Securities

  • July 30, 2024

    Houston Energy CEO Ran $21M Stock Scheme, SEC Says

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued the head of a Houston energy company in Texas federal court, alleging he raised more than $21 million from over 300 investors nationwide through a fraudulent and unregistered offering of preferred stock in his fuel-blending company.

  • July 30, 2024

    Katten Adds Mayer Brown Practice Group Co-Chair In Chicago

    Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has added to its financial markets litigation and enforcement practice group an attorney who formerly co-chaired a similar practice at Mayer Brown LLP and also has previous in-house experience.

  • July 30, 2024

    Ackman's New Investment Fund Lowers IPO Target To $2B

    Bill Ackman's new investment fund Pershing Square USA Ltd. set a $2 billion fundraising target for its initial public offering, down significantly from earlier estimates, according to a securities filing Tuesday, under guidance from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and underwriters' counsel Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

  • July 30, 2024

    Rising Star: Sullivan & Cromwell's Leonid Traps

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partner Leonid Traps helped win a motion dismissing a multibillion-dollar securities fraud suit against Citigroup and aided AT&T in securing a full dismissal of two rare multilevel court cases seeking billions of dollars in damages, earning him a spot among the securities attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 29, 2024

    Truth Social SPAC, Sponsors Battle In Chancery Over Payout

    Attorneys for a founding investor in the special purpose acquisition company that took former President Donald Trump's social media site public told a Delaware vice chancellor Monday the SPAC ignored its charter and withheld information about the deal in order to avoid paying tens of millions in anti-dilution protection.

  • July 29, 2024

    Virtu Pushes For SEC Crackdown On 'Penny Stock' Listings

    Virtu Financial Inc. is pressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to force Nasdaq and other exchanges to crack down on so-called penny stocks, petitioning the agency to initiate rulemaking that would stop companies struggling to stay above $1 per share from continuing to trade on the exchanges.

  • July 29, 2024

    Wells Fargo Can't Escape Investors' Sham Diverse Hiring Suit

    A California federal judge refused to throw out a proposed securities class action against Wells Fargo alleging it conducted sham interviews to meet diversity targets that triggered a stock drop when the truth came to light, finding Monday that the investors had plausibly alleged the bank's ill-will.

  • July 29, 2024

    NFT Artists Bring Preemptive SEC Suit To Protect Artwork

    Two NFT artists sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Louisiana federal court on Monday to protect their forthcoming nonfungible token projects from a potential enforcement action, with the artwork itself seeking to highlight a perceived regulatory overreach into NFTs.

  • July 29, 2024

    BofA, Citi Among Banks In $80M Deal To End Bond-Rig Suit

    Units of Bank of America, Citigroup and other banking giants have agreed to pay $80 million to settle investor claims accusing them of conspiring to fix European government bond prices.

  • July 29, 2024

    Firm Partners Ask Fla. Court To Toss Investor's Derivative Suit

    Two partners in a law firm have asked a Florida court to dismiss a derivative lawsuit brought by an investor claiming that they orchestrated a litigation funding fraud, arguing that the investor has no right to bring the suit without a vote from the other members of the company.

  • July 29, 2024

    Magistrate Eyes Cuts To Norfolk Southern Investors' Suit

    A New York federal magistrate judge has recommended tossing a portion of a securities suit filed against Norfolk Southern Corp. in the wake of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, reasoning that the retirement funds serving as lead plaintiffs fell short of pleading standards.

  • July 29, 2024

    Ackman's IPO For New Pershing Square Fund Faces Delay

    Hedge-fund giant Bill Ackman is still proceeding with an estimated $2.5 billion to $4 billion initial public offering of his new closed-end investment fund, Pershing Square USA Ltd., though the date of pricing is undetermined, according to the new fund.

  • July 29, 2024

    SEC OKs Award Of More Than $37M To Whistleblower

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded more than $37 million to an anonymous whistleblower the agency credits for spurring a successful enforcement action despite retaliation from an unidentified employer.

  • July 29, 2024

    SEC Says Penny Stock CEO Lied About COVID-19 Deal

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued former penny stock company CEO Juan Campo for securities fraud, alleging he lied to investors about acquiring a Colombian cannabis company and about the company's development of a temperature screening device during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things.

