Securities

  • September 06, 2024

    Covington Owes $100M For Malpractice, Ex-Client Claims

    A blockchain entrepreneur and attorney is seeking at least $100 million from Covington, claiming in a legal malpractice suit filed Friday in New York state court that he could have avoided years of fighting a federal extortion case if firm partners hadn't advised against handing prosecutors "clearly exculpatory evidence."

  • September 06, 2024

    ZoomInfo Sued By Investor Over Post-Lockdown Biz Pressure

    Software company ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. has been hit with an investor proposed class action in Washington federal court alleging it hurt investors and its own reputation as it took desperate measures to maintain an early-pandemic customer boom and ultimately wrote down $33 million because of improperly recognized revenue.

  • September 06, 2024

    Earthlink Investors Accept $85M Deal To End Merger Suit

    Earthlink investors who say they were duped into approving a $1.1 billion merger with failing telecommunications company Windstream Holdings Inc. told an Arkansas federal judge Friday that they've reached an $85 million deal to end the lawsuit two months before the case was scheduled to go to trial.

  • September 06, 2024

    AstraZeneca Unit Owes $130M In Chancery Scuttled-Drug Suit

    The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday awarded $130 million to former shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Syntimmune in their breach of contract fight against AstraZeneca PLC unit Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., finding that Alexion failed to make promised payments after it acquired Syntimmune in 2018 and breached key terms of their merger agreement.

  • September 06, 2024

    SEC Wins Suit Against Trader Who Reaped 'Maker-Taker' Fees

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday won summary judgment against a stock trader it accused of illegal wash trading when he traded to profit off so-called maker-taker fees paid out by major exchanges, with a New Jersey federal judge ruling that there are no issues of material fact in the suit, among other things.

  • September 06, 2024

    Calif. Takes AI Reins With Looming Safety, Transparency Laws

    A pair of groundbreaking legislative proposals aimed at ensuring the safe and transparent deployment of artificial intelligence systems are headed to the California governor's desk, raising questions about whether lawmakers are taking the right approach to regulating the emerging technology and how the state's privacy regulator will respond. 

  • September 06, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Bulk Of CFTC's Fraud Claim Win Against CEO

    The Seventh Circuit has largely upheld a win for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, finding that the head of a Chicago-based brokerage conducted a multimillion-dollar options fraud scheme, but remanded on two claims related to whether the company was required to register as a commodity trading adviser.

  • September 06, 2024

    Fed's Barr To Give Sneak Peek Of Revised Basel III Plan

    The Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision will preview revisions to a scaled-back version of the controversial Basel III endgame plan to toughen big-bank capital requirements at a Brookings Institution event on Tuesday.

  • September 06, 2024

    11th Circ. Orders New Look At Penalty In SEC Loan Fraud Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit on Friday rejected a bid from a couple accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of a nearly half-a-billion-dollar fraud to reverse an order expanding a receivership of their merchant loan business, but it vacated $43.7 million in penalties they were ordered to pay on the grounds it was unclear who was liable for what.

  • September 06, 2024

    Biopharm Co., Directors Sued In Del. Over 'Extreme' Scheme

    A five-year run of "extreme and unconscionable self-dealing" has left 62% of Navidea BioPharmaceuticals Inc. equity in the hands of a single stockholder-director, a Delaware Court of Chancery suit has alleged, with the company now deregistered and currently without a viable product.

  • September 06, 2024

    Starbucks Finds Interest For Appeal In Shareholder Suit

    A Washington Court of Appeals commissioner suggested to two Starbucks shareholders on Friday that their lawsuit must "do more than what it does" as of now if they want to accuse corporate leadership of responding illegally to barista unionization, hinting the court will likely take up the coffee giant's appeal.

  • September 06, 2024

    SEC Fraud Suit Against Battery Co. Survives Dismissal Bid

    A California federal judge has rejected battery developer NDB Inc.'s motion to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit alleging the company and its CEO misled investors about the prospects of so-called nano-diamond battery technology, saying the SEC sufficiently pled that the defendants were the "maker" of statements that were materially misleading to investors.

  • September 06, 2024

    CFTC Loses Court Battle Over Election Betting Contracts

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday in a case that challenged an agency ban on the use of the derivatives markets to place bets on the outcome of U.S. elections, granting victory to trading platform KalshiEx LLC. 

  • September 06, 2024

    Boeing Loses Bid To Toss Investor Suit Over Blowout

    A Virginia federal judge gave the green light to Boeing investors to continue their securities fraud proposed class suit against the company over one of its planes' midair door blowout in January, rejecting the aerospace giant's motion to dismiss and telling Boeing it had a "real problem" on its hands.

  • September 06, 2024

    Three Defendants Settle SEC's $14M Pot Co. Securities Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached settlements with three defendants who allegedly misappropriated $14 million in investment funds intended for a cannabis enterprise, with the three agreeing to pay back a total of more than $4 million in disgorgements and interest and $3 million in civil penalties.

