Securities

  • December 11, 2024

    Nigerians Impersonated US Brokers For $3M Scam, Feds Say

    Three Nigerian nationals were charged on Wednesday with running a nearly $3 million internet investment fraud scheme in which they impersonated legitimate securities brokers and investment advisers, misappropriated the seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and stole from at least 28 investors.

  • December 11, 2024

    Del. Bar Urged To Push Back On Musk's Chancery Criticism

    Nearly 100 legal professionals, mainly plaintiffs bar attorneys and law professors, have called on the Delaware State Bar Association to defend the state's chancellor against attacks that tech and social media billionaire Elon Musk launched after a stinging defeat of his nearly $56 billion, multiyear Tesla Inc. package in January.

  • December 11, 2024

    Ozy Media Ex-CEO's Atty Seeks More Time Or OK To Quit

    An attorney for former Ozy Media Inc. CEO Carlos Watson asked a New York federal judge Wednesday for permission to withdraw from Watson's fraud and identity theft case unless he and other defense counsel can have more time to prepare for sentencing proceedings set to begin Friday.

  • December 11, 2024

    Connell Foley Faces DQ Bid In Investment Firm's Bias Suit

    A Black-owned investment firm accusing BlackRock Inc. and New Jersey of squeezing it out of a lucrative contract are urging a federal court to disqualify Connell Foley LLP from representing the state, claiming the firm used privileged information from an attorney who has advised it throughout the dispute in a separate action.

  • December 11, 2024

    Former SEC Unit Chief Joins Gibson Dunn In NY

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP said Monday that a veteran of more than 14 years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is joining its New York office.

  • December 11, 2024

    CFPB's Chopra Won't Head For Exit Ahead Of Trump's Arrival

    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra signaled Wednesday that he won't leave his post early unless and until the incoming Trump administration fires him next month, indicating that he plans to keep running the agency in the meantime.

  • December 11, 2024

    Justices' Cold Feet On Nvidia, Meta Leaves Attys Guessing

    The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a second securities case on Wednesday by refusing to issue a ruling in a Nvidia Corp. case with no explanation on its change of heart, leaving the defense bar to guess at the court's motivation and its potential implication for the future of high court securities cases.

  • December 10, 2024

    Md. Jury Convicts Ex-Biotech Execs On Some Fraud Counts

    Two former biotech executives were convicted on some counts Monday following a monthlong Maryland federal court trial in a case alleging they juiced CytoDyn Inc.'s share price by lying to investors about the development of a drug to treat HIV and COVID-19.

  • December 10, 2024

    Bristol-Myers Said To Renege On $450M Milestone Promise

    Former security holders of a biotechnology company Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired in 2016 hauled the pharmaceutical giant into Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday, accusing it of using "patent prosecution sleight of hand" to avoid paying up to $450 million in promised milestone payments related to an autoimmune disorder treatment.

  • December 10, 2024

    Robinhood Seeks Arb. For Remaining Meme Stock MDL Suits

    Stock trading platform Robinhood urged a Florida federal court to send to arbitration the seven remaining individual suits brought against it as part of a multidistrict litigation over the platform's decision to freeze trading in certain so-called meme stocks amid a social-media fueled run on shares of those issuers.

  • December 10, 2024

    SEC Says Ex-Rep Defrauded Investors With Short-Term Bets

    A former registered representative of broker-dealer Western International Securities Inc. has agreed to pay over $2.1 million to end U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations he orchestrated a scheme to defraud retail clients by recommending costly investment strategies, and then covered up their "substantial" losses with phony financial statements.

  • December 10, 2024

    SEC Outlines Municipal Adviser Exam Process

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations has issued a risk alert outlining its process for selecting municipal advisers to examine, how advisers can prepare for exams, and the types of information examiners may request.

  • December 10, 2024

    Chancery Awards Ajamie $13M In Cell Partnership Fight

    Boutique law firm Ajamie LLP has won a Delaware Court of Chancery ruling that clients in a more-than decade-long multi-site battle over dozens of AT&T cellphone partnerships owe Ajamie about $13 million in legal fees despite a court finding that a formal fee-sharing agreement is unenforceable.

  • December 10, 2024

    Pastor Targeted Churchgoers In $6M Crypto Fraud, CFTC Says

    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Tuesday that it has sued a Washington state pastor in federal court for allegedly targeting Spanish-speaking individuals, including members of his congregation, with a cryptocurrency multilevel marketing scheme worth at least $5.9 million. 

  • December 10, 2024

    4th Circ. Casts Doubt On Broker's FINRA Challenge

    A Fourth Circuit panel wondered Tuesday whether it was too soon to hear one North Carolina broker's constitutional challenge against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, with the circuit judges pointing out that FINRA's case against the broker was not yet over.

  • December 10, 2024

    SEC Says Xtreme Fighting CEO And GC Defrauded Investors

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Xtreme Fighting Championships and CEO Steven Smith of defrauding investors by selling millions of dollars of stock in the martial arts organization without disclosing the involvement of Smith or its criminally charged general counsel, according to a Florida federal lawsuit.

