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Securities
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June 14, 2024
SEC Says Bahamas Firm Was Set Up To Skirt Day Trading Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened its case Friday against high-frequency trading expert — and former government informant — Guy Gentile, telling jurors in Florida federal court that he set up a broker-dealer in the Bahamas specifically to evade U.S. day trading regulations designed to protect American investors.
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June 14, 2024
Ripple Cites Terraform Fine In Call To Limit SEC Penalty
Ripple Labs Inc. says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent settlement with fellow crypto firm Terraform Labs, with the company agreeing to pay a $420 million civil penalty, is further proof of the "unreasonableness" of the agency's request that it be made to pay a much larger fine for activities that did not amount to fraud.
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June 14, 2024
Chinese Delivery Co. To Settle IPO Class Action For $4.9M
Chinese grocery vendor Missfresh Ltd. has agreed to settle an investor class action accusing it of making several misleading statements in the months leading up to its initial public offering, including in regulatory filings and to the media, for $4.9 million.
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June 14, 2024
Brazil Telecom Tower Investor Sues For Delaware Litigation
A Mexican investor with a small equity position in a Delaware limited partnership that builds and operates telecommunications towers in Brazil sued the partnership in Delaware's Court of Chancery Friday for injunctive relief, seeking to ensure that any litigation with the partnership or its affiliates takes place in the First State and not Brazil.
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June 14, 2024
Guo's Crypto Venture Raised 'Red Flags,' Investigator Says
A compliance investigator at cryptocurrency wallet provider BitGo testified in Manhattan federal court Friday that he identified multiple "financial crime red flags" in the digital asset exchange promoted by Chinese dissident Miles Guo.
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June 14, 2024
McDermott Says Financial Firm Owes $800K In Atty Fees
McDermott Will & Emery LLP says it is owed more than $800,000 in legal fees for representing a financial firm's employee in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a lawsuit by his former employer.
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June 13, 2024
Goldman Exec's 'Mind Entirely Blown' By Fake Ozy Media Call
A former Goldman Sachs executive who was looking into taking a stake in Carlos Watson's Ozy Media testified on Thursday that she was floored during a due diligence call when it became clear that someone was impersonating a YouTube executive in an apparent effort to persuade the bank to invest in Watson's startup.
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June 13, 2024
Judge Orders $2.9M Chinese Dissident's Fund Share Sale
A Connecticut bankruptcy judge approved a request by the Chapter 11 trustee overseeing exiled Chinese billionaire Miles Guo's case to liquidate $2.9 million in investment fund shares held by Lamp Capital LLC, a shell company whose assets the judge already determined belonged to Guo's estate.
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June 13, 2024
Zoom's $150M Investor Deal Nears OK, But $50K Award Iffy
A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he'll preliminarily approve Zoom's $150 million deal to end claims it misled investors by stating that it offered end-to-end encryption on its videoconferencing software, but told the plaintiffs' lawyers, "You're going to have to persuade me" to award the lead plaintiff $50,000.
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June 13, 2024
Tesla Investors Sue Over Musk's Extracurricular xAI Diversion
A union pension fund and two individual investors hit Elon Musk and Tesla's board of directors with a derivative suit Thursday in Delaware Chancery Court over the CEO's breakaway effort to develop a new artificial intelligence venture, xAI, by diverting talent and resources from Tesla's own AI initiative.
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June 13, 2024
Prudential Investors Get Final OK On $35M Settlement
A New Jersey federal judge on Thursday granted final approval to a $35 million class action settlement between Prudential Financial Inc. and shareholders who alleged the company hid the risks associated with the purchase of thousands of life insurance policies.
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June 13, 2024
9th Circ. Doubts SPAC Investors Can Sue Lucid Over Merger
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday of investors' bid to revive a proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special-purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric-vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, with two of three judges doubting that the SPAC investors have standing to sue.
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June 13, 2024
Cloud Software Co. Brass Hid Revenue Woes, Suit Says
Insiders of software company Fastly Inc. were hit with a shareholder derivative suit alleging they overstated the company's revenue capabilities following a period of unsustainable customer growth.
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June 13, 2024
Feds' Forfeiture Error Won't Tank Outcome Execs' Conviction
Outcome Health executives can't wipe out their $1 billion fraud convictions or receive a new trial despite arguing that improperly frozen assets prevented them from hiring their chosen lawyers, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, ruling that they waived their challenge to the forfeiture by waiting too long.
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June 13, 2024
Judge OKs RBS, Lloyds Bank and Others' $1.9M Libor Deal
A New York federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a $1.9 million deal between lender plaintiffs and several large banks, including the Royal Banks of Scotland, Lloyds, and others, over their alleged role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate.