  • September 06, 2024

    SEC Accuses Fla. Men Of Mass Tort Litigation Financing Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday accused a father and son from Florida of running a fraudulent litigation funding scheme by promising investors returns from financing mass tort litigation they were not actually funding.

  • September 06, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Fined $2M Over First Republic Exec's Trades

    Massachusetts' top securities cop on Friday imposed a fine of $2 million on Morgan Stanley for failing to ensure that a New Republic Bank chairman hadn't relied on insider information when he dumped millions of dollars of the bank's stock in the days and months before its collapse.

  • September 06, 2024

    Baker McKenzie M&A Partner Jumps To Bell Nunnally

    Dallas-based business law firm Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP has hired former Baker McKenzie partner Jonathan Farrokhnia, who told Law360 on Friday that his decision to join the firm was based on the advantages that come from working for a smaller firm.

  • September 06, 2024

    SEC Accuses Esmark Of Lying About US Steel Bid

    A failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel has landed Pittsburgh-based Esmark Inc. in hot water with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which announced Friday that it had fined the company and its founder for falsely claiming they had the money to buy the manufacturing giant.

  • September 05, 2024

    Coinbase, Execs Must Face Investor Suit Over Business Risks

    A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday declined to dismiss a consolidated investor class action against Coinbase and its executives over disclosures the cryptocurrency exchange made about certain business risks it faced, although he trimmed certain allegations deemed to be, among other things, corporate puffery.

  • September 05, 2024

    TikToker Conned Followers With Real Estate Fraud, Feds Say

    A social media influencer faces criminal charges and a suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after he allegedly made false claims to investors that money put into purported real estate projects would earn them passive income.

  • September 05, 2024

    GitLab's AI Hype Was Too Optimistic, Investor Suit Says

    Software development collaboration platform GitLab is the latest company to face claims that it misguided investors about how artificial intelligence might bolster its fortunes as it faced other headwinds, including mounting costs for a China-based joint venture, that caused its share price to sink.

  • September 05, 2024

    CFTC Says Ex-Commish's Signature Was Forged For $1.5M Scam

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued the operator of an unlicensed commodity pool for allegedly targeting dozens of Spanish-speaking immigrants in a $1.5 million Ponzi-like scheme that used a fictitious license containing a counterfeit CFTC seal and a forged commissioner signature to falsely promise investors guaranteed monthly returns.

  • September 05, 2024

    Class Attys Vie To Lead Drug Co. Insider Trading Suit In Del.

    A courtroom face-off over lead stockholder counsel duties in a Delaware Chancery Court case accusing a biopharmaceutical company's directors of insider trading and fiduciary duty breaches got edgy Thursday, after one of the plaintiff-side legal teams contended that the other's case was irreparably hobbled by conflicts of interest.

  • September 05, 2024

    Ex-SEC Enforcement Atty Joins Whistleblower Law Boutique

    Kohn Kohn & Colapinto announced Thursday that a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney will join the whistleblower law firm as senior special counsel.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks

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    With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now the Democratic candidate for vice president, politically active investment advisers should take practical steps to avoid triggering strict pay-to-play rules that can lead to fund managers facing mutli-year timeouts from working with public funds after contributing to sitting officials, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • 'Pig Butchering': The Scam That Exploits Crypto Confusion

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    Certain red flags can tip off banks to possible "pig-butchering," and with the scam's increasing popularity, financial institutions need to take action to monitor entry points into the crypto space, detect suspicious activity and provide a necessary backstop to protect customers, say Brandon Essig and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 9 Liability Management Tips As Debt Maturity Cliff Looms

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    As the debt maturity cliff swiftly approaches in this challenging environment, attorneys at Winston & Strawn highlight the top considerations for boards of directors and finance professionals to think about when structuring and executing liability management transactions, including reviewing capital structure, evaluating debt covenants, and more.

  • How Transaction Lookbacks Can Guide Fintech Companies

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    As transaction lookbacks continue to be a key focus of enforcement actions, newer financial institutions like fintech companies should know they can benefit from proactively investigating their potential failure to identify suspicious activity, creating a compliance road map and building trust with regulators in the process, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Manage Insider Trading Risk

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    In light of two high-profile insider trading jury decisions against life sciences executives this year, public companies in the sector should revise their policies to account for regulators' new and more expansive theories of liability, says Amy Walsh at Orrick.

  • Series

    A Day In The In-House Life: Narmi GC Talks Peak Productivity

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    On a work-from-home day in August, Narmi general counsel Amy Pardee chronicles a typical day in her life in which she organizes her time to tackle everything from advising on products and contract negotiations to volunteering and catching up on the New York Times crossword.

  • How Ripple Final Judgment Fits In Broader Crypto Landscape

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    The Southern District of New York's recent $125 million civil penalty levied in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple will have a broad impact on the crypto industry as it was the first to hold that blind sales of digital assets are not securities, even if deemed securities in other circumstances, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

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