  • July 29, 2024

    Commonwealth Financial Attacks SEC's 'Staggering' $93M Win

    Commonwealth Financial Network has asked the First Circuit to overturn what it called a "staggering" $93 million penalty it was ordered to pay to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that its alleged failure to disclose conflicts of interest to investor clients was harmless.

  • July 29, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Litigation linked to Elon Musk sparked several filings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week, including a call for sanctions and hand-wringing about a proposed multibillion-dollar attorney fee. Here, Law360 looks at this and other highlights from last week in Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • July 29, 2024

    White Collar Update: 4 Developments To Watch

    White-collar lawyers are on the lookout for U.S. Department of Justice actions targeting artificial intelligence "snake oil," aggressive pandemic-relief fraud prosecutions, and carrots for corporations and whistleblowers who expose misconduct. Here's a look at some key developments to watch in the second half of 2024.

  • July 29, 2024

    Rising Star: Skadden's Tansy Woan

    Tansy Woan of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP has used her litigation prowess to score a one-of-a-kind victory in a crypto case, as well as successfully argue for the Second Circuit to free JPMorgan Chase from a long-running lawsuit, earning her spot as one of the securities attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 29, 2024

    Ex-Pharma Exec Seeks Leniency After SEC Contempt Plea

    A former pharmaceutical executive is hoping to avoid jail after his use of an alias to circumvent a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ban on finance work landed him a criminal contempt conviction, while Boston federal prosecutors are seeking up to 10 months in prison.

  • July 29, 2024

    Remainder Of DOL Fiduciary Regs Blocked In Texas

    A Texas federal judge froze the remainder of a package of regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor expanding the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, after a judge blocked most of the policy in an adjacent district the day before.

  • July 26, 2024

    Ex-Wells Fargo Director Wins $22M Verdict In ADA Trial

    A North Carolina federal jury Friday determined Wells Fargo must pay a former managing director $22.1 million after he accused the bank of failing to reasonably accommodate him for a paralyzed colon and bladder, and subsequently laid him off to avoid dealing with his disability, according to his attorney.

  • July 26, 2024

    SEC Sues Banker And Ex-Prosecutor Alleging $1.6M Fraud

    A Georgia banker fraudulently bilked approximately $1.6 million from unsuspecting investors for "furs and furniture" and other expenses while a former Florida prosecutor ignored several red flags when holding on to the investments, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Georgia federal court.

  • July 26, 2024

    FTX's Ryan Salame Asks To Delay Prison After Dog Attack

    Former FTX executive Ryan Salame on Friday asked a New York federal judge to delay his prison surrender date because he was recently mauled by a German shepherd and must undergo "urgent and necessary medical treatment and surgery."

  • July 26, 2024

    Franklin Says DOJ, SEC Probing Western Asset Management

    Western Asset Management, a global fixed-income manager, is facing parallel investigations from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over some of its past trade allocations, its parent Franklin Resources Inc. said Friday.

  • July 26, 2024

    RTX Earmarks $1.2B For Anticipated Deals With DOJ, SEC

    RTX Corp., formerly known as Raytheon, said it has set aside more than $1.2 billion for anticipated deferred prosecution agreements and other deals with U.S. regulators stemming from investigations that include allegations of improper payments tied to contracts in the Middle East.

Expert Analysis

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Proposed Customer ID Rule Could Cost Investment Advisers

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    A rule recently proposed by FinCEN and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make financial advisers collect more customer information parallels an anti-money laundering and counterterrorism rule proposed this spring, but firms may face new compliance costs when implementing these screening programs, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • What Passage Of House Crypto Bill Could Mean For Industry

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    While the prospects of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which recently passed the House in a bipartisan fashion, becoming law remain murky, the manner of its passage may give crypto markets a real cause for hope, say Neel Maitra and Dale Beggs at Dechert.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Advisers Can Avoid Gaps In SEC Marketing Rule Compliance

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    A recent risk alert from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the enforcement history of the marketing rule indicate that advisers have encountered persistent difficulties in achieving compliance — but there are steps advisers can take to mitigate risks of violations, say Scott Moss and Jimmy Kang at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

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