SEC Cooled On New Crypto Cases During Gensler's Final Year

By Jessica Corso

Despite a brief rise in the number of lawsuits filed against the cryptocurrency industry in the final months that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler was in office, the agency overall saw a 30% decrease in enforcement actions against the industry last year, according to a newly released report Thursday.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4th Circ. Reads Kickback Law Broadly In Loss For Big Pharma

By Hailey Konnath

The Fourth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a Virginia federal judge's ruling against a pharmaceuticals industry-backed charity looking to weaken the Anti-Kickback Statute, holding that a proposed program for helping patients cover the cost of drugs could indeed constitute a quid pro quo.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Combs Lodges $50M Suit Over Supposed Sex Assault Tapes

By Rachel Scharf

Sean "Diddy" Combs filed a $50 million defamation suit in New York federal court on Wednesday accusing a grand jury witness, a lawyer and Nexstar Media Inc. of spreading falsities about nonexistent videos that purportedly depict the indicted hip-hop mogul sexually assaulting intoxicated celebrities and minors.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Corporate Transparency Law Remains Flanked By Threats

By Kevin Pinner

The Corporate Transparency Act is facing threats across the branches of government despite the U.S. Supreme Court pausing a nationwide injunction on it Thursday, with another universal injunction in place, other court battles underway and some Republican lawmakers targeting the law.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AI Chatbot Co. CEO, Atty Spouse Indicted On $60M Fraud

By Jessica Corso

Federal prosecutors in California arrested the former CEO of an artificial intelligence company Thursday alongside his lawyer wife, accusing the duo of a $60 million fraud scheme in which they allegedly lied to investors about the company's financial state and diverted funds to pay for their wedding.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

9th Circ. Nixes Attys' Challenge To Arizona Victim Contact Law

By Madison Arnold

A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday rejected a group of lawyers' constitutional challenge to an Arizona law that requires defense attorneys and their teams to initiate contact with victims through the prosecutor's office.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Madigan's Law Firm Profits Drove Corrupt Acts, Jury Told

By Celeste Bott

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's ownership interest in his Chicago law firm and his entitlement to 50% of its profits was behind his efforts to extort property tax business from developers who needed approvals from state and local government for their projects, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Cite 'Unprecedented Concerns' With Trump Memecoins

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jake Auchincloss have urged federal regulators to address "unprecedented concerns" associated with the recent launch of so-called memecoins associated with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, citing threats of consumer ripoffs, corruption and foreign influence.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Buzbee Says Jay-Z Is Who Should Be Sanctioned In Diddy Suit

By Hailey Konnath

Texas attorney Tony Buzbee tore into rapper Jay-Z's request that Buzbee be sanctioned for filing a suit accusing Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs of raping a 13-year-old, arguing that Jay-Z is merely trying to intimidate the accuser and that if anyone should be sanctioned, it's Jay-Z.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Want 14 Years For Fraudster Who Scammed NBA Pros

By Elliot Weld

Prosecutors asked a Manhattan federal judge to sentence a recidivist fraudster who was convicted of swindling two former NBA players out of $8 million to up to 14 years in prison, saying his previous sentences had not deterred him and he'd committed repeated bail violations.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Court Urged To OK $2.75M For Moving Co. Fraud Victims

By David Minsky

Two receivers appointed to recover funds in a moving company Ponzi scheme targeting the Haitian community urged a Florida federal court on Thursday to approve a first-round distribution of $2.75 million to refund losses, although the judge overseeing the case said the amount represents a fraction of what defrauded victims lost.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Tribal Chair Seeks High Court Review Of Extortion Verdict

By Brian Dowling

A former tribal chair in Massachusetts told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the First Circuit was wrong and stands alone in ruling that federal extortion laws apply to Native American officials as it reinstated his convictions tied to the development of a casino project.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Conflict Limits 1 Lawyer On Javice Team As Trial Date Slips

By Pete Brush

A lawyer defending Charlie Javice on charges she swindled JPMorgan Chase into paying $175 million for a financial aid startup she founded will be limited in representing her, a Manhattan federal judge said Thursday, before pushing trial back a week.

5 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Home Health Agency Operator Gets 12 Years For $100M Fraud

By Julie Manganis

The former operator of a Massachusetts home healthcare agency convicted of fraud last summer has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $100 million in restitution to the state's Medicaid program.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

The Most Important Schedule I Drug Regulatory Shifts Of 2024

In 2024, psychedelics and cannabis emerged as focal points in medical research, marking a pivotal year in their legal and regulatory journey, but these developments presented both opportunities and challenges within this evolving field, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and Stephen Kim at Avicanna.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UPS Penalty Demonstrates Goodwill Impairment Red Flags

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent $45 million penalty against UPS for withholding reports of goodwill impairment should warn investors to watch for the telltale signs of companies inflating their worth by delaying tests that would reveal similar declines in the value of intangible assets, say attorneys at Labaton Keller.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Companies Risk White House Wrath By Keeping DEI Programs

By Sarah Jarvis

For companies pushing forward with their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives amid a torrent of attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies, there are myriad potential risks ahead — and murky questions about the legal parameters of Trump's anti-DEI agenda.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law Students Scramble As Federal Gov't Yanks Job Offers

By Alison Knezevich

Law students across the country are scrambling to figure out their next steps after a range of federal agencies yanked job and internship offers this week because of the new hiring freeze imposed by the Trump administration.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass Tort Atty Files Ch. 11 Owing $202M To Litigation Funders

By Hilary Russ

A Houston plaintiffs attorney has filed for personal Chapter 11 protection with more than $202 million of litigation funding liabilities, according to his petition in the Southern District of Texas.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feud Heats Up Over Estate Of Wife Killed By Ex-BigLaw Atty

By Emily Johnson

The godson of a Georgia woman killed by her husband, former Fisher Phillips partner Claud "Tex" McIver, has said her cousins shouldn't get proceeds from a settlement of an underlying wrongful death suit, calling them "strangers" to her and claiming "the redistributive windfall" they're asking for "has no place in Georgia law."

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boston Firm Says IT Vendor Holding Computers 'Hostage'

By Julie Manganis

Boston-based law firm Melick & Porter LLP says a company it hired to manage its information technology is now holding its computer network and data "hostage" by refusing to cooperate with the transition to a new vendor unless Melick pays it $380,000.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Phillips Black Inc., Ridley McGreevy & Winocur PC and King & Spalding LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court revived claims from a woman on death row in Oklahoma that prosecutors unfairly sex-shamed her and relied on gender-based stereotypes to convince a jury that she had killed her estranged husband for insurance money.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

A new Law360 Pulse survey shows that more than 90% of in-house counsel have no regrets about their decisions to join companies. In litigation stemming from Purdue Pharma's sales of OxyContin that fueled the opioid crisis, the Sackler family would lose control of Purdue and pay $6.5 billion in the latest proposed settlement. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen Axa Insurance and Admiral face a claim from a former lawyer recently exposed for personal injury fraud, the owner of Reading Football Club sue a prospective buyer and mobile network Lycamobile tackle action by Spanish network Yogio. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »