Securities

  • October 10, 2024

    Chancery OKs $9.5M Deal For Katapult SPAC Challenge

    A $9.5 million deal settled a Delaware Court of Chancery stockholder suit Thursday seeking damages arising from a stock slump following the $883 million blank check company deal that took subprime consumer lender Katapult Holdings Inc. public in June 2021.

  • October 10, 2024

    SEC Urges 1st Circ. To Uphold $93M Win Over Financial Firm

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urged the First Circuit on Thursday to affirm its $93 million win against Commonwealth Financial Network for allegedly failing to disclose that it profited from clients using higher-fee funds when similar, lower-cost versions were available.

  • October 10, 2024

    Ohio Seeks To Halt Depositions In FirstEnergy Investor Suit

    The state of Ohio wants to halt certain depositions and other discovery in a securities suit stemming from the FirstEnergy bribery scandal, saying it could interfere with criminal charges against two of the utility company's former executives, according to an intervenor motion filed Thursday.

  • October 10, 2024

    Ill. Judge Sends SEC's Cherry-Picking Trading Claims To Trial

    An Illinois federal judge has refused to hand an investment adviser and his employer a pretrial win over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's accusations of illegal cherry-picking, saying a jury must determine whether he engaged in the unlawful trading strategy.

  • October 10, 2024

    Feds Ask 18 Months For 'Razzlekhan's' Role In Crypto Hack

    The wife of a hacker who admitted to stealing what is now billions of dollars worth of bitcoin from the crypto exchange Bitfinex deserves 18 months in prison for her role in the heist, federal prosecutors say in a recommendation that takes her cooperation into account.

  • October 10, 2024

    Chancery OKs $125M Deal, Fees In Discovery Merger Suit

    Declaring it "a great settlement," a Delaware vice chancellor approved on Thursday a near chart-topping, $125 million deal to end stockholder challenges to Discovery Inc.'s $43 billion merger with AT&T in 2022, an amount eclipsed only by a $148.2 million pretrial deal in a 2016 case.

  • October 10, 2024

    SEC Says Adviser's $4M Scheme Included 'AI-Washing'

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday fined a California-based investment adviser that it said raised nearly $4 million through a series of false promises, including deceptive statements about artificial intelligence capabilities.

  • October 10, 2024

    Paxton Prosecutor Fee Fight Ends With High Court Rejection

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday declined to take up a dispute over how much a special prosecutor appointed to oversee the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton should be paid, ending a fee fight that has stretched on almost as long as the criminal case.

  • October 10, 2024

    Suits Over JPMorgan Cash Sweeps Program Merged In NY

    A New York federal judge has combined two proposed class actions accusing JPMorgan Chase of underpaying interest on customers' cash sweep accounts, a claim multiple banking giants are currently facing in consumer and regulatory actions.

  • October 10, 2024

    Ripple Labs Files Cross-Appeal Of Judgment In SEC Suit

    Blockchain firm Ripple Labs on Thursday notified a New York federal judge of its intention to cross-appeal the judgment in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement case after the regulator kicked the decision to the Second Circuit last week.

  • October 10, 2024

    Proskauer Adds Akin Knowledge Management Ace In NY

    Proskauer Rose LLP is expanding its private funds team, bringing in an Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP knowledge management expert as a partner in its New York office.

  • October 10, 2024

    Holland & Knight Grows Philly, NY Offices With Insurance Pros

    A pair of attorneys specializing in advising clients on insurance technology matters have moved their practices this week from Goodwin Procter LLP to Holland & Knight LLP's offices in New York and Philadelphia.

  • October 10, 2024

    TD Bank To Pay $3.1B, Face Asset Cap Over AML Failures

    TD Bank will pay about $3.1 billion to U.S. authorities and face growth restrictions on its U.S. operations as part of criminal and civil settlements announced Thursday over serious alleged anti-money laundering violations at the Canadian bank.

  • October 10, 2024

    Ex-Mayor Can't Reduce 6-Year Term In Fraud, Graft Case

    A former Massachusetts mayor serving six years in prison for fraud and corruption has failed to raise a compelling argument to cut short the "already generous sentence" imposed, according to a Boston federal judge.

  • October 09, 2024

    Top Bank Lobbyist Touts Basel Endgame, CFPB Court Wins

    The head of the nation's largest banking industry trade group took a victory lap on Wednesday for beating back steep proposed bank capital hikes and halting other recent Biden administration banking regulations in court, pledging to continue its muscular advocacy for banks as the election nears.

  • October 09, 2024

    Team Of 3 Firms Seeks To Lead UBS Cash Sweep Case

    Two UBS customers suing the investment bank on allegations of shortchanging them with low-yielding cash sweep accounts moved Tuesday to consolidate their proposed class actions in New York federal court and install three firms at the helm.

