Securities

  • August 28, 2024

    Boston Consulting Group Avoids FCPA Prosecution, Feds Say

    The U.S. Department of Justice has declined to prosecute Boston Consulting Group Inc. for former employees' alleged bribery of Angolan officials because of the management consulting firm's self-disclosure of the misconduct, as well as its cooperation, remediation and disgorgement of more than $14.4 million.

  • August 28, 2024

    Walgreens Brass Hid Pharmacy Division Woes, Suit Says

    Walgreens' directors and officers have been hit with a derivative suit by a shareholder who says the company and its executives inflated stock value by publicly expressing confidence in the pharmacy division's growth while hiding its struggles adapting to industry hurdles.

  • August 28, 2024

    NFT Platform OpenSea Says SEC May Bring Registration Suit

    The CEO of nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea said Wednesday that the firm was ready to "stand up and fight" after it received a notice that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was considering an enforcement action claiming that the "creative goods" on its platform are unregistered securities.

  • August 28, 2024

    Bowl America Board Strikes $2.2M Deal To End Merger Suit

    Bowl America board members have agreed to pay nearly $2.2 million to settle a class action that alleged the company's board of directors acted in bad faith when it approved a merger with Bowlero Corp., according to a proposal submitted to a Maryland federal court.

  • August 28, 2024

    Billionaire Vik Says Deutsche Bank's 'Harassment' Must End

    Deutsche Bank AG's Connecticut state court lawsuit against billionaire Alexander Vik and his daughter is a doomed effort to relitigate issues that were already decided in a 2013 case that likewise sprang from the bank's global legal battle to collect a $243 million foreign judgment, the defendants said in seeking an early win.

  • August 28, 2024

    Conn. Investment Firm Withheld Pay, Commissions, Suit Says

    Six former employees of Connecticut investment advisory firm Excel Wealth Management LLC have sued the company and its members in state court seeking hourly wages or commissions they claimed they were never paid, with some alleging they were terminated for speaking out about their compensation.  

  • August 28, 2024

    SEC Omits 'Swing Pricing' Plan From Fund Disclosure Rules

    A divided U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday agreed to require more detailed and frequent disclosures from mutual funds, though regulators dropped plans — at least for now — to implement a controversial "swing pricing" provision.

  • August 28, 2024

    AI Software Co. Must Face SEC's $108M Pyramid Scheme Suit

    A Florida federal judge has refused to toss a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against the owners of a multilevel marketing company, accusing them of running a fraudulent and unregistered securities offering that raised roughly $108 million from claims that they are using artificial intelligence to develop software, saying the SEC has sufficiently pleaded the existence of a scheme, among other things.

  • August 28, 2024

    Farella Braun Can Pursue Unpaid SVB Fees From FDIC

    Farella Braun & Martel LLP can go after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $49,000 in legal fees owed by Silicon Valley Bank's parent after the agency was appointed as the bank's receiver, a California federal judge ruled Wednesday.

  • August 28, 2024

    Congress Urged To Address Trump Financial Conflicts

    After possible financial conflicts of interest caused consternation during President Donald Trump's first term, an ethics watchdog is calling for a series of legislative reforms to prevent them from recurring if he's reelected.

  • August 28, 2024

    Biotech Biz Hid Risks Of Gene-Editing Trial, Investor Claims

    Biotechnology firm Verve Therapeutics was hit with a proposed class suit alleging it misled investors about the risks associated with a clinical trial of an experimental gene-editing drug that was halted and caused the company's stock to tumble.

  • August 28, 2024

    Cooley Adds O'Melveny Securities Litigation, Fintech Pro In LA

    Cooley LLP has expanded its California team, announcing Wednesday it has brought in an O'Melveny & Myers LLP securities litigation and fintech expert as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • August 27, 2024

    Wells Fargo Says 'Good Faith' Efforts Ax Investors' Bias Suit

    Wells Fargo & Co. urged a California federal judge Tuesday to toss a derivative lawsuit filed by a putative class of shareholders claiming the bank's board of directors failed to address its discriminatory lending and hiring practices, saying there's evidence of "good-faith" efforts to monitor compliance in those areas.

