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Capital Markets
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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.
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July 18, 2024
Mixed Results Greet 2 IPOs For Hospital Giant, Insurance Firm
Private equity-backed hospital operator Ardent Health and insurance brokerage TWFG Inc. began trading Thursday after completing two initial public offerings that raised $379 million combined at varying points of their price ranges, guided by four law firms.
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July 18, 2024
Womble Bond Adds Finance Atty With Latin America Focus
Womble Bond Dickinson's growing New York office is welcoming a capital markets and structured finance attorney after his more than 10 years with Hogan Lovells, most recently in Brazil.
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July 18, 2024
SolarWinds Beats Most Claims In SEC's Data Breach Suit
A New York federal judge on Thursday delivered a heavy blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against software developer SolarWinds Corp. by dismissing substantial portions of the lawsuit, including claims that the company committed securities fraud by minimizing the severity of a state-sponsored attack on its flagship product.
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July 17, 2024
Politan Sues Masimo Over Delayed Board Election Meeting
Activist investment firm Politan Capital Management LP launched a lawsuit Wednesday against Masimo Corp. in Delaware Chancery Court just days after the medical technology company accused it of violating securities laws by trying to gain control of Masimo through a proxy contest that duped Masimo shareholders using "lies and deceit."
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July 17, 2024
Client Bids Didn't Trigger Fla. Long-Arm Law In Breach Suit
A Florida appellate court on Wednesday tossed a breach of contract lawsuit brought by a wealth planner against two out-of-state companies, saying that the parties did not do business in Florida and that a visit to win over potential clients wasn't enough to establish jurisdiction in the Sunshine State.
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July 17, 2024
SEC's Peirce Calls For Rule Agenda Reset After Court Rulings
Hester Peirce, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, called on the agency Wednesday to reconsider its rulemaking agenda given recent court rulings, saying it should "really think about hewing closely" to its statutory mandate, in comments made just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end Chevron deference.
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July 17, 2024
Fla. Co. Says NY Lender Charges Usurious 950% Interest Rate
A Florida-based startup has sued a New York small business lender, alleging the lender saddled it with "a high interest usurious loan" when it thought it was entering into a future receivables agreement.
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July 17, 2024
1st Circ. Affirms SEC's $32M Win Against Investment Adviser
The First Circuit upheld roughly $32 million in fees, disgorgement and interest the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won against a Nevada-based investment adviser, who was found to have defrauded clients about the track record of a once popular investment scheme, saying the adviser "acted with a high degree of recklessness" in promoting the strategy.
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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.
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July 17, 2024
CFTC Says Its Sanctions Spat Not Relevant To Gemini Case
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has pushed back against Gemini Trust Co.'s efforts to paint the regulator's defense of misconduct claims in one case as contradictory to its arguments in its enforcement action against the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange, telling a federal court that the two matters have "no legal or factual bearing" on each other.
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July 17, 2024
Nasdaq Seeks To Tighten Delisting Rules Governing SPACs
Nasdaq is proposing to strengthen its rules governing delistings and trading suspensions of special-purpose acquisition companies that fail to complete mergers within 36-month deadlines or that violate other listing standards.
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July 17, 2024
Grayscale Rival's False Ad Suit Won't Move To New Court
A Connecticut state judge on Wednesday denied Grayscale Investments LLC's request to transfer a competitor's unfair trade practices lawsuit from Bridgeport to the state court system's complex litigation docket, sustaining the plaintiff's objection that said the move would unduly delay a July 2025 trial without a valid reason.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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Opinion
Post-Moelis Del. Corp. Law Proposal Would Hurt Stockholders
The proposed Delaware General Corporation Law amendment in response to the Court of Chancery's recent opinion in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Moelis would upend the foundational principle of corporate law holding that directors govern corporations in the interest of stockholders — and the potential harm would be substantial, say attorneys at Block & Leviton.
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At 'SEC Speaks,' A Focus On Rebuilding Trust Amid Criticism
At the Practising Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted efforts to rebuild and restore trust in the U.S. capital markets by addressing investor concerns through regulatory measures and enforcement actions, emphasizing the need for cooperation from market participants, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Calif. Verdict Showcases SEC's New 'Shadow Trading' Theory
Last week's insider trading verdict, delivered against biopharmaceutical executive Matthew Panuwat by a California federal jury, signals open season on a new area of regulatory enforcement enabled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shadow trading theory, say Perrie Weiner and Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule
The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Private Capital Considerations Amid Market Revival
As improved market conditions position traditional financing to regain lost market share, it's also worth considering the pace and structure of private credit and other forms of private capital, especially when seeking to set unique terms or build new corporate relationships, say attorneys at Skadden.
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Intent-Based Theory Of Liability In Hwang Creates Ambiguity
A case against Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang alleging that he participated in a securities manipulation scheme, which goes to trial next month in New York federal court, highlights the need for courts to clarify the legal standard defining "market manipulation," says Edward Imperatore at MoFo.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'
Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.