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Securities
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June 13, 2024
Contentious Del. Corporate Law Changes Sail Through Senate
After triggering rare public dissent, a multipart Delaware General Corporation Law amendment that would let boards cede some governance rights to big stockholders whisked through the state's Senate on Thursday without debate or an opposing vote, with a House vote expected as early as next week.
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June 13, 2024
Manatt Picks Up Crypto Co. DCG's Legal Head As New Partner
The former top lawyer for Digital Currency Group has departed the cryptocurrency company to join professional services firm Manatt as a financial services partner based in New York, focusing on blockchain, emerging companies and venture capital, the firm announced Thursday.
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June 13, 2024
Longtime Dentons Atty Rejoins Firm After In-House Stint
Dentons announced that an attorney who previously spent over 25 years at the firm and its preceding organization rejoined its Los Angeles office as a partner in the capital markets practice, following several years of working as general counsel for lending companies.
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June 13, 2024
How 3 Firms Cleared 2 Ex-Autonomy Execs In HP Fraud Case
A California federal jury's rejection last week of fraud charges against the founder and former finance vice president of British software company Autonomy validated an approach by the defendants' three law firms — Steptoe, Clifford Chance and Bird Marella — to form a "seamless" collaboration throughout the trial, from jury selection to closing arguments.
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June 13, 2024
Biden Picks CFTC's Goldsmith Romero For FDIC Chair
The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden will nominate Christy Goldsmith Romero, a Democratic member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, for the top job at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
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June 12, 2024
Hedge Fund Manager Cops To $3M Fraud Scheme
A New York fund manager on Wednesday admitted to defrauding investors out of at least $3 million through his investment management firm, in a scheme that has been ongoing for the last three years.
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June 12, 2024
Lies At Heart Of Fraud Case Over COVID Test Kits, Jurors Told
The retrial of a securities fraud case over a COVID test kit deal that never materialized will center on lies, according to opening statements delivered in New Jersey federal court Wednesday.
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June 12, 2024
Oppenheimer, Cybersecurity Co. Settle $12M SPAC Bill Spat
Oppenheimer & Co. and an Israeli cybersecurity company have reached a settlement to end claims that the company refused to pay $12 million in fees for SPAC merger-related services the investment bank provided, according to a New York federal court filing made Wednesday.
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June 12, 2024
FDIC Head Must Go To Change Status Quo, GOP Reps. Say
House Republicans on Wednesday criticized Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg for not immediately resigning in the wake of a probe of the agency's workplace culture, but some Democrats took issue with the scope of a report on the investigation's findings while applauding his rumored successor.
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June 12, 2024
'Tiger-Wolf' Trader Cops To Wire Fraud For $700K Scheme
A 26-year-old Charlotte man on Wednesday pled guilty to federal prosecutors' claims that he defrauded over 100 would-be investors in his purported hedge fund, Tiger-Wolf Capital LLC, spending much of their money on his own lavish lifestyle.
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June 12, 2024
2nd Circ. Backs Brokerage In Suit Over Biotech's Failed IPO
The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined to reinstate a Texas company's suit against an investment brokerage that advised biotech Inpellis on an initial public offering that failed and sent the company to file Chapter 7, ruling a lower court rightly found a global settlement eclipsed the need for a jury trial.
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June 12, 2024
Cabot Execs Misled Investors On Fracking Impact, Suit Says
Insiders of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., now known as Coterra Energy Inc., were hit with a shareholder derivative suit alleging they did not disclose that Cabot was not safeguarding drinking water from the company's fracking operations, which eventually led to criminal charges and reputational and financial damages.
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June 12, 2024
CalPERS Opposes $5B Atty Fee In Musk Pay Fight
The nation's largest public pension fund lined up Wednesday against a proposed $5 billion-plus fee for stockholder attorneys whose Delaware Court of Chancery suit blocked Tesla CEO Elon Musk's one-time $56 billion compensation plan, one day ahead of a Tesla shareholder vote to resurrect the pay deal.
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June 12, 2024
GOP, Dems Fight Over Climate Investment 'Collusion'
House Judiciary Democrats and Republicans traded barbs and competing staff reports Wednesday over investment industry initiatives to combat climate change that the GOP called a "climate cartel" and their partisan rivals said is simply responsible, and voluntary, investing.
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June 12, 2024
Judge Won't Trim $18M Shareholder Settlement Coverage Suit
A Pennsylvania federal judge declined to toss certain bad faith allegations against an insurer accused of wrongfully denying coverage for an $18 million settlement between an asset management company and a group of shareholders, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation that the company sufficiently alleged its claim of bad faith.
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June 12, 2024
Lumen Board Faces Investor Suit Over Lead Cable Liability
The board members of Louisiana-headquartered telecommunications company Lumen Technologies Inc. face a shareholder derivative suit alleging they breached their fiduciary duties following revelations about, and subsequent scrutiny of, lead components of the company's physical cable networks.
