Capital Markets

  • January 08, 2025

    3 Firms Steer Galapagos' Plan To Spin Off New Drug Company

    Belgian biotechnology firm Galapagos NV said Wednesday that it will spin off certain operations into a second company focused on developing innovative medicines with about €2.45 billion ($2.5 billion) in cash to start, while Galapagos in turn focuses on cell therapies, through a deal guided by three law firms.

  • January 08, 2025

    Exiting CFTC Chair Warns Crypto Without Rules 'Ends Badly'

    The outgoing chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Rostin Behnam used his final speech on Wednesday to urge lawmakers and regulators to address the "gap" in oversight of cryptocurrency markets.

  • January 08, 2025

    Criminal Case Against Terraform Founder Said To Exceed SEC's

    The $40 billion criminal case against Terraform founder Do Kwon contains evidence such as recordings and seized mobile phones that exceed what securities regulators presented when they prevailed against him at a civil fraud trial, prosecutors said Wednesday.

  • January 08, 2025

    Chancery Awards $176M Atty Fee In Tesla Board Pay Suit

    Delaware's chancellor approved on Wednesday a $176.16 million Tesla stockholder class attorney fee award to three firms for a settlement of an excessive director compensation suit that is expected to return $734 million to the company through a combination of director stock, option and cash givebacks.

  • January 07, 2025

    Gig Worker Co. Handy To Refund $3M In FTC, NYAG Settlement

    Gig economy company Handy Technologies Inc. has agreed to return nearly $3 million to workers who used the platform, in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General's Office to resolve claims that the company misled workers about how much they could expect to earn through its services.

  • January 07, 2025

    Energy Co. Inks $126 Million Deal To End SPAC Merger Suit

    Investors suing the now-bankrupt oil and gas company Alta Mesa Resources Inc. have asked a Texas federal judge to preliminarily approve a $126.3 million deal to settle claims that the company and its executives misled investors about the value of a 2017 merger.

  • January 07, 2025

    Oilfield Services Firm Flowco Set to Drill Down On $392M IPO

    Oilfield equipment and services provider Flowco Holdings Inc. on Tuesday launched plans for an estimated $392 million initial public offering, represented by Sidley Austin LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP, marking the latest company to join the new year's IPO pipeline.

  • January 07, 2025

    2nd Circ. Denies BDO Second Shot At AmTrust Appeal

    The Second Circuit Tuesday denied BDO USA LLP's request for a rehearing of an appellate panel's decision not to overturn a suit brought by AmTrust Financial Services Inc. that alleged the auditor did a poor job reviewing the insurer's financial statements.

  • January 07, 2025

    Coinbase Judge Sends Crypto's Howey Question To 2nd Circ.

    A New York federal judge Tuesday waved through a request from Coinbase to have the Second Circuit weigh in on whether the cryptocurrency transactions on its platform are investment contracts, putting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing registration suit against the crypto exchange on ice for now.

  • January 07, 2025

    Canada Needs Catalysts To Heat Up Cold IPO Market

    Following another chilly year for initial public offerings in Canada, capital markets lawyers in the Great White North are approaching 2025 with caution, hoping that a few catalysts can break through and thaw an otherwise frozen market for public listings.

  • January 07, 2025

    PCAOB Drops Probe That Led To Constitutional Challenge

    One of the constitutional challenges facing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board came to an end Tuesday after the board informed a Texas court that it would not pursue an enforcement action against the accounting firm at the center of the case.

  • January 07, 2025

    MoviePass Parent Co. Ex-CEO Cops To Investor Fraud

    The former CEO of Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc., which owned a majority stake in the defunct discount unlimited movie ticketing service MoviePass, pled guilty Tuesday to making false statements about its business operations and inflating stock prices to attract investors.

  • January 07, 2025

    Grayscale Rival Insists Connecticut Law Allows $2M Suit

    Digital asset management firm Grayscale cannot duck a smaller rival's unfair trade practices suit based on its argument that the relevant Connecticut state law has a carveout for conduct involving securities transactions, Osprey Funds said in opposing summary judgment.

  • January 07, 2025

    Didi Investor Wants To Be New Leader Of Regulatory Suit

    A Didi Global Inc. investor asked Tuesday to sub in as lead plaintiff in a proposed class action claiming the Chinese ride-hailing giant misrepresented the risks of a disciplinary crackdown from the Chinese government over alleged data security violations, as the suit's current leader plans to withdraw from the litigation.

  • January 07, 2025

    Ford Tells NJ Justices Car Group Can't Rely On Franchise Law

    Ford Motor Co. told the New Jersey Supreme Court during oral argument Tuesday that a coalition of car dealerships can't sue it under the state's franchising law, arguing the plain language of the law only allows for franchisees to bring a cause of action against franchisors.

  • January 07, 2025

    Warner Bros., CEO Face 2nd Investor Suit Over Lost NBA Deal

    A second Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder has sued the media giant and CEO David Zaslav in federal court, accusing them of misleading fellow investors about the company's financial strength as attempts to renew its NBA media rights deal were disintegrating.