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June 13, 2024
Express Picks Stalking Horse Bidder As Ch. 11 Buyer
A stalking horse bidder offering $136 million in cash for the assets of clothing retailer Express Inc. will be the buyer in the debtor's competitive sale process, after its offer was deemed to be the only qualified bid to acquire the assets as a going-concern.
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June 13, 2024
SEC's Gensler Rethinking AI Advising, Crypto Custody Regs
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler told senators Thursday that the agency could rewrite a pair of proposals governing broker-dealers' use of artificial intelligence and the handling of customers' cryptocurrency assets in the wake of "robust" feedback from both supporters and naysayers.
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June 13, 2024
Tesla Shareholders Approve Musk's Compensation Package
Tesla's shareholders voted to approve a multibillion-dollar compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, the company's top lawyer announced Thursday during a meeting in which investors also approved moving the company's incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
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June 13, 2024
Chegg Directors, Auditor Beat Academic Cheating Lawsuit
Delaware's Court of Chancery has issued a failing grade to a stockholder of online book and study aid giant Chegg Inc. who accused the company of operating as a cheating service for students, dismissing the case for lack of supporting facts.
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June 13, 2024
Pryor Cashman Aided Developer Fraud, Owes $5.7M, Cos. Say
New York-based law firm Pryor Cashman LLP has been hit with a $5.7 million lawsuit in state court accusing it of aiding and abetting fraud while representing a real estate developer by allegedly providing false information to another party in a transaction involving a Manhattan property.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.
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What Makes Unionization In Financial Services Unique
Only around 1% of financial services employees are part of a union, but that number is on the rise, presenting both unique opportunities and challenges for the employers and employees that make up a sector typically devoid of union activity, say Amanda Fugazy and Steven Nevolis at Ellenoff Grossman.
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How EB-5 Regional Centers Can Prepare For USCIS Audits
In response to the recently announced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines that require EB-5 regional center audits every five years to verify their compliance with immigration and securities laws, regional centers should take steps to facilitate a seamless audit process, say Jennifer Hermansky and Miriam Thompson at Greenberg Traurig.
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FDIC Bank Disclosure Rules Raise Important Questions
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rules mandating disclosures for nonbanks offering deposit products leave traditional financial institutions in a no-man's land between fintech-oriented requirements and the reality of personal service demanded by customers, say Paul Clark and Casey Jennings at Seward & Kissel.
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Recent Wave Of SEC No-Action Denials May Be Slowing
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March granted no-action relief to Verizon and others on the grounds that a director resignation bylaw proposal would mean violating Delaware law, bucking recent SEC hesitation toward such relief and showing that articulating a basis in state law is a viable path to exclude a proposal, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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10b-5 Litigation Questions Follow Justices' Macquarie Ruling
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Macquarie v. Moab that pure omissions are not actionable under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b–5(b), creating a slightly higher bar for plaintiffs and setting the stage for further litigation over several issues, say Steve Quinlivan and Sean Colligan at Stinson.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Navigating SPAC Market Challenges For Microcap Issuers
For microcap issuers, the special-purpose acquisition vehicle market tells a cautionary tale in which few targets attain the advantages they seek, and important considerations for companies with market capitalization of under $300 million include negotiating costs and expenses upfront to avoid becoming saddled with debt, say attorneys at Lucosky Brookman.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Circuit Split Brews Over Who's A Securities Seller Under Act
A Securities Act section that creates private liability for the sale of an unregistered security is rapidly becoming a favored statute for plaintiffs to wield against participants in both the digital asset and traditional securities markets, but the circuit courts have diverged on who may be held liable for these violations, say Jeffrey L. Steinfeld and Daniel Aronsohn at Winston & Strawn.
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Banks Have Won Syndicated Loan Battle, But Not The War
Though the U.S. Supreme Court's recent denial of certiorari in Kirschner v. JPMorgan preserves the status quo that syndicated loans are not securities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's discomfort suggests that the underlying issues have not been fully resolved, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Compliance Strategies To Mitigate 3 New Areas Of AI Risk
The era of artificial intelligence-assisted corporate crime is here, but several concrete mitigation strategies can allow companies to address the new, rapidly evolving threats posed by deepfakes, information barrier evasion and AI model manipulation, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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SEC Off-Channel Comms Action Hints At Future Enforcement
Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent enforcement action against Senvest does not shed light on how the agency will calibrate penalties related to off-channel communications violations, it does suggest that we may see more cases against standalone investment advisers, say attorneys at Sidley.