  • October 09, 2024

    Feds Target Crypto Manipulation, Wash Trades In Novel Action

    Massachusetts federal prosecutors announced charges against 18 individuals and cryptocurrency firms on Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind set of actions targeting alleged manipulation of digital asset markets through wash trading and other tactics. 

  • October 09, 2024

    Hedge Fund Agrees To Drop Spoofing Claims Against TD Bank

    Broker-dealer affiliates of TD Bank will no longer face a hedge fund's claims that they manipulated markets by placing trade orders they never intended to fulfill, the parties told a Manhattan federal judge.

  • October 09, 2024

    Gensler Mum On Future As AI, Crypto Rules Await Action

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler declined to comment Wednesday on his or the agency's future should former U.S. President Donald Trump win a second term in office this November, even as questions remain about the post-election future of proposed regulations, like those that would safeguard crypto assets and crack down on the use of predictive data analytics.

  • October 09, 2024

    SEC Equity Trading Reforms Spark DC Circ. Challenge

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is facing a legal challenge in the D.C. Circuit over recent equity trading regulatory changes that allow stocks to be quoted in half-penny increments and lower access fee caps. 

  • October 09, 2024

    Electronics Co. Hid Auto Segment Slump, Investor Claims

    Electronic equipment manufacturing company Methode Electronics has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed the full extent of sagging sales in its automotive division, in which General Motors was a top client.

  • October 09, 2024

    SEC Awards $5M To 3 Whistleblowers, Denies Award To 4th

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission awarded more than $5 million to three unidentified whistleblowers while denying a fourth applicant's bid for a payout, in a partially redacted order saying the applicant's provided information did not cause the commission to open an investigation or inquiry.

  • October 09, 2024

    Bitcoin Miner Misled Investors About Biz Prospects, Suit Says

    Bitcoin mining operation Iris Energy Ltd. and three of its executives were hit with a shareholder suit in New York federal court alleging they misled investors about the company's high-performance computing and data center business prospects, particularly at a site in Texas that allegedly lacks infrastructure to support the business.

  • October 09, 2024

    FTX Exec Wants Another Prison Date Delay Over Dog Attack

    Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has again asked the court to delay his surrender date to begin his prison term from this Friday to Dec. 7, as he purportedly continues to undergo medical treatment and recover after being mauled by a German shepherd while visiting a friend's house in June.

  • October 09, 2024

    Duane Morris Adds Corporate, Banking Partner In New York

    Duane Morris LLP has brought on a former Stinson LLP partner for its corporate practice group in New York, the firm said Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: Creating New Hurdles For ESG Rulemaking

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, limiting court deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, could have significant impacts on the future of ESG regulation, creating new hurdles for agency rulemaking around these emerging issues, and calling into question current administrative actions, says Leah Malone at Simpson Thacher.

  • Opinion

    States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

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    Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

  • Navigating The Extent Of SEC Cybersecurity Breach Authority

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's broad reading of its authority under Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act in the R.R. Donnelley and SolarWinds actions has ramifications for companies dealing with cybersecurity breaches, but it remains to be seen whether the commission's use of the provision will withstand judicial scrutiny, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • Best Text Practices In Light Of Terraform's $4.5B Fraud Deal

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    Text messages were extremely important in a recent civil trial against Terraform Labs, leading to a $4.5 billion settlement, so litigants in securities fraud cases need to have robust mobile data policies that address the content and retention of messages, and the obligations of employees to allow for collection, say Josh Sohn and Alicia Clausen at Crowell & Moring.

  • Series

    Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.

  • Dapper Settlement Offers Rules Of The Road For NFT Issuers

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    The terms of a $4 million settlement in a class action alleging that Dapper Labs sold its NBA Top Shot Moments as unregistered securities may be a model for third parties that wish to avoid securities liability in connection with offering digital asset non-fungible token collectibles, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice

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    The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.

  • Navigating The New Rise Of Greenwashing Litigation

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    As greenwashing lawsuits continue to gain momentum with a shift in focus to carbon-neutrality claims, businesses must exercise caution and ensure transparency in their environmental marketing practices, taking cues from recent legal challenges in the airline industry, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State

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    On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.

  • How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • First-Of-Its-Kind Chancery Ruling Will Aid SPAC Defendants

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    The Delaware Chancery Court's first full dismissal of claims challenging a special purpose acquisition company transaction under the entire fairness doctrine in the recent Hennessy Capital Acquisition Stockholder Litigation establishes useful precedent to abate the flood of SPAC litigation, say Lisa Bugni and Benjamin Lee at King & Spalding.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.

  • Supreme Court's ALJ Ruling Carries Implications Beyond SEC

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    In its recent Jarkesy opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the types of cases that can be tried before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's in-house administrative law judges, setting the stage for challenges to the constitutionality of ALJs across other agencies, say Robert Robertson and Kimberley Church at Dechert.

  • Series

    Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

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