  • January 07, 2025

    CFTC Chair Behnam To Step Down When Trump Takes Office

    U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam announced Tuesday that he will resign his chairmanship on Inauguration Day in order to make way for new agency leadership under incoming President Donald Trump, who has yet to name Behnam's successor.

  • January 06, 2025

    Nikola Investors Win Class Cert. In Securities Fraud Litigation

    An Arizona federal judge on Monday certified a class of investors accusing Nikola Corp. of inflating its stock price by exaggerating its ability to manufacture electric trucks, ruling that the shareholders have shown their case warrants the class treatment more than four years after they first sued.

  • January 06, 2025

    Fla. Investment Adviser To Change Plea In $4M Fraud Case

    A Florida investment adviser on Monday agreed to change his plea to guilty in a Connecticut federal criminal case in which he's accused of using his company to defraud clients out of more than $4 million by using their money for personal expenses and to pay returns for other clients.

  • January 06, 2025

    Tether, Bitfinex Tap New GC After Longtime Lawyer Retires

    Stablecoin issuer Tether and its sister company, crypto exchange Bitfinex, have tapped an in-house lawyer to become general counsel after their top lawyer of more than a decade retires.

  • January 06, 2025

    Nasdaq Gets SPAC Investor's Racial Bias Claims Tossed

    A federal judge decided Monday to toss a suit from an investor in a minority-led special purpose acquisition company claiming the Nasdaq Stock Market participated in race-based discrimination against investors, saying the plaintiff fails to allege that its injuries were a direct result of Nasdaq's actions.

  • January 06, 2025

    Terraform Victims May Exceed 1M, Feds Say In Notice Request

    The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday asked a Manhattan federal judge for permission to issue a public notice to notify potential victims of defunct cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs' creator Do Kwon's alleged $40 billion fraud, saying there are too many victims — potentially more than one million — to do individual outreach.

  • January 06, 2025

    KKR Pushes Fuji Soft To Pursue Legal Action Against Bain

    Private equity giant KKR called on the board of Fuji Soft on Monday to take legal action against Bain Capital amid a bidding war for the company between the two competing investors, arguing that Bain's unauthorized use of confidential information and breach of its nondisclosure agreement "significantly jeopardizes" the reputation of private equity funds in Japan.

  • January 06, 2025

    National Court Reporters Association Hit With Antitrust Suit

    The National Court Reporters Association exploits its monopoly in the stenographic certification market to charge its members inflated and unnecessary membership dues and keep potential competitors out of the market, according to a new antitrust lawsuit in New Jersey federal court.

  • January 06, 2025

    Paul Hastings, Cravath Steer Pork Giant Smithfield's IPO Filing

    Pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. on Monday submitted the year's first filing for an initial public offering, part of a spinoff from China's WH Group Ltd., represented by Paul Hastings LLP and underwriters' counsel Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.

Expert Analysis

  • How 3 Recent High Court Rulings Could Shape Fintech Policy

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Jarkesy, Loper Bright and Corner Post provide fintech companies with new legal strategies to challenge regulatory actions, but agency reactions to these rulings and inconsistent judicial interpretations could bring compliance challenges and uncertainties, says Amy Whitsel at FS Vector.

  • 2nd Circ. Case Reinforces Need For Advance Notice Bylaws

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Nano Dimension v. Murchinson illustrates that Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act is a square peg for a round hole, and that advance notice bylaws are far better at protecting against undisclosed coordination among activist shareholders, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • SolarWinds Ruling Offers Cyber Incident Response Takeaways

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    The New York federal court's dismissal of all charges related to the 2019 Sunburst cyberattack is a devastating blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity case against SolarWinds, but the well-reasoned opinion provides valuable lessons that may improve companies' defensive posture in the wake of a major cybersecurity incident, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • Evolving Regulatory Oversight For AI And Asset Management

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    Attorneys at K&L Gates discuss the evolving regulatory and legislative landscape for artificial intelligence in the asset management industry, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Congress consider how to address potential investor protection and systemic risks associated with AI.

  • Series

    A Day In The In-House Life: Block CLO Talks Problem-Solving

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    Amid the busy summer months, Block Inc. Chief Legal Officer Chrysty Esperanza chronicles a typical Wednesday where she conquered everything from unexpected fintech regulatory issues and team building to Bay Area commutes and school drop-off.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • Opinion

    After Jarkesy, IRS Must Course-Correct On Captive Insurance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision has profound implications for other agencies, including the IRS, which must stop ignoring due process and curtailing congressional intent in its policing of captive insurance arrangements, says Peter Dawson at the 831(b) Institute.

  • Dissecting Treasury's Call For Input On AI In Financial Sector

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    The U.S. Department of the Treasury's request for comments on the potential benefits and challenges AI may pose to the financial services sector, which asks how stakeholders are addressing and mitigating increased fraud risks, reflects the federal government's continued interest in AI's effects across the economy, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

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