White Collar

  • January 02, 2025

    Judicial Conference Closes Thomas Gift Probe With No Action

    The Judicial Conference of the United States will not refer ethics complaints accusing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of unlawfully failing to disclose decades of luxury gifts and travel to the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation, according to letters released Thursday.

  • January 02, 2025

    Vinco Ventures Chair Charged In Securities Fraud Conspiracy

    Florida federal prosecutors have charged the executive chairman of Vinco Ventures' board of directors with conspiracy to commit securities fraud over allegations that he made false statements to investors to artificially inflate the company's stock price.

  • January 02, 2025

    DOJ Joins FTC Suit Against Fintech Lender Dave

    The U.S. Department of Justice has taken the reins in the Federal Trade Commission's suit against fintech app Dave and added its CEO as a defendant, while the mobile banking platform decried the updated complaint as "a continued example of government overreach."

  • January 02, 2025

    Rep. Jordan Picks Wis. Lawmaker For House Antitrust Panel

    Republicans are moving to install a frequent critic of President Joe Biden's Federal Trade Commission at the head of the House of Representatives' antitrust subcommittee, naming Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., to the post Tuesday.

  • January 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Pot Fines Suit Against Calif. County

    A proposed class of Northern California landowners can pursue a swath of constitutional claims against Humboldt County officials with the Ninth Circuit ruling they plausibly pled the county was overzealous in its efforts to crack down on allegedly illegal cannabis growers.

  • January 02, 2025

    DC US Atty Matthew Graves Stepping Down Jan. 16

    Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for D.C. who led the federal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said he'll be stepping down as the capital's top federal prosecutor four days before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

  • January 02, 2025

    Ill. Atty Can't Avoid Prison Pending Bribery Appeal

    An Illinois attorney set to serve time for bribing former Chicago alderman Edward Burke must still report to prison while he asks the Seventh Circuit to review his conviction and 32-month sentence, a federal judge said.

  • January 02, 2025

    Texas Pot User's Gun Conviction Deemed Unconstitutional

    A Texas federal judge has dismissed a case against a cannabis user who pled guilty to owning a gun while being a user of controlled substances, finding that the law as applied to this case is unconstitutional because the government hasn't shown he was intoxicated at the time of his arrest.

  • January 02, 2025

    Feds Ask High Court To Unpause Corporate Transparency Law

    The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a Texas judge's injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, telling the justices in a new application that the 2021 anti-money laundering law's compliance deadlines should take effect while the Fifth Circuit hears the full case.

  • January 02, 2025

    Real Estate Investor Gets 2 Years For Mortgage Fraud Scheme

    A New Jersey real estate investor was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Thursday for his role in a multiyear conspiracy to defraud Fannie Mae by getting the company to purchase or fund millions in mortgage loans.

  • January 02, 2025

    Jenner & Block Adds DOJ Atty As Agency Exodus Continues

    Jenner & Block LLP has rehired an attorney who had spent most of his legal career with the firm until recently becoming a deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, as lawyers continue leaving the agency for private practice.

  • January 02, 2025

    Feds Want 6 Years For Ex-FBI Informant Who Smeared Bidens

    Prosecutors told a California federal judge that a former FBI informant who falsely told agents that a Ukrainian energy company had paid off President Joe Biden and his son Hunter should be sentenced to six years in prison, saying he betrayed the United States by trying to influence the 2020 election even after being granted citizenship.

  • January 02, 2025

    'Trained Lawyer' Can't Undo Guilty Plea In 'Varsity Blues'

    An attorney and former television executive lost her bid to have her "Varsity Blues" guilty plea undone after a federal judge found that she had knowingly admitted her guilt and that a recent high court ruling did not undercut the government's case.

  • January 02, 2025

    Terraform Founder Arraigned In NY, Denies $40B Crypto Fraud

    Terraform Labs creator Do Kwon appeared Thursday before a Manhattan federal judge to deny charges that he orchestrated a $40 billion fraud on customers and investors who backed the cryptocurrency platform based on promises that it had real-world viability.

  • January 01, 2025

    Five Massachusetts Cases To Watch In 2025

    Massachusetts will be at the forefront of significant litigation on multiple fronts, including a landmark gun case before the nation's top court, antisemitism claims on the campus of the nation's oldest university, and an executive fighting back after largely defeating charges in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal.

  • January 01, 2025

    5 Big Questions For White Collar Enforcement In 2025

    White-collar lawyers are bracing for potentially seismic shifts in government enforcement as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House with a sweeping new set of priorities and a squadron of tech gurus and political allies to carry them out.

  • January 01, 2025

    Georgia Cases To Watch In 2025

    The fate of a prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump, Ford's ongoing fight over claims it hid the rollover dangers of its Super Duty trucks, and a feeding frenzy of class actions after a major metro Atlanta industrial fire are among the cases that will take center stage in Georgia's courts this year.

