Securities

  • October 30, 2024

    Gibson Dunn Lands Trump Impeachment Prosecutor, 4 Others

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced Wednesday that it had hired away former President Donald Trump's impeachment prosecutor from Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP to co-chair its global litigation practice group in New York, as well as four other former federal prosecutors from that firm.

  • October 29, 2024

    'In-And-Out' Trades Don't Doom Lead Plaintiff Bid, Judge Says

    A Manhattan federal judge appointed a Pomerantz LLP client as lead plaintiff in a shareholder suit against Nano Nuclear Energy Inc., rejecting arguments that the investor's handful of so-called in-and-out trades in the company's stock should preclude her from representing the proposed class in securities fraud allegations against the company.

  • October 29, 2024

    Alameda Research Wants Crypto Exchange To Return $50M

    Alameda Research, the crypto trading affiliate of the bankrupt FTX digital asset empire, has sued the operators of KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange in Delaware bankruptcy court seeking the return of $50 million of assets that continue to be held on the platform despite the debtors' requests.

  • October 29, 2024

    BofA Faces Scrutiny Of AML Program, Zelle Payment Handling

    Bank of America Corp. disclosed Tuesday that its anti-money laundering program is a focus of ongoing "discussions" with federal regulators and said it is mulling litigation with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a potential enforcement action related to digital payment network Zelle.

  • October 29, 2024

    Y-mAbs Therapeutics Investors Get Final OK For $19.7M Deal

    A New York federal judge has granted final approval to a $19.7 million settlement between Y-mAbs Therapeutics and investors who claim the company misrepresented the likelihood that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would approve the company's signature pediatric nerve cancer treatment, giving class counsel a $6.5 million cut of the deal.

  • October 29, 2024

    NFT Platform OpenSea Taps Consensys Atty To Be Deputy GC

    Blockchain software developer Consensys' head of litigation has departed the firm amid its fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to step into a deputy general counsel role at OpenSea, another crypto firm facing scrutiny from the securities regulator.

  • October 29, 2024

    Lovesac To Pay SEC $1.5M Fine In Accounting Fraud Case

    Beanbag chair maker Lovesac has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle allegations that some of the company's former executives conspired to cover up an accounting debacle over how it recorded what's known as last-mile shipping costs.

  • October 29, 2024

    Yieldstreet Investors' $9M Deal Over Risky Offerings OK'd

    A New York federal judge has given his preliminary blessing to a settlement worth up to $9 million resolving a class action by Yieldstreet investors who accused the online platform of offering "riskier-than-junk-bond investments" to the public that caused the plaintiffs to lose millions of dollars in defaulted loans.

  • October 29, 2024

    Defunct Pot Co. CEO Says 'Grifter' Is Trying To Stop Settlement

    The founder of a defunct marijuana greenhouse claims the $1.5 million settlement it made with a class of investors has been stymied in unrelated legal action filed by a "sophisticated grifter" looking for personal gain, urging a Colorado federal judge to push aside the bankruptcy action.

  • October 29, 2024

    Chancery Shoots Down $9.5M Straight Path Atty Fee Claim

    Stockholder attorneys who waged a multiyear Delaware Court of Chancery battle over IDT Corp. founder Howard Jonas' campaign to scuttle damage claims against him arising from federal sanctions against Straight Path Communications on Tuesday lost a Chancery fight for a $9.5 million attorney fee.

  • October 29, 2024

    Crypto Co. Consensys CEO Slams SEC In Announcing Layoffs

    Blockchain software firm Consensys on Tuesday announced a round of layoffs affecting 20% of its staff that it says was driven in part by a costly legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but a spokesperson confirmed to Law360 that the firm's legal department wasn't part of the reduction.

  • October 29, 2024

    Biopharma Co. Escapes Investor Suit Over Drug Approval Lies

    Biopharmaceutical company Spero Therapeutics Inc. has escaped a proposed investor class action accusing it of concealing warning signs that it would not secure regulatory approval of one of its drugs, with the court ruling that Spero's interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do not indicate Spero should have known its application would be rejected.

  • October 29, 2024

    Investors Float $21M Deal To End Life Sciences SPAC Suit

    Shareholders in special purpose acquisition company CM Life Sciences Holdings have reached a tentative $21 million class settlement in Delaware's Court of Chancery after suing over alleged missing or misleading disclosures in the lead-up to the take-public merger of clinical data and genomics company Sema4 Holdings in July 2021.

  • October 29, 2024

    Sham Getty Stock Offer Lands Investor 10-Month Prison Term

    A former Massachusetts corporate executive will serve 10 months in prison for launching a sham takeover bid for Seattle-based Getty Images Holdings to drive up its share price and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit, a Boston federal judge said Tuesday.

  • October 29, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Investor Suit Against Chinese News App

    The Second Circuit has revived a securities class action alleging that Chinese news aggregation app Qutoutiao hid changes in its advertising policies that allegedly spurred fraudulent advertisements on the app and eventually caused its share price to decline, finding that the lower court erred in determining that the suit's claims sound in fraud.

  • October 29, 2024

    2 Firms Tapped To Lead Five Below Investor Suit

    Berger Montague PC and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP will represent a proposed class of investors in a suit alleging that teen-focused retail chain Five Below overstated its growth prospects, then saw trading prices crater when it announced that its sales expectations fell short.

