Trump Gag Order Still Needed Through Sentencing, DA Says

By Elliot Weld

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has asked a judge not to lift the gag order on Donald Trump before the convicted former president's sentencing next month, arguing in a letter released Wednesday that there is still a need to "protect the integrity" of the hush money case.

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Nigeria Holding US Binance Exec Hostage, Lawmakers Say

By Kevin Pinner

The White House's hostage negotiator should begin seeking the release of a top executive at cryptocurrency exchange Binance whom the Nigerian government is holding personally liable for tax evasion charges against the company, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's chairman has said.

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Ga. Trump Election Case On Hold For DA DQ Appeal

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday temporarily halted proceedings in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants while it reviews a trial judge's ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis to continue prosecuting the case.

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'Miracle Worker': Menendez's Wife Was Given New Car, Jurors Told

By Carla Baranauckas

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's wife received a $67,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible thanks to the efforts of two of the congressman's associates, one of whom she called a "miracle worker," jurors heard Wednesday in the government's bribery case in New York federal court.

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Interview

DLA Piper Atty, Ex-UK Official On Practicing Across The Pond

By Alison Knezevich

In returning to the United States after nearly two decades in London, former Serious Fraud Office official Judy Krieg says DLA Piper was the ideal place to serve clients and leverage the skills she has gained from working on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Scrutinize Gag Order On Trump's Twitter DMs, X Tells Justices

By Ali Sullivan

X Corp. is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to review a court order allowing special counsel Jack Smith to obtain messages from Donald Trump's account on the social media platform while barring X from alerting the former president beforehand.

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1st Circ. May Undo Tribal Casino Bribery Convictions

By Brian Dowling

First Circuit judges hinted Wednesday that jurisdictional flaws and other issues could reverse the bribery convictions of an architect and tribal chairman in connection with a proposed $1 billion casino in southeastern Massachusetts.

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Hunter Biden's Ex-Wife, Ex-Lover Testify About His Drug Use

By Leslie A. Pappas

Hunter Biden's trial on felony gun charges continued in Delaware federal court on Wednesday with testimony from his ex-wife, a former girlfriend and the salesman at the shop where he bought the Colt Cobra revolver on Oct. 12, 2018.

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Archegos Ex-Exec Who Sued Fund Testifies At Founder's Trial

By Pete Brush

An investment pro who claims in a $50 million suit that he was pressured to defer his Archegos pay testified Wednesday in the $36 billion market manipulation case against fund founder Bill Hwang that Hwang called the shots and was rarely questioned.

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3rd Circ. Revives Union Harassment Claims Against County

By Emily Brill

The Third Circuit revived claims Wednesday accusing Hudson County, New Jersey; its department of corrections; and three county employees of retaliating against a corrections officer because of his union activity, saying a federal judge tossed the allegations too soon.

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SEC Risk Alert Outlines Broker-Dealer Exam Process

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations issued a risk alert Wednesday outlining its process for selecting broker-dealer firms to examine, refining the scope of the exam and the types of documents the division may request.

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Billionaire's 'Naive' Stock-Trading Pilot Asks For No Prison

By Elliot Weld

A private pilot for U.K. billionaire Joe Lewis is asking for no prison time after pleading guilty to insider trading on stock tips provided by his boss, arguing that he has otherwise lived a law-abiding life and is less culpable than many white-collar defendants who've come through the Manhattan federal court.

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Dems Urge SEC To Double Down On Climate Enforcement

By Sarah Jarvis

A group of 38 Democratic lawmakers is urging U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler to step up enforcement of the agency's existing climate disclosure-related guidance, as the agency faces court challenges to its controversial climate rule.

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Ex-CFO Took $40M From Detroit Nonprofit, Prosecutors Say

By Carolyn Muyskens

The former chief financial officer for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has been charged with carrying out a decadelong embezzlement scheme that drained the nonprofit of about $40 million, an alleged fraud described as "simply astonishing in scale."

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Feds Sue To Recover $5.3M Stolen From Union In Email Scam

By Brian Dowling

Boston federal prosecutors said Wednesday they are helping a union recover about $5.3 million stolen through a complex business email compromise scheme.

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Wells Fargo Sued For Allegedly Aiding $300M Ponzi Scheme

By Katryna Perera

Wells Fargo Bank NA has been hit with a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging that it aided and abetted a $300 million Ponzi scheme that duped more than 1,000 investors, most of whom were elderly and lost substantial life savings due to the scheme.

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An Ex-BigLaw Atty Shot His Wife. Who Gets Her Settlement?

By Kelcey Caulder

The administrator of the estate of Diane McIver, who was fatally shot by her husband, former Fisher Phillips partner Claud "Tex" McIver, while driving through Atlanta in 2016, has asked a Georgia state court to decide who is entitled to settlement funds from a wrongful death case brought by the estate.

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Santa Barbara Gets Bulk Of Pot Farm Raid Suit Tossed

By Mike Curley

A California federal judge has thrown out the bulk of a cannabis farmer's suit alleging that members of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office illegally raided his farm and destroyed his property, leaving only a judicial deception claim to go forward.