  • January 01, 2025

    'Profound Shift' Forecast For Crypto Enforcement In 2025

    The crypto industry is heading into 2025 with hopes that new leadership at federal agencies under President-elect Donald Trump will ease off an enforcement agenda that has pressed issues of where regulatory authority lies and return to a focus on fraud, while federal appeals courts have a chance to establish keystone rulings for the sector.

  • January 01, 2025

    On Tap In NY: Diddy, Trump And A New Manhattan Top Cop

    The coming year's main event in New York courts is an expected sex-trafficking trial for hip-hop icon Sean "Diddy" Combs, while the political reascendancy of Donald Trump will echo in halls of the judiciary as the president-elect litigates to quash his own conviction.

  • January 01, 2025

    Top Personal Injury, Med Mal Rulings Of 2024

    A federal appellate panel's ruling in a "blackout challenge" death suit against TikTok's owner and a U.S. Supreme Court decision over whether bump stocks can be considered machine guns under a federal agency's rule were among Law360's top personal injury and medical malpractice rulings in 2024.

  • January 01, 2025

    Native American Cases To Watch In 2025

    2024 brought lawsuits and rulings in state, federal district and appellate courts that will play out into 2025 with some uncertainties for Native American tribes on voting rights, protections for historical worship sites and land trust decisions.

  • January 01, 2025

    Transportation Cases To Watch In 2025

    The Boeing Co.'s 737 Max criminal conspiracy case, consolidated D.C. Circuit litigation targeting new vehicle fuel-economy standards, and a Texas high court battle over a massive trucking accident verdict are among the cases that transportation attorneys are watching closely in 2025.

  • January 01, 2025

    Trials To Watch In 2025

    The coming year will bring the first bellwether trials in the closely watched federal baby formula mass litigation, the first courtroom battle over a COVID-19 vaccine patent and six major retailers' case against Visa and Mastercard over card swipe fees.

  • January 01, 2025

    Illinois Cases To Watch In 2025

    Jurors will decide the fate of one of Illinois' most powerful politicians after a monthslong criminal racketeering trial and appellate courts could settle the debate over the retroactivity of damage limits to the state's much-litigated biometric privacy law, in just a few of the Illinois cases to watch in 2025.

  • January 01, 2025

    Trump's Regulatory Agenda Looms Over Compliance In 2025

    The world of financial regulatory compliance will be keeping an eye on how Donald Trump's return to the White House will live up to his campaign promises of deregulation, new tariffs and more in the new year, while preparing for the end of various Biden administration priorities.

Expert Analysis

  • Consider The Impact Of Election Stress On Potential Jurors

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    For at least the next few months, potential jurors may be working through anger and distrust stemming from the presidential election, and trial attorneys will need to assess whether those jurors are able to leave their political concerns at the door, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • 3 Steps For Companies To Combat Task Scams

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    On the rise in the U.S., the task scam — when scammers offer a victim a fake work-from-home job — hurts impersonated businesses by tarnishing their name and brand, but companies have a few ways to fight back against these cons, says Chris Wlach at Huge.

  • Perspectives

    Protecting Survivor Privacy In High-Profile Sex Assault Cases

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    Multiple civil lawsuits filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs, with claims ranging from sexual assault and trafficking to violent physical beatings, provide important lessons for attorneys to take proactive measures to protect the survivor's anonymity and privacy, says Andrea Lewis at Searcy Denney.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

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    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • A Look At Insurance Coverage For Government Investigations

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    Attorneys at Jenner & Block discuss the quirks and potential pitfalls of insurance coverage for government claims and investigations, including those likely to arise from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently announced whistleblower program.

  • Ex-Chicago Politician's Case May Further Curb Fraud Theories

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Thompson v. U.S. to determine whether a statement that is misleading but not false still violates federal law, potentially heralding the court’s largest check yet on prosecutors’ expansive fraud theories, with significant implications for sentencing, say attorneys at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • New Export Control Guidance Raises The Stakes For Banks

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    Recent guidance from the Bureau of Industry and Security alerts banks that they could be liable for facilitating export control violations, the latest example of regulators articulating the expectation that both financial institutions and corporations serve as gatekeepers to mitigate crime and aid enforcement efforts, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • The Ups And Downs Of SEC's Now-Dissolved ESG Task Force

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, which was quietly disbanded sometime over the summer, was marked by three years of resistance from some stakeholders to ESG regulation, a mixed record in the courts and several successful enforcement actions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • 7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight

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    Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Understanding New ACH Network Anti-Fraud Rules

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    Many of the National Automated Clearing House Association’s recent amendments to ACH network risk management rules went into effect this month, so financial institutions and corporations must review and update their internal policies as needed, says Aisha Hall at Taft.

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