  • October 29, 2024

    Burns & Levinson Atty Duo Latest To Join Blank Rome

    Blank Rome has announced it added a pair of attorneys from Burns & Levinson to its office in Boston, a move that the firm said bolsters its litigation and corporate capabilities and serves as the latest example of lawyers moving between the two firms since Blank Rome opened the office in April with 25 Burns & Levinson corporate and finance attorneys.

  • October 29, 2024

    Oil Trader's Brother Gets Probation, Fine For Brazilian Bribes

    An ailing Connecticut man who admitted to helping his brother pull off a scheme to bribe officials at Brazil's state-owned oil company has been sentenced to probation, a fine and asset forfeiture, federal court records showed Tuesday.

  • October 29, 2024

    Financial Firm Gets $1.4M Placeholder Against Adviser

    A Connecticut state court judge has granted a financial firm's bid for a nearly $1.4 million placeholder against an exiting financial adviser during ongoing FINRA arbitration, reasoning the firm has shown a likely chance of proving the adviser siphoned customers during a transition to a new broker-dealer.

  • October 29, 2024

    Alibaba's $433.5M Investor Suit Deal Gets Initial OK

    A New York federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $433.5 million deal settling a suit between Alibaba Group and investors alleging the company made misstatements about its exclusivity practices and the planned $34 billion initial public offering of a fintech affiliate.

  • October 29, 2024

    1st Circ. Scraps Securities Fraud Case Against 3D Printing Co.

    The First Circuit has affirmed a ruling throwing out a securities fraud lawsuit against 3D printing business Desktop Metal, finding the investor behind the action abandoned one of her claims and failed to adequately allege the other. 

  • October 29, 2024

    Ex-Jones Day Litigator Joins Honigman In Detroit

    Honigman LLP has brought on a former Jones Day business and tort litigation associate as a business litigation practice group partner.

  • October 28, 2024

    JPMorgan CEO Says Banks Must 'Fight Back' As Regs Mount

    JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon said Monday that it's time for the banking industry to "fight back" against aggressive federal regulators, criticizing what he described as an "onslaught" of unnecessary, overly harsh rulemaking.

  • October 28, 2024

    Masimo Sues Founder Over Alleged 'Empty Voting' Scheme

    Masimo Corp. has sued its founder for allegedly conspiring with an investment firm and company stockholder to manipulate a shareholder vote in order to maintain his seat on the medical technology company's board of directors.

  • October 28, 2024

    SEC Sues To Enforce Subpoena On Telehealth Co.

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a New York federal judge to order a weight loss-focused telehealth company to comply with a subpoena issued in connection with the SEC's investigation into whether the company violated federal securities laws.

Expert Analysis

  • SEC Settlement Holds Important Pay-To-Play Lessons

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent fine of an investment adviser, whose new hire made a campaign contribution within a crucial lookback period, is a seasonable reminder for public fund managers to ensure their processes thoroughly screen all associates for even minor violations of the SEC’s strict pay-to-play rule, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners

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    Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.

  • Opinion

    FERC Penalty Adjudication Unconstitutional Under Jarkesy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's holding in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy that the SEC's use of in-house proceedings to adjudicate civil penalties is unconstitutional should equally apply to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's statutory penalty assessment schemes, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics

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    Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.

  • Integrating ESG Into Risk Management Programs

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    Amid increasing regulations and reporting requirements for corporate sustainability in the European Union and the U.S., companies might consider how to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into more formalized risk management, say directors at Alvarez & Marsal.

  • What The SEC Liquidity Risk Management Amendments Entail

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    Fund managers should be cognizant of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's recent changes to certain reporting requirements and guidance related to open-end fund liquidity risk management programs, and update their filing systems if need be, says Rachael Schwartz at Sullivan & Worcester.

  • It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers

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    Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.

  • Calif. Bill, NTIA Report Illustrate Open-Model AI Safety Debate

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    The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s balanced recommendations for preventing misuse of open artificial intelligence models, contrasted with a more aggressive California bill, demonstrate an evolving regulatory debate about balancing democratic access to this powerful new technology against potential risks to the public, say Stuart Meyer and Fredrick Tsang at Fenwick.

  • 5 Lessons From Consulting Firm's Successful DOJ Disclosure

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    The Boston Consulting Group recently received a rare declination of prosecution from the U.S. Department of Justice after self-disclosing a foreign bribery scheme, and the firm’s series of savvy steps after discovering the misconduct provides useful data points for white collar defense attorneys, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • 'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG

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    A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.

  • 7 Takeaways For Investment Advisers From FinCEN AML Rule

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    With a new FinCEN rule that will require covered investment advisers to implement anti-money laundering programs and comply with extra recordkeeping requirements by 2026, companies should begin planning necessary updates to their policies and procedures by focusing on seven of the rule’s key requirements, identified by attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Del. Dispatch: Drafting Lessons For Earnout Provisions

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Medal v. Beckett Collectibles provides guidance for avoiding ambiguity in provisions relating to the acceleration of earnout payments under specified circumstances, and provisions mandating good faith negotiations before bringing earnout litigation, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • What VC Fund Settlement Means For DEI Grant Programs

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    An unexpected settlement in American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund, based on specific details of an Atlanta venture capital fund's challenged minority grant program, leaves the legal landscape wide open for organizations with similar programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion to chart a path forward, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules

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    A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • New Lessons On Managing Earnout Provision Risks

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    Earnout provisions can be a useful tool for bridging valuation gaps in M&A, particularly in developmental-stage pharmaceutical transactions, but the Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Shareholder Representative Services v. Alexion sheds new light on the inherent risks and best practices for managing them, say attorneys at Cleary.

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