Securities

  • March 04, 2025

    Colo. Biotech, Founders Owe SEC $14.3M Over Fraud Claims

    A Colorado federal judge has ordered a biotech startup and two of its founders to pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission roughly $14.3 million and barred them from serving as officers and directors of public companies after finding that they fraudulently raised over $10 million by overstating their own investments in the company.

  • March 04, 2025

    New US Atty Wants 6-Month Pause Of Cognizant Bribery Trial

    A federal judge has ordered the parties in a long-running Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case to file their positions Wednesday about how a 180-day adjournment would affect the Speedy Trial Act clock after a newly anointed U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey asked to delay the trial of two former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. executives.

  • March 03, 2025

    Aspiration Founder Arrested For Alleged $145M Fraud Scheme

    Joseph Sanberg, co-founder of the celebrity-backed and sustainability-focused financial services company Aspiration Partners Inc., was arrested Monday over federal criminal allegations he schemed to defraud investor funds out of at least $145 million, federal prosecutors in California announced.

  • March 03, 2025

    SEC Expands Confidential Filing Options For Companies

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday said it is expanding the range of filings that companies can submit for confidential review before such documents become public, predicting that the new accommodations will spur capital formation.

  • March 03, 2025

    Judge Tosses SEC Crypto Case For Lack Of US Ties

    Crypto founder Richard Heart has beaten a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit over his Hex, PulseChain and PulseX crypto projects after the Brooklyn federal judge overseeing the case found the regulator failed to show enough stateside ties.

  • March 03, 2025

    FDIC Beats Bank's Constitutional Fight Over In-House Judges

    A Kansas federal judge tossed on Monday a local bank's constitutional challenge to administrative law judges presiding over the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s $20.5 million anti-money laundering enforcement proceeding against the bank, ruling that the district court does not have the jurisdictional authority to hear the bank's Seventh Amendment claims.

  • March 03, 2025

    Adviser Funneled Investor Cash Into $300M Ponzi, Suit Says

    A Georgia financial adviser has been hit with a proposed class action alleging that she funneled investors into a company at the heart of what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has called a $300 million Ponzi scheme.

  • March 03, 2025

    Broker Can't Use Jarkesy To Slip SEC's Pre-IPO Fraud Suit

    A New York federal judge on Monday ordered an unregistered broker-dealer and its managing member to comply with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative order requiring them to pay roughly $3.5 million to settle claims they made over $65 million selling interests in a portfolio of companies that hadn't yet gone public.

  • March 03, 2025

    SEC's Peirce Taps Ex-Willkie Partner For Crypto Task Force

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has hired a former Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner into a leadership role in its new task force created to transform the agency's approach toward the cryptocurrency industry.

  • March 03, 2025

    Some 'ComEd Four' Bribery Counts Vacated Over Jury Charge

    An Illinois federal judge on Monday ordered a retrial on four bribery charges in the case against an ex-Commonwealth Edison executive and three lobbyists convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, finding the jury was improperly instructed in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling but leaving intact the overarching conspiracy conviction.

  • March 03, 2025

    Jarkesy Can't Get Penny Stock Co. Out Of SEC Penalty

    The Second Circuit on Monday upheld the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's courtroom victory against a penny stock company found to have misled its investors about its financial state, ruling that the company couldn't lean on the U.S. Supreme Court's Jarkesy ruling to argue that a jury should have determined its punishment.

  • March 03, 2025

    Eckert Seamans Will Pay $38M To Par Funding Investors

    A Florida federal judge has signed off on a $38 million deal resolving legal malpractice claims against Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC by investors who fell victim to a Ponzi scheme carried out by Par Funding, which enlisted the firm to help create the business model the lender ultimately used in the scheme.

  • March 03, 2025

    Chancery OKs Amended Suit In $8B Paramount Sale Fight

    Delaware's chancellor agreed Monday to the filing of an amended stockholder challenge to Paramount Global's $8.2 billion merger with Skydance Media and ordered responses by Tuesday from parties affected by a stockholder call for a fast-tracked probe of Paramount's response to an alternative, $13.5 billion offer.

  • March 03, 2025

    Kraken Joins Crypto Cos. Announcing SEC Case Dismissals

    Crypto exchange Kraken said Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also walking away from its registration suit amid a bevy of crypto case dismissals and investigation closures that have come as part of a new approach to digital asset policy.

  • March 03, 2025

    Defendant Admits To 'Shell Factory' Pump-And-Dump Scheme

    The final defendant rounded up in the "Shell Factory Fraud" prosecution of a group that created fake shell companies as part of a pump-and-dump scheme pled guilty Monday in Miami to one count of securities fraud.

