White Collar

  • July 18, 2024

    DOJ, Treasury Target Mexico-Based Human Smuggling Group

    A Sierra Leone national and his wife are facing criminal charges and sanctions for their roles in an alleged human smuggling organization that brought thousands of migrants into the United States, federal prosecutors have announced.

  • July 18, 2024

    Las Vegas Developer Says SEC's EB-5 Fraud Suit Falls Short

    A Las Vegas developer urged a Nevada federal judge to toss securities regulators' allegations she misappropriated $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to come to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their applications, arguing Wednesday the regulators fail to allege a wrongful state of mind.

  • July 18, 2024

    NJ Ex-Broker-Dealer Indicted In $3.4M Insider Trading Scheme

    A former partner at a Garden State broker-dealer was charged in New Jersey federal court with engaging in an insider trading scheme that brought him $3.4 million in illicit trading profits, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

  • July 18, 2024

    Docs Get Same Hefty Opioid Sentences Despite Top Court Win

    Two Alabama doctors accused of unlawfully prescribing patients fentanyl and other opioids failed to shave time off their lengthy prison sentences despite a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for such prosecutions.

  • July 18, 2024

    Cozen O'Connor Targets Penny Stock Co. CEO For Legal Fees

    Cozen O'Connor is asking a Connecticut state court judge to affirm two Pennsylvania judgments against a penny stock company CEO who lost a federal enforcement action, alleging Bernard Findley and two of his companies owe nearly $750,000 in legal fees.

  • July 18, 2024

    Attorney, Businessman Acquitted Of Crash Report Scheme

    A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday cited insufficient evidence and ordered the cancellation of jury convictions against a lawyer and a medical business owner in an alleged scheme to obtain unreleased police crash reports illegally and use the reports to solicit clients.

  • July 18, 2024

    Another Enphase Investor Suit Claims Execs Hid Slow Growth

    Enphase Energy's top brass has been slapped with another shareholder complaint in California federal court, alleging they misrepresented the energy technology company's financial outlook by concealing a decrease in battery shipments and slower manufacturing outputs, which artificially inflated its stock price.

  • July 18, 2024

    Tax Court Affirms IRS Whistleblower Award Computation

    The Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office did not abuse its discretion when it set an award at 22% of collected proceeds even though other awards tied to related claims were set at 30%, the U.S. Tax Court said Thursday.

  • July 18, 2024

    Girardi Denied Bid To Delay Client Theft Trial To October

    A California federal judge rejected disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi's motion to have his closely watched wire fraud trial moved to October from its current August start date, determining that he was unable to provide a genuine reason as to why proceedings should be pushed back two months.

  • July 18, 2024

    Ex-Pa. DA Suspended Over Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct

    The former district attorney of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, had her law license suspended Tuesday after multiple cases she oversaw during her time in office ended up being dismissed due to prosecutorial misconduct.

  • July 18, 2024

    NJ Law Firm Accused Of Botching Official Misconduct Case

    A former sergeant in the Mercer County Sheriff's Office has launched a malpractice suit against a Passaic, New Jersey-based law firm, alleging that its attorneys caused him to lose thousands per month in disability benefits by mishandling his legal defense against misconduct charges.

  • July 18, 2024

    Ex-BigLaw Atty Gets Nearly 2 Years For Election Crimes

    A former BigLaw attorney was sentenced to 21 months in prison Thursday after being convicted of campaign finance violations tied to a failed run for U.S. Congress, with a Boston federal judge citing the defendant's legal acumen and experience as a law clerk as evidence he "should have known" better.

  • July 17, 2024

    SEC Says Ex-CEO Of Trump-Tied SPAC Hid Merger Talks

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday accused the former CEO of Digital World Acquisition Corp. of falsely representing that the special purpose acquisition company had no potential merger targets when he was actually personally discussing a merger with former President Donald Trump's social media company.

  • July 17, 2024

    Off-Channel Comms Top Concern For Compliance Pros

    Investment advisers' compliance officers have listed electronic communications surveillance as their hottest topic, beating out concerns about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's marketing rule, according to a new survey of compliance professionals representing nearly 600 investment advisers.

  • July 17, 2024

    Special Counsel To Appeal Ax Of Trump Classified Docs Case

    Special Counsel Jack Smith told a Florida federal court Wednesday that he was challenging U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's order earlier this week tossing the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump, according to a notice of appeal.

  • July 17, 2024

    SEC Awards $37 Million To Whistleblower

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday announced a $37 million award to a whistleblower who provided information that the commission did not previously know, which contributed to a successful enforcement action.

  • July 17, 2024

    Workers Claim Trucking, Visa Cos. Ran Labor Scam

    Two African immigrants have accused a trucking company and an immigration services firm of running a yearslong enterprise to force workers from abroad to perform dangerous and unsafe work.

  • July 17, 2024

    Merrill Lynch Urges Arbitration Of Sweeping RICO Lawsuit

    Merrill Lynch told a Texas federal judge Tuesday that a wealthy telecommunications entrepreneur who is accusing the bank of a sweeping money laundering fraud doesn't have the right to bring the case to court, as the entrepreneur agreed to arbitration when he parked his money with Merrill.

  • July 17, 2024

    'Rust' Fiasco Shows Harm Of Gatekeeping Evidence, Attys Say

    The dismissal of Alec Baldwin's criminal charges in the "Rust" movie shooting serves as a "glaring example" of how a case can tumble off the rails when prosecutors decide whether evidence is valuable to the defense, experts say.

