Florida to 20 years in prison for pushing the $14 million, international Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme on his fellow Latinos over five years, saying he caused incalculable damage.

  • October 15, 2024

    10th Circ. Won't Reboot Short Sellers' Suit Against Overstock

    In a decision dealing with matters of first impression, the Tenth Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive a hedge fund's proposed class action accusing Overstock.com Inc. and its leadership of manipulating the market when it said it would pay shareholders using cryptocurrency but abandoned the plan to force short sellers into a "squeeze."

  • October 15, 2024

    SafeMoon Execs Can't Beat Fraud Charges Now, Feds Say

    The crypto executives behind the alleged SafeMoon fraud can't claim their conduct was beyond the reach of U.S. courts at this stage of litigation, federal prosecutors said in a brief that pushed back on the executives' bid to dismiss the indictment.

  • October 15, 2024

    SEC Says Robot Co.'s AI Caretaker Was Mostly A Dummy

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a robotics and artificial intelligence startup and its founder in Florida federal court Tuesday, accusing them of misleading investors about the company's ability to develop an AI-infused hologram and a robot to help families with childcare and other tasks.

  • October 15, 2024

    Kirkland-Led Boeing Seeks Up To $35B Amid Labor Strike

    Boeing notified regulators on Tuesday of plans to raise up to $35 billion through securities offerings and a credit agreement, guided by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, as the aviation giant seeks access to cash amid a prolonged strike and production cuts.

  • October 15, 2024

    Hedge Fund Urges Justices To Hear Swing-Trade Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked by a hedge fund facing insider trading allegations to address "significant and recurring issues" that allowed a 1-800-Flowers.com shareholder to proceed with his derivative lawsuit despite failing to prove that the company was harmed in any way by the fund's short-swing trades.

  • October 15, 2024

    Chancery Urged To Toss Smart & Final $1.1B Sale Challenge

    An attorney for funds of Ares Alternative Management Corp. told Delaware's chancellor on Tuesday a stockholder suit alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and corporate waste in a $1.1 billion sale of Smart & Final Stores Inc. failed to show disabling conflicts among company principals or advisers.

  • October 15, 2024

    No 'Third Bite' For Ex-Lender's FDIC Suit, Judge Rules

    A D.C. federal judge has tossed a lawsuit from a former small business financier contesting the constitutionality of a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. enforcement action against him, saying the plaintiff has already twice litigated and lost the case in Rhode Island.

  • October 15, 2024

    Morgan Stanley, BofA Sued Over Cash Sweep Programs

    Minnesota-based financial services company Safron Capital Corp. launched a pair of proposed class actions against Morgan Stanley and Bank of America in New York alleging the firms used their so-called cash sweep programs "to generate massive revenue for themselves at the expense of their customers."

  • October 15, 2024

    Aurora Cannabis Gets First Nod For $8M Investor Suit Deal

    Aurora Cannabis Inc.'s $8.05 million settlement with a proposed class of investors who accused it of orchestrating a $21.7 million "round-trip sale" to keep its stock prices high got a U.S. magistrate judge's initial sign-off along with an order pausing the parties' dispute while the deal is reviewed.

  • October 15, 2024

    Walmart, Execs Settle Chancery Opioid Suit For $123M

    Walmart and its directors and officers have agreed to a $123 million deal to end a stockholder class derivative lawsuit in Delaware's Court of Chancery that accused the nationwide retailer of multiyear opioid prescription oversight failures, potentially resolving class claims dating to early 2020.

  • October 15, 2024

    Ga. Fund Manager Who Fled Country Cops To Fraud Charge

    An Atlanta financier admitted Tuesday to running a fund that ripped off investors to the tune of millions of dollars before fleeing the country as the scheme collapsed, pleading guilty to a single charge of interstate transfers of stolen money, prosecutors said.

  • October 15, 2024

    Coinbase Ally Seeks To Compel SEC To Fulfill Info Request

    A research consultancy working with crypto exchange Coinbase said Tuesday that it plans to seek a quick win in its case to compel internal documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the agency allegedly said it would restart its review of the requests three years from now.

  • October 15, 2024

    Viks Must Face Asset Sale Meddling Suit, Deutsche Bank Says

    Deutsche Bank AG's lawsuit alleging that billionaire Alexander Vik and his daughter interfered in the court-ordered sale of shares in a Norwegian software company is separate from the issue that a Connecticut judge already decided in 2021, so the defendants are wrong to claim that it is barred, the bank said in seeking to keep the case alive.

  • October 15, 2024

    Ex-WH Senior Associate Counsel Rejoins Ropes & Gray

    Ropes & Gray LLP announced Tuesday that an attorney rejoined the firm's Washington, D.C., office as counsel after most recently serving as senior associate counsel to President Joe Biden.

  • October 15, 2024

    Law Firms Diverge As Anti-ESG Pushback Continues

    A continuing onslaught of legislation and litigation opposing corporate environmental, social and governance actions has created a fork in the road for law firms, with some choosing to scale back efforts and others pushing ahead with their internal ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion goals.

  • October 15, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Social Impact Leaders

    Check out our Social Impact Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their engagement with social responsibility and commitment to pro bono service.

  • October 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Review Atty Fee Denial In DOL Stock Plan Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a construction design firm's push for attorney fees following its win in a U.S. Department of Labor case alleging the company mismanaged an employee stock ownership plan, leaving the Ninth Circuit's rejection of the bid for fees intact.

Expert Analysis

  • Will Texas Stock Exchange Provide Regulatory Haven?

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    While the newly proposed Texas Stock Exchange may represent a market reaction to increasingly complex regulations, those looking to list on a national securities exchange should consider that their choice of an exchange may not relieve them of some of the most burdensome public company requirements, say Elizabeth McNichol and Ryan Lilley at Katten.

  • Equity Rights Offering Considerations As Maturity Cliff Looms

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    Current market uncertainties make an equity rights offering — involving affiliate backstop investors — a cost-effective, capital-raising transaction for distressed companies looking to manage their leverage ahead of the impending maturity of a substantial number of COVID-era debt issuances, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates

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    Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.

  • A Checklist For Lenders Preparing For CRE Loan Defaults

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    Considering the recent interest rate environment, lenders should brush up on the proper steps that they should take when preparing to respond to a borrower's default on a commercial real estate loan, and borrowers should understand what lenders will be reviewing, says attorney Norma Williams.

  • Opinion

    Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs

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    We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.

  • Series

    In The CFPB Playbook: Making Good On Bold Promises

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure in the second quarter cleared the way for the bureau to resume a number of high-priority initiatives, and it appears poised to charge ahead in working toward its aggressive preelection agenda, say Andrew Arculin and Paula Vigo Marqués at Blank Rome.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Navigating The Extent Of SEC Cybersecurity Breach Authority

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's broad reading of its authority under Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act in the R.R. Donnelley and SolarWinds actions has ramifications for companies dealing with cybersecurity breaches, but it remains to be seen whether the commission's use of the provision will withstand judicial scrutiny, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Best Text Practices In Light Of Terraform's $4.5B Fraud Deal

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    Text messages were extremely important in a recent civil trial against Terraform Labs, leading to a $4.5 billion settlement, so litigants in securities fraud cases need to have robust mobile data policies that address the content and retention of messages, and the obligations of employees to allow for collection, say Josh Sohn and Alicia Clausen at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Dapper Settlement Offers Rules Of The Road For NFT Issuers

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    The terms of a $4 million settlement in a class action alleging that Dapper Labs sold its NBA Top Shot Moments as unregistered securities may be a model for third parties that wish to avoid securities liability in connection with offering digital asset non-fungible token collectibles, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

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