  • March 03, 2025

    3rd Circ. Preview: Litigation Funder, J&J Seek Relief In March

    The Third Circuit's case lineup this month will task panels with determining if an American litigation funder can keep its dispute with a German law firm in federal court, and whether Johnson & Johnson can decertify class claims accusing the company of artificially inflating its stock price by failing to disclose the alleged cancer risks of its talc products.

  • March 03, 2025

    Former SDNY Top Prosecutor Kim Returns To Private Sector

    Veteran white-collar defense lawyer Edward Kim, who most recently served as acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Monday he is returning to the firm he founded, Krieger Lewin LLP, which will be known as KKL.

  • March 03, 2025

    Coinbase Wants To Know SEC Spend On Crypto Enforcement

    Crypto exchange Coinbase wants to know how much the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission spent on its "regulation-by-enforcement campaign" against crypto firms under previous Chair Gary Gensler, according to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted on Monday.

  • March 03, 2025

    White & Case Hires Litigator Trio In New York From Weil

    White & Case LLP announced Monday that it has continued its expansion in New York with the addition of a trio of litigators from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, including the co-head of Weil's global litigation practice.

  • February 28, 2025

    SEC, Ex-Silvergate CFO Trade Shots Over Enforcement Case

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday urged a New York federal court not to throw out its claims that the former chief financial officer of defunct crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital concealed the bank's rocky financial position, saying that the executive is mischaracterizing its claims.

  • February 28, 2025

    Del. Judge Orders Trial On AMC Stock Swap Coverage Fight

    A Delaware Superior Court judge ordered a jury trial Friday on an AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. insurer's claim that it never consented to cover part of a $99.3 million settlement with theater chain stockholders who challenged a preferred share conversion and reverse stock split.

  • February 28, 2025

    Space Co. Lied About Rocket Launch Timeline, Investors Say

    Aerospace company Rocket Lab USA Inc. has been hit with a proposed shareholder class action in California federal court alleging it intentionally concealed issues that would delay the test and commercial launches of a vehicle it developed.

  • February 28, 2025

    Beyond Meat Fries Investors' Fast-Food Production Woes Suit

    A Los Angeles federal judge has tossed, for good, a reworked investor class action accusing Beyond Meat of concealing major problems with its efforts to scale production on plant-based meat substitutes for fast-food chains like McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut.

  • February 28, 2025

    SEC's Crypto Turn Could Undermine Staff, Dem Member Says

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's sole Democratic member has spoken out against its postelection retreat from prosecuting crypto cases, warning that recent actions like the voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit against Coinbase threaten to undermine the agency's enforcement staff.

  • February 28, 2025

    Aimmune Shareholders' $27.5M Deal Over Sale To Nestle OK'd

    Aimmune Therapeutics Inc. stockholders won preliminary approval in California federal court on Friday for a $27.5 million settlement of their securities fraud class action alleging that Aimmune was falsely undervalued before its merger with Nestlé Health Science SA.

Expert Analysis

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • What Compensation Committees Must Keep In Mind In 2025

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    New disclosure obligations, an evolving discussion on the analysis of executive perks and updated proxy adviser policies — on top of a new presidential administration — are all important things compensation committees must pay close attention to in 2025, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

  • The Risk And Reward Of Federal Approach To AI Regulation

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    The government has struggled to keep up with artificial intelligence's furious pace, but while an overbroad federal attempt to adopt a more unified approach to regulating AI poses its own risks, so does the current environment of regulatory uncertainty, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Losing A Motion To Dismiss Ruling Isn't Necessarily The End

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    A recent Delaware Court of Chancery ruling, that the Manti Group had not demonstrated any conflicts of interest favoring private equity fund operator The Carlyle Group, serves as an important reminder that a decision on a pleading motion is not the end of the story, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • How Cos. Can Prepare Now For SEC E-Filing System Changes

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's amendments to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system are designed to improve access to and management of EDGAR accounts, and with the March 24 effective date fast approaching, and the transition requiring significant coordination, companies should begin planning now, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • A Halftime Analysis Of DOJ's Compensation Pilot Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice appears to consider the first half of its three-year pilot program on compensation incentives and clawbacks to be proceeding successfully, so companies should expect prosecutors to emphasize the program and other compliance-related considerations early in investigations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Kiromic SEC Order Shows Importance Of Self-Reporting

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently filed settled charges against Kiromic BioPharma illustrate the critical intersection between U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory processes and investor disclosures under the securities laws, and showcase how responding promptly to internal whistleblower reports may reap benefits, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • Understanding Risks Of Celebrities 'Hawking' Crypto Tokens

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    Prominent social media personality Haliey Welch was recently sued over the promotion and sale of the Hawk Tuah cryptocurrency memecoin, underscoring the importance of public figures conducting due diligence to verify they aren't endorsing a token that is in fact a security, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

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