  • July 17, 2024

    Ga. Man Ordered To Pay SEC Over Church Ponzi Scheme

    A Georgia federal judge has ordered a company and its owner to pay $1.1 million to settle claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that they duped church members into investing in a Ponzi scheme.

  • July 17, 2024

    6th Circ. To Review 2 Standards In FirstEnergy's Cert. Fight

    The Sixth Circuit indicated Wednesday that it would have to examine the applicability of two different class certification standards in a securities suit by FirstEnergy investors, as the company insisted there was no proof its statements influenced stock prices, and that purported omissions didn't factor into the mix.

  • July 17, 2024

    Russian Gets 3 Years For Smuggling US Military Technology

    A Russian national was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday by a New York federal judge after admitting to scheming to smuggle U.S. microelectronics used in military settings.

  • July 17, 2024

    Judge Trims Sentence For Crypto Expert Who Aided N. Korea

    A New York federal judge has cut seven months from the sentence of a computer expert convicted of furthering North Korean blockchain development in light of recently revised U.S. sentencing guidelines.

  • July 17, 2024

    Boston Man Can't Escape Chinese Spy Charge

    A Boston federal judge said the government does not have to show that a man accused of spying for China specifically sought to avoid registering as a foreign agent to prove that he violated or conspired to violate a law requiring him to do so.

  • July 17, 2024

    Ex-Cognizant Execs Bemoan Access Woes In Bribery Case

    Former Cognizant executives accused of authorizing a bribe to a government official in India have told a New Jersey federal court that obstacles to their access to evidence and overseas witnesses undermine their right to a fair trial and could warrant the dismissal of the case.

Expert Analysis

  • Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content

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    From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.

  • 2 Oil Trader FCPA Pleas Highlight Fine-Reduction Factors

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    Recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements with Gunvor and Trafigura — the latest actions in a yearslong sweep of the commodities trading industry — reveal useful data points related to U.S. Department of Justice policies on cooperation credit and past misconduct, say Michael DeBernardis and Laura Perkins at Hughes Hubbard.

  • How To Use Exhibits Strategically Throughout Your Case

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    Exhibits, and documents in particular, are the lifeblood of legal advocacy, so attorneys must understand how to wield them effectively throughout different stages of a case to help build strategy, elevate witness preparation and effectively persuade the fact-finders, say Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie and Colorado prosecutor Adam Kendall.

  • Crypto Mixer Laundering Case Provides Evidentiary Road Map

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    A Washington, D.C., federal court’s recent decision to allow expert testimony on blockchain analysis software in a bitcoin mixer money laundering case — which ultimately ended in conviction — establishes a precedent for the admissibility of similar software-derived evidence, say Peter Hardy and Kelly Lenahan-Pfahlert at Ballard Spahr.

  • Series

    Being An EMT Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While some of my experiences as an emergency medical technician have been unusually painful and searing, the skills I’ve learned — such as triage, empathy and preparedness — are just as useful in my work as a restructuring lawyer, says Marshall Huebner at Davis Polk.

  • 15 Quick Tips For Uncovering And Mitigating Juror Biases

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    As highlighted by the recent jury selection process in the criminal hush money trial against former President Donald Trump, juror bias presents formidable challenges for defendants, and attorneys must employ proactive strategies — both new and old — to blunt its impact, say Monica Delgado and Jonathan Harris at Harris St. Laurent.

  • 5 Lessons From Ex-Vitol Trader's FCPA Conviction

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    The recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering conviction of former Vitol oil trader Javier Aguilar in a New York federal court provides defense takeaways on issues ranging from the definition of “domestic concern” to jury instruction strategy, says attorney Andrew Feldman.

  • Mitigating Incarceration's Impacts On Foreign Nationals

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    Sentencing arguments that highlighted the disparate impact incarceration would have on a British national recently sentenced for insider training by a New York district court, when compared to similarly situated U.S. citizens, provide an example of the advocacy needed to avoid or mitigate problems unique to noncitizen defendants, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

  • Exploring An Alternative Model Of Litigation Finance

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    A new model of litigation finance, most aptly described as insurance-backed litigation funding, differs from traditional funding in two key ways, and the process of securing it involves three primary steps, say Bob Koneck, Christopher Le Neve Foster and Richard Butters at Atlantic Global Risk LLC.

  • Trump Hush Money Case Offers Master Class In Trial Strategy

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    The New York criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump typifies some of the greatest challenges that lawyers face in crafting persuasive presentations, providing lessons on how to handle bad facts, craft a simple story that withstands attack, and cross-examine with that story in mind, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Del. Dispatch: Chancery's Evolving Approach To Caremark

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    Though Caremark claims are historically the least likely corporate claims to lead to liability, such cases have been met in recent years with increased judicial receptivity — but the Delaware Court of Chancery still expressly discourages the reflexive filing of Caremark claims following corporate mishaps, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Global Bribery Probes Are Complicating FCPA Compliance

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    The recent rise in collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and foreign authorities in bribery enforcement can not only affect companies' legal exposure as resolution approaches vary by country, but also the decision of when and whether to disclose Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to the DOJ, say Samantha Badlam and Catherine Conroy at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.

  • A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System

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    As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.

  • Opinion

    State-Regulated Cannabis Can Thrive Without Section 280E

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    Marijauna's reclassification as a Schedule III-controlled substance comes at a critical juncture, as removing marijuana from being subjected to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code is the only path forward for the state-regulated cannabis industry to survive and thrive, say Andrew Kline at Perkins Coie and Sammy Markland at FTI Consulting.

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