  • August 27, 2024

    Exec To Pay SEC $190K Over Macquarie Insider Trading Claim

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says a New York man who used inside information he learned as a Macquarie Group investor relations executive to profit from a then-pending deal to sell its airport services business to KKR & Co. has agreed to pay nearly $190,000 to settle the agency's claims that he violated securities laws. ​

  • August 27, 2024

    Electric Jet Co. Grounds Investor Suit Over SPAC Disclosures

    Investors in German aerospace company Lilium have failed to adequately allege that the company lied about its electric jet production efforts as it went through a $3.3 billion go-public merger with a special purpose acquisition company, a Florida federal judge determined in permanently tossing the suit.

  • August 27, 2024

    Reddit Beats Pay-Per-Click Advertising Class Action, For Now

    Reddit Inc. has defeated, for now, LevelFields Inc.'s proposed contract breach class action alleging that it charged advertising customers for fake "clicks" that didn't result in corresponding traffic to the advertiser's website after a California federal judge said Tuesday that the plaintiff doesn't identify specific contractual provisions it thinks Reddit violated. 

  • August 27, 2024

    Navy Shipbuilder Pleads Guilty To Accounting Fraud

    A shipbuilder that contracts with the U.S. Navy pled guilty Tuesday to accounting fraud as part of a settlement to resolve criminal and civil investigations.

  • August 27, 2024

    NY Pension Funds Join Illumina Deal Suit Pile-On In Del.

    New York state's retirement system and fund have added a new derivative suit to widening stockholder litigation over Illumina Inc.'s $8 billion reacquisition of cancer testing company Grail Inc. despite European Commission regulatory agency opposition.

  • August 27, 2024

    CFTC Fines TOTSA $48M Over Market Manipulation Attempts

    Swiss energy trader TOTSA will pay $48 million for allegedly trying to manipulate the market for futures contracts linked to a type of refined gas mainly used in automobiles in Europe, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Tuesday, with one commissioner dissenting over "flimsy evidence that is speculative and circumstantial." 

  • August 27, 2024

    SEC Cites Amazon's FTC Loss In Coinbase Document Dispute

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday told a New York federal judge that a recent ruling denying Amazon's request to review internal documents from the Federal Trade Commission bolsters its own bid to shield internal communications in its enforcement suit against crypto exchange Coinbase.

  • August 27, 2024

    Self-Driving Truck Co. Inks $189M Deal To End Investor Suit

    Self-driving trucking company TuSimple Holdings Inc. has agreed to pay $189 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it misled investors about its safety record and payments to a Chinese rival that opened it up to U.S. government investigations, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • August 27, 2024

    Deutsche Bank, Rabo Beat Antitrust Suit Over Euro Bonds

    A New York federal judge has tossed an antitrust suit against Deutsche Bank AG and Rabo Securities USA, alleging they conspired to fix the price of European government-issued euro-dominated bonds sold throughout the U.S. between 2005 and 2016, saying the plaintiffs lack standing.

  • August 27, 2024

    Bank Seeks To End Claims It Mismanaged Treasury Program

    A bank is seeking to permanently dismiss a suit accusing it of misleading an investor about its oversight of a U.S. Department of Treasury contract, saying despite amending its case three times, the investor hasn't connected any sustained stock loss to contract issues.

  • August 27, 2024

    Del. Court Nixes Trump Media Contempt Bid In Share Suit

    A Delaware vice chancellor declined on Tuesday to find Donald Trump's social media venture in contempt for suing in Florida to block the release of two Trump Media & Technology Group founders' shares, while the same founders are battling for the stock in the Court of Chancery.

