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Capital Markets
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July 19, 2024
SEC Wins $1.1M Penalty Against Crypto CEO
A New York federal judge ordered the CEO of bitcoin mining firm MGT Capital Investments Inc. to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for making misstatements in contribution to an alleged pump-and-dump scheme, even though the defendant had argued the impact of his statements on investors was negligible.
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July 19, 2024
SolarWinds' Ruling 'No Comfort' For Cybersecurity Leaders
Although a federal district court has struck down significant portions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's data breach case against software developer SolarWinds Corp., attorneys say what remains of the lawsuit gives "no comfort" to chief information security officers hoping to avoid similar suits over statements about their company's cybersecurity practices.
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July 19, 2024
Capital One Critics Lobby To Block 'No Good' Discover Deal
Critics of Capital One's planned $35 billion purchase of Discover Financial Services urged federal regulators on Friday to withhold approval for the tie-up, rejecting a landmark community benefits pledge for the merger as a fig leaf for what they said is really a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" megadeal.
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July 19, 2024
Heartland Investor Looks To Block $2B UMB Bank Takeover
A Heartland Financial USA investor sued the lender and several members of its top brass, along with UMB Financial Corp., in Colorado state court seeking to block UMB's $2 billion acquisition of Heartland, arguing that the deal undervalues Heartland by roughly $1.5 billion.
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July 19, 2024
SEC Sues Brokers Linked To Alleged $112M Truck Co. Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued two Florida men connected to a Ponzi-like scheme involving a trucking and logistics business, saying the pair illegally sold most of the $112 million worth of unregistered company securities to victims in a fraud targeting the Haitian-American community.
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July 19, 2024
Credit Rater Presses 4th Circ. To Trash Developers' Libel Suit
Credit rating firm Dun & Bradstreet has asked the Fourth Circuit to scrap a group of apartment development companies' libel lawsuit, telling the court that nothing in a credit score was provably false.
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July 19, 2024
Judge Tosses Traders' Counterclaims In Trade Secrets Case
A Manhattan federal judge has ruled that Millennium Management LLC and two of its employees cannot yet use the federal trade secrets law to claim attorney fees with their allegation that investment firm Jane Street Group LLC sued them in bad faith over a proprietary trading strategy.
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July 19, 2024
Judge Won't Consider CFTC Sanctions Spat In Gemini Case
The New York federal judge overseeing the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's claims that Gemini Trust Co. misled the regulator on a proposed bitcoin futures contract said Friday that he will not consider whether the regulator is taking contradictory positions as it defends its own alleged misstatements in another enforcement suit.
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July 19, 2024
House AI Report Is 'Blueprint' For Coming Committee Action
The House Financial Services Committee is poised to take on a "leading role" in regulating the use of artificial intelligence in financial services, according to a new congressional report highlighting the importance of antidiscrimination and data privacy guardrails.
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July 19, 2024
FTC Eyes Mid-Nov. Texas Hearing Against Mattress Merger
The Federal Trade Commission's case against Tempur Sealy's $4 billion planned Mattress Firm purchase is set to kick off in Texas federal court Nov. 14, the parties told an agency in-house judge Friday during a scheduling hearing.
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July 19, 2024
12 Firms Guiding IPO Quartet Projected To Exceed $5B
Twelve law firms are on tap to guide four initial public offerings scheduled for the week of July 22 that could exceed $5 billion combined, led by potentially the year's largest IPO from cold-storage warehouse giant Lineage Inc.
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July 19, 2024
Chancery Keeps Masimo Meeting Date, Speeds Up Politan Suit
Masimo Corp. will not have to reschedule its Sept. 19 annual meeting in response to a lawsuit from Politan Capital Management LP, but will need to respond to some of the activist investor's concerns before the meeting takes place, a Delaware Chancery Court judge said Friday.
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July 19, 2024
Cooley, Latham Lead Biotech Firm Artiva's Upsized $167M IPO
Venture-backed Artiva Biotherapeutics Inc. rallied in debut trading Friday after the drug developer priced an upsized $167 million initial public offering below its price range, represented by Cooley LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP.
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July 19, 2024
Gemini, IRA Biz Settle Fraud Case Over $36M Crypto Hack
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini Trust has struck a settlement deal in a suit alleging it cost customers of self-directed retirement and pension account provider IRA Financial Trust $36 million in crypto-assets in a cyberattack after misrepresenting its security capabilities, according to a filing in New York federal court.
