Capital Markets

  • July 22, 2024

    AI-Focused Velocium To Go Public Via $445M SPAC Merger

    AI-focused technology provider Velocium Inc. has agreed to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Maquia Capital Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values Velocium at $445 million, both parties announced.

  • July 22, 2024

    Litigation Funder Sues Wyoming Co. With Same Name

    Litigation funding company Parabellum Capital LLC has filed a trademark lawsuit in Colorado federal court against a Wyoming company called Parabellum Capital Inc., but the Wyoming company appears to be backing down.

  • July 22, 2024

    SEC Launches Multiagency Fraud Council

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that it is creating the Interagency Securities Council, which will bring together federal, state and local regulatory and law enforcement professionals quarterly to discuss the latest in "scams, trends, frauds, and mitigation strategies."

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    After Chevron: No Deference, No Difference For SEC Or CFTC

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    The Chevron doctrine did not fundamentally alter the interplay between the courts and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the development of the securities and commodities laws — and its demise will not do so either, says Dan Berkovitz at Millennium Management.

  • Opinion

    Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.

  • 3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron

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    The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Roundup

    After Chevron

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    In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.

  • Opinion

    Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.

  • Proposed Customer ID Rule Could Cost Investment Advisers

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    A rule recently proposed by FinCEN and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make financial advisers collect more customer information parallels an anti-money laundering and counterterrorism rule proposed this spring, but firms may face new compliance costs when implementing these screening programs, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • What Passage Of House Crypto Bill Could Mean For Industry

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    While the prospects of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which recently passed the House in a bipartisan fashion, becoming law remain murky, the manner of its passage may give crypto markets a real cause for hope, say Neel Maitra and Dale Beggs at Dechert.

  • 4 Important Events In Bank Regulation: A Midyear Review

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    The first six months of 2024 have been fairly stable for the banking industry, though U.S. Supreme Court decisions and proposals from regulators have significantly affected the regulatory standards applicable to insured depository institutions, says Christina Grigorian at Katten.

  • Series

    Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.

  • Advisers Can Avoid Gaps In SEC Marketing Rule Compliance

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    A recent risk alert from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the enforcement history of the marketing rule indicate that advisers have encountered persistent difficulties in achieving compliance — but there are steps advisers can take to mitigate risks of violations, say Scott Moss and Jimmy Kang at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.

  • Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule

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    Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.

  • Arbitration Implications Of High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent Coinbase v. Suski ruling not only reaffirmed the long-standing principle that arbitration is a matter of contract, but also established new and more general principles concerning the courts' jurisdiction to decide challenges to delegation clauses and the severability rule, say Tamar Meshel at the University of Alberta.

  • Banks As Crypto Custodians May Rest On SEC Bulletin's Fate

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    Banks' willingness to accept custody of cryptocurrency assets, like the exchange-traded funds approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this spring, may hinge on whether a 2022 SEC accounting bulletin directing banks to track customers' digital assets on their balance sheets can survive Congress' attempts to strike it down, says Roger Chari at Duane Morris.

  • After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1

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    The Eastern District of Virginia’s precipitous 2022 fall from its storied rocket docket status appears to have been a temporary aberration, as recent statistics reveal that the court is once again back on top as the fastest federal civil trial court in the nation, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

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