  • August 27, 2024

    Colo. Co. Deprived Analyst Of $58M Stock Deal, Judge Rules

    An Illinois federal judge has found that a Wall Street analyst and investor suffered damages worth nearly $58 million when a Colorado company and its president failed to compensate him with millions of shares as part of a consulting agreement.

Expert Analysis

  • Chancery's Carvana Suit Toss Shows Special Committee Value

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent dismissal of a stockholder complaint against Carvana illustrates how special litigation committees can be a powerful tool for boards to regain control after litigation alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 7th Circ. Mootness Fee Case May Curb Frivolous Merger Suits

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    On April 15, the Seventh Circuit in Jorge Alcarez v. Akorn Inc. mapped out a framework for courts to consider mootness fees paid to individual shareholders after the voluntary dismissal of a challenge to a public company merger, which could encourage objections to mootness fees and reduce the number of frivolous merger challenges filed, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • 4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy

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    With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.

  • What 3rd Circ. Trust Ruling Means For Securitization Market

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    Mercedes Tunstall and Michael Gambro at Cadwalader break down the Third Circuit's March decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust, as well as predict next steps in the litigation and the implications of the decision for servicers and the securitization industry as a whole.

  • Tips For Balanced Board Oversight After A Cyberincident

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity disclosure rules, as well as recent regulatory enforcement actions bringing board governance under scrutiny, continue to push boards toward active engagement in relation to their cyber-oversight role, despite it being unclear what a board's level of involvement should be, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Breaking Down DOJ's Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently announced pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to voluntarily self-disclose corporate misconduct they were personally involved in, complementing a new whistleblower pilot program for individuals not involved in misconduct as well as the government's broader corporate enforcement approach, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Reverse Veil-Piercing Ruling Will Help Judgment Creditors

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    A New York federal court’s recent decision in Citibank v. Aralpa Holdings, finding two corporate entities liable for a judgment issued against a Mexican businessman, shows the value of reverse veil piercing as a remedy for judgment creditors to go after sophisticated debtors who squirrel away assets, says Gabe Bluestone at Omni Bridgeway.

  • Address Complainants Before They Become Whistleblowers

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    A New York federal court's dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation claim against HSBC Securities last month indicates that ignored complaints to management combined with financial incentives from regulators create the perfect conditions for a concerned and disgruntled employee to make the jump to federal whistleblower, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Ensuring Nonpublic Info Stays Private Amid SEC Crackdown

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    Companies and individuals must take steps to ensure material nonpublic information remains confidential while working outside the office, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to take enforcement actions against those who trade on MNPI and don't comply with new off-channel communications rules in the remote work era, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • What Cos. Are Reporting Under New SEC Cybersecurity Rule

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    Four months after its effective date, 14 companies have made disclosures under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's mandatory cybersecurity incident reporting rule, and some early trends are emerging, including a possible rush to file, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 10 Tips For ESG Disclosure Compliance In Private Funds

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    As regulators increase scrutiny of misleading claims about environmental, social and governance investments, private fund sponsors should consider several practical tips for communicating accurately with potential investors, drafting comprehensive disclosures and establishing internal policies that can keep pace with evolving compliance requirements, says Jonathan Rash at Ropes & Gray.

  • Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Williams v. Binance highlights the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison v. National Australia Bank ruling to digital assets, and illustrates how Morrison's territorial limits on the federal securities laws have become convoluted, say Andrew Rhys Davies and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • What FERC's Disclosure Demands Mean For Cos., Investors

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    Two recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders reflect the commission's increasingly meticulous approach to reviewing corporate structures in applications for approval of proposed consolidations, acquisitions or changes in control — putting the onus on the regulated community to track and comply with ever-more-burdensome disclosure requirements, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • Corp. Transparency Act Could Survive 11th Circ. Several Ways

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    If the Eleventh Circuit upholds an Alabama federal court’s injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, the anti-money laundering law could persist as a narrower version that could moot some constitutional challenges, but these remedies would likely generate additional regulatory or statutory ambiguities that would result in further litigation, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

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