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June 12, 2024
SPAC Dealmakers Expect Modest Pickup After Market Bottom
Market professionals expect a slow pickup in deals involving special-purpose acquisition companies starting in the second half of 2024, predicting on Wednesday that a leaner market will emerge following the recent crash and imposition of tighter regulations.
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June 12, 2024
Directors Of Defunct Med Tech SPAC Seek Toss Of Del. Suit
Directors of a special purpose acquisition company that merged with now-defunct medical technology company Better Therapeutics Inc. urged Delaware's Court of Chancery on Wednesday to toss a shareholder's suit about the $15 million de-SPAC merger, saying it wasn't like other problematic SPAC deals.
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June 12, 2024
SEC Says Texas Crypto Cases Aren't Related To Fraud Suit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked a Texas federal judge not to stay its case accusing a crypto asset mining and hosting company of securities fraud, saying in a Wednesday brief that the judge's concerns about other pending cases creating "moving-target precedents" were unfounded.
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June 12, 2024
Okta, Investors Reach $60M Deal In Cyberattack Coverup Suit
Okta Inc. investors have asked a California federal judge to give the first OK to a $60 million settlement reached in a suit alleging the software company misled the certified class about a 2022 cyberattack.
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June 12, 2024
QuantumScape Shareholders Seek Initial OK For $47.5M Deal
Investors of QuantumScape have asked a California federal judge to give the first green light to a $47.5 million settlement to end their class action suit, which alleged published articles revealed the company made false statements about the quality of its batteries and the tests it used to measure performance.
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June 12, 2024
Forte Biosciences Reaches $2M Deal To End Chancery Suit
Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Forte Biosciences has reached a multipart, $2 million concession-plus-cash settlement in Delaware's Court of Chancery with a private investment fund that ran a board proxy contest after its calls to liquidate the business were met with poison pill pushback.
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June 12, 2024
Loan Co. Owners Say SEC Improperly Expanded Receivership
A couple accused of scamming 1,200 investors out of nearly half a billion dollars asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to reverse an order expanding a receivership of their merchant loan business, arguing their due process rights were violated when their personal assets were added to the receivership.
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June 12, 2024
Freshfields Adds Ex-Kirkland, Davis Polk Attys In New York
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP bolstered its corporate offerings in New York this week with M&A partner Joshua Ayal and capital markets partner Jacqueline Marino.
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June 12, 2024
Terraform To Settle With SEC For $4.5B After Fraud Trial
Crypto firm Terraform Labs has agreed to a $4.47 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after a Manhattan jury found the firm and its founder Do Kwon liable for fraud in April.
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Liability Theories
The greater frequency and scale of wildfires in the last several years have created operational and fiscal challenges for electric utility companies, including new theories of liability and unique operational and risk management considerations — all of which must be carefully considered by utility investors, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
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Under The Hood Of The SEC Securitization Conflict Rule
Elanit Snow and Julia Vitter of Proskauer consider the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently finalized rule that prohibits conflicts of interest in certain securitization transactions, uncovering what the new regulation does and doesn’t entail, why it was adopted, and how commenters' remarks affected the process.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Can A DAO Be Sued? SDNY Case May Hold The Answer
A case pending in the Southern District of New York will examine whether decentralized crypto co-op MakerDAO is a partnership with the capacity to be sued in federal court, and the decision could shape how legal frameworks will adapt to accommodate blockchain technologies moving forward, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Tips For Counsel Seeking Balance In The ESG Political Divide
Corporate counsel tasked with navigating environmental, social and governance factors in the current polarized political environment should not lose sight of best practices, including sticking to what the law requires and always telling the truth, say Jennifer Rubin at Mintz and Mike Rider at ResMed.
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Practical Steps For Navigating New Sanctions On Russia
After the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia – the largest to date since the Ukraine war began – companies will need to continue to strengthen due diligence and compliance measures to navigate the related complexities, say James Min and Chelsea Ellis at Rimon.
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Opinion
UK Whistleblowers Flock To The US For Good Reason
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office director recently brought renewed attention to the differences between the U.K. and U.S. whistleblower regimes — differences that may make reporting to U.S. agencies a better and safer option for U.K. whistleblowers, and show why U.K. whistleblower laws need to be improved, say Benjamin Calitri and Kate Reeves at Kohn Kohn.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet
After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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How Advance Notice Bylaws Are Faring In Del. Courts
Recent decisions make it clear that the Delaware Chancery Court is carefully reviewing public companies' amended advance notice bylaws in order to balance the competing interests of boards and shareholders, and will likely strike down bylaws that improperly interfere with stockholder franchises, say attorneys at Olshan Frome.
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Employers, Prep For Shorter Stock Awards Settlement Cycle
Companies that provide equity compensation in the form of publicly traded stock will soon have one less day to complete such transactions under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq rules — so employers should implement expedited equity compensation stock settlement and payroll tax deposit procedures now, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks
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.
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Strategies For Single-Member Special Litigation Committees
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.
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Lessons For D&O Policyholders From Pharma Co. Ruling
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.