  • December 10, 2024

    Crypto Groups Rally Against Reappointing SEC's Crenshaw

    Cryptocurrency industry groups are pushing back on a potential second term for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw with an online ad campaign and letters to lawmakers ahead of a Senate Banking Committee vote Wednesday on the Democrat's confirmation.

  • December 10, 2024

    Soft Landing For Pilot As Billionaire's Insider Case Wraps

    A pilot who admitted to dodging taxes on $500,000 in income after he was accused of taking stock tips from Joe Lewis, his billionaire boss, avoided prison on Tuesday at a sentencing that closed a high-profile insider trading prosecution.

  • December 09, 2024

    Trump Media Investors Urge Stay Denial In Del. Suit

    Investors in Donald Trump's social media website urged a Delaware Chancery Court to deny a temporary stay brought by the president-elect in order to let Florida litigation play out first, saying presidential immunity doesn't extend to unofficial acts, and the lawsuit can proceed against Trump's affiliates.

  • December 09, 2024

    Akin Gump 'Totally Messed Up' With Texts, Vaxart Judge Says

    A California federal judge asked by Vaxart investors to impose sanctions over a hedge fund's deleted text messages in a case claiming Vaxart inflated its stock price with deceptive headlines about a COVID-19 vaccine said Monday that the fund's lawyers at Akin Gump "totally, totally messed up."

  • December 09, 2024

    Blockchain Co. IP Fight With Investment Firm Teed Up For Trial

    A California federal judge has said a jury should decide whether the investment firm Franklin Templeton misappropriated trade secrets of Blockchain Innovation LLC and breached its fiduciary duty and contract with the firm when it shut down a digital asset startup that Blockchain later acquired.

  • December 09, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Pays SEC $15M Over Theft By Ex-Reps

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a $15 million penalty against a Morgan Stanley subsidiary Monday, saying the company failed to put in place procedures that may have earlier caught four former employees who spent years stealing from clients.

  • December 09, 2024

    Satellite Co. Sued In Del. For Docs After $450M Merger

    Two stockholders of satellite venture Terran Orbital Corp. sued the business in Delaware's Court of Chancery Friday for access to company records, linking the demand to their investigation of events leading up to the company's $450 million, 25-cents-per-share sale to Lockheed Martin in October.

  • December 09, 2024

    Feds Says Colo. Man's Investing Scheme Fleeced Pro Athletes

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed a civil lawsuit accusing a Colorado man of swindling investors, including unidentified professional athletes, out of more than a million dollars.

  • December 09, 2024

    MIT Grads Say $25M Crypto Fraud Charges Not Rooted In Law

    The two Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated brothers accused of a $25 million crypto heist have told a New York federal judge that the indictment against them is "far removed from the heartland of wire fraud" since their novel trades can't be considered misrepresentations and that they had no notice their activity would be considered unlawful.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 9 Liability Management Tips As Debt Maturity Cliff Looms

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    As the debt maturity cliff swiftly approaches in this challenging environment, attorneys at Winston & Strawn highlight the top considerations for boards of directors and finance professionals to think about when structuring and executing liability management transactions, including reviewing capital structure, evaluating debt covenants, and more.

  • How Transaction Lookbacks Can Guide Fintech Companies

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    As transaction lookbacks continue to be a key focus of enforcement actions, newer financial institutions like fintech companies should know they can benefit from proactively investigating their potential failure to identify suspicious activity, creating a compliance road map and building trust with regulators in the process, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Manage Insider Trading Risk

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    In light of two high-profile insider trading jury decisions against life sciences executives this year, public companies in the sector should revise their policies to account for regulators' new and more expansive theories of liability, says Amy Walsh at Orrick.

  • Series

    A Day In The In-House Life: Narmi GC Talks Peak Productivity

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    On a work-from-home day in August, Narmi general counsel Amy Pardee chronicles a typical day in her life in which she organizes her time to tackle everything from advising on products and contract negotiations to volunteering and catching up on the New York Times crossword.

  • How Ripple Final Judgment Fits In Broader Crypto Landscape

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    The Southern District of New York's recent $125 million civil penalty levied in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple will have a broad impact on the crypto industry as it was the first to hold that blind sales of digital assets are not securities, even if deemed securities in other circumstances, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • Amid SEC Rule Limbo, US Cos. Subject To ESG Regs In EU

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    Though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing legal challenges to its climate-disclosure rulemaking, the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive in the European Union will force U.S. companies to comply with exactly the kinds of ESG disclosures that are not yet mandated in the U.S., say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • 6 Considerations To Determine If A Cyber Incident Is Material

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent guidance on material cybersecurity incidents covers a range of ransomware scenarios, from a company paying a sum and regaining operations to recovering payment via cyberinsurance, but makes it clear that no single factor determines whether a cybersecurity incident is material, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Key To Open, Impartial Process

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    Blanket investor and funding agreement disclosures should be required in all civil cases where the investor has a financial interest in the outcome in order to address issues ranging from potential conflicts of interest to national security concerns, says Bob Goodlatte, former U.S. House Representative for Virginia.

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