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July 19, 2024
Judge OKs $47.5M QuantumScape Shareholder Deal
A California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $47.5 million deal ending class action allegations by QuantumScape investors that the company made misleading statements about the quality of its batteries.
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July 18, 2024
Bizlato Founder Avoids More Time For Illicit Crypto Deals
The founder of Bitzlato Ltd. on Thursday was spared further incarceration for using the cryptocurrency exchange to process what prosecutors say was over $700 million in criminal proceeds, the latest case among many where judges factor in the vile conditions at Brooklyn's notorious federal jail, the Metropolitan Detention Center, as a reason for leniency.
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July 18, 2024
Crypto Law Firm's SEC Challenge Met With Doubt At 9th Circ.
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Thursday of a law firm's quest for a judgment that its use of the crypto asset ether doesn't offend securities laws, questioning whether the firm has shown it faces enough of a threat from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to keep its case against the regulator alive.
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July 18, 2024
OCC's Hsu Calls For 'More Nuanced' Preemption Approach
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's acting chief has signaled plans for a potential shift in his agency's approach to federal preemption following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, calling for "more nuanced analysis" when evaluating the applicability of state laws to banks it oversees.
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July 18, 2024
LPL Reaps Benefits From Forced Cash Sweep, Suit Says
LPL Financial was hit with a putative class suit by a customer who claims the broker-dealer automatically moves customers' uninvested cash into its cash sweep programs, primarily benefiting the firm at the expense of its clients.
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July 18, 2024
Ukraine Businessman Looks To Arbitrate $1B Gramercy Suit
A Ukrainian businessman is urging a Wyoming federal court to force Gramercy Funds Management to arbitrate in London its racketeering lawsuit accusing him of fraudulently transferring more than a billion dollars from his agricultural business, a debtor of the Connecticut-based hedge fund.
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July 18, 2024
6 Firms Steer Latin American Airline Giant's $533M IPO Plans
Latam Airlines Group SA on Thursday outlined plans for an estimated $533 million U.S. initial public offering, guided by six law firms, marking a return to U.S. markets two years after the South American airline giant exited bankruptcy.
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July 18, 2024
Xcel's Silence Led To $2.6M Storm Penalty, Gas Co. Says
A natural gas marketing company is suing the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and Xcel Energy in state court to invalidate a nearly $2.6 million penalty for its failure to ship enough gas during a historic 2021 winter storm, alleging Xcel didn't notify it of the regulatory proceedings.
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July 18, 2024
Auto Software Co. Cerence's Brass Sued Over Licensing Woes
A shareholder of Cerence Inc. has sued the automobile software company's current and former top brass in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging they made misleading and false statements about the company's expected revenue and the types of licensing deals the company was pushing and entering into.
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July 18, 2024
Moody's Says White Ex-Director's Depo 'Fatal' To Bias Suit
Financial analytics company Moody's on Wednesday told a Pennsylvania federal judge that it was clear a former employee who sued it for discrimination wasn't fired for being white and old, pointing to his "fatal" admission that he'd still be employed had he responded to a company vaccination survey.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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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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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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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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Expect Tougher Bank Exams 1 Year After Spring 2023 Failures
With federal banking agencies still implementing harsher examinations with swifter escalations a year after the spring 2023 bank failures, banks can gain insight into changing expectations by monitoring how the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are coordinating and updating their exam policies, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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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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The Drawbacks Of Banking Regulators' Merger Review Plans
Recent proposals for bank merger review criteria by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. share common pitfalls: increased likelihood of delays, uncertainties, and new hurdles to transactions that could impede the long-term safety and soundness of the banks involved, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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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.
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Chancery's Carvana Suit Toss Shows Special Committee Value
The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent dismissal of a stockholder complaint against Carvana illustrates how special litigation committees can be a powerful tool for boards to regain control after litigation alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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What 3rd Circ. Trust Ruling Means For Securitization Market
Mercedes Tunstall and Michael Gambro at Cadwalader break down the Third Circuit's March decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. National Collegiate Master Student Loan Trust, as well as predict next steps in the litigation and the implications of the decision for servicers and the securitization industry as a whole.