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Donziger Deserves Pardon, Enviro Groups Tell Biden

By Madeline Lyskawa

A group of environmental and human rights groups are calling on President Joe Biden to pardon disbarred environmental lawyer Steven Donziger for his criminal contempt conviction in litigation brought by Chevron over his role in securing a $9.5 billion environmental judgment in Ecuador.

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Ex-Sacks Weston Atty Blames 'Toxic' Firm For His Theft

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Philadelphia attorney convicted of defrauding his former law firm told a state ethics panel Wednesday that he was remorseful for his deeds, but he noted he was driven to his crime by being owed money by his firm for too long.

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CohnReznick Scores Quick Exit In Tax Scheme Suit

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge agreed to toss a housing partnership's suit accusing accounting firm CohnReznick LLP of professional negligence and fraud, finding that the district court doesn't have jurisdiction over the dispute.

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Dorsey & Whitney Adds White Collar Duo In Phoenix, DC

By Adrian Cruz

Dorsey & Whitney LLP announced the hire of two experienced white collar attorneys in Phoenix and Washington, D.C., including the former financial crimes and public corruption chief at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona.

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McDermott Lands King & Spalding White Collar Pro In Atlanta

By Emily Johnson

Global law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP has added a King & Spalding LLP partner in Atlanta, a white-collar defense lawyer and civil litigator who has advised clients in healthcare, life sciences and e-commerce.

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Snell & Wilmer Brings On 'Dark Wire' Sting Ex-Prosecutor

By Lauren Berg

Snell & Wilmer LLP announced Wednesday it has hired a Barnes & Thornburg LLP partner and former prosecutor who helped lead an unprecedented sting operation that will be the focus of a Netflix film directed by Jason Bateman.

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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep

Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.

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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

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Google Legal Dept. Goes From Crisis Mode To Long Term

By Bryan Koenig

As much of the major antitrust litigation against Google winds down, the company is shuffling around its in-house legal departments to add more people and settle from crisis mode into the more sustainable posture of a technology giant where lawsuits have likely become a permanent feature of its existence.

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After Judge Takes Trip To Israel, Attys Want Him Off Gaza Case

By Cara Bayles

Palestinian rights activists asked a Ninth Circuit judge to recuse himself from a case claiming that the Biden administration flouted international laws barring genocide by supporting Israel's military efforts in Gaza, noting that the judge recently took a trip to Israel sponsored by the World Jewish Congress.

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Rutgers Law Students Must Provide Comms In Bias Suit

By Madison Arnold

A pair of Rutgers Law School students must turn over recordings and messages in a Jewish classmate's lawsuit accusing the school of antisemitic bias for opening a disciplinary investigation against him after he spoke out against the same two students for allegedly spreading antisemitism, a New Jersey state judge has ruled.

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Federal Judges Facing Scrutiny For Clerk-Hiring Boycotts

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary must take a look at its judges' hiring practices in the wake of some jurists' public refusal to hire students from certain law schools over on-campus political activity over the Israel-Hamas war, a nonprofit government watchdog said Wednesday.

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Brown Rudnick Partner's 50% Fee Hike Nixed In Ch. 11 Case

By Hilary Russ

A Brown Rudnick LLP bankruptcy partner Wednesday had his 50% fee increase rejected by a Delaware judge, who took issue with the proposed hike to $1,500 an hour for representing the creditors' committee in Kidde-Fenwal Inc.'s Chapter 11 case.

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Atty Carried Gun, Rope During Attempted Break-In, Police Say

By Lauren Berg

Police in Royal Oak, Michigan, said Tuesday they have arrested a Dearborn personal injury attorney after he allegedly tried to break into the home of a former co-worker while carrying a firearm, knife, handcuffs and other "concerning items."

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Lippes Mathias Merges With Syracuse Health, Business Firm

By Andrea Keckley

Buffalo, New York-based firm Lippes Mathias LLP said this week that it had created one of the state's largest healthcare attorney teams outside New York City in combining with Syracuse business and healthcare boutique CCBLaw, a move that will ultimately add 11 lawyers and eight nonlawyer professionals to its ranks.

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From Small Town To 11th Circ., Nominee Pledges 'Open Mind'

By Jake Maher

A nominee for an Eleventh Circuit seat on Wednesday discussed his small-town upbringing, award-winning career as a prosecutor and the "obligation" he feels to be a role model for others considering a career in the law, saying he would approach cases with an "open mind" if confirmed to the federal appeals court.

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NY Gov. Denies Cop-Shoving Judge New Term

By Frank G. Runyeon

A Buffalo judge censured for brawling with neighbors, shoving a police officer and bragging about his ties to power was denied a second term by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took the unusual step of rejecting the judge's request for reappointment.

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AAA Says Fee Critique 'Flawed' For Missed Eclipse Day Depo

By Lynn LaRowe

An attorney sanctioned for missing a deposition in Florida while he was in Arkansas viewing April's solar eclipse used "guesswork" in a response asking a federal judge in the Sunshine State to whittle a request for $7,800 in fees down to just over $1,200, according to a reply filed this week by AAA in a lawsuit by a former employee.

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PwC Asks Calif. Justices To Revive $2.5M Sanction Against LA

By Gina Kim

PwC urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive a $2.5 million sanction against the city of Los Angeles for yearslong discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing dispute, arguing the trial court's inherent authority to pose such penalties isn't limited to nonmonetary sanctions.

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