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Securities
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December 11, 2024
SEC Sues Disbarred Calif. Atty And Son For Securities Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a suit against a father-son duo and a broker for allegedly running a Ponzi-like scheme disguised as an investment company for a start-up content streaming app, raising over $17 million from at least 40 investors.
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December 11, 2024
DC Judge Enforces $325M Arbitral Award Against Argentina
Argentina must pay a $391 million arbitral award issued following a 15-year-old dispute over the renationalization of the country's state-owned airline, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled on Tuesday.
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December 11, 2024
Nigerians Impersonated US Brokers For $3M Scam, Feds Say
Three Nigerian nationals were charged on Wednesday with running a nearly $3 million internet investment fraud scheme in which they impersonated legitimate securities brokers and investment advisers, misappropriated the seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and stole from at least 28 investors.
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December 11, 2024
Del. Bar Urged To Push Back On Musk's Chancery Criticism
Nearly 100 legal professionals, mainly plaintiffs bar attorneys and law professors, have called on the Delaware State Bar Association to defend the state's chancellor against attacks that tech and social media billionaire Elon Musk launched after a stinging defeat of his nearly $56 billion, multiyear Tesla Inc. package in January.
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December 11, 2024
Ozy Media Ex-CEO's Atty Seeks More Time Or OK To Quit
An attorney for former Ozy Media Inc. CEO Carlos Watson asked a New York federal judge Wednesday for permission to withdraw from Watson's fraud and identity theft case unless he and other defense counsel can have more time to prepare for sentencing proceedings set to begin Friday.
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December 11, 2024
Connell Foley Faces DQ Bid In Investment Firm's Bias Suit
A Black-owned investment firm accusing BlackRock Inc. and New Jersey of squeezing it out of a lucrative contract are urging a federal court to disqualify Connell Foley LLP from representing the state, claiming the firm used privileged information from an attorney who has advised it throughout the dispute in a separate action.
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December 11, 2024
Former SEC Unit Chief Joins Gibson Dunn In NY
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP said Monday that a veteran of more than 14 years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is joining its New York office.
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December 11, 2024
CFPB's Chopra Won't Head For Exit Ahead Of Trump's Arrival
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra signaled Wednesday that he won't leave his post early unless and until the incoming Trump administration fires him next month, indicating that he plans to keep running the agency in the meantime.
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December 11, 2024
Justices' Cold Feet On Nvidia, Meta Leaves Attys Guessing
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a second securities case on Wednesday by refusing to issue a ruling in a Nvidia Corp. case with no explanation on its change of heart, leaving the defense bar to guess at the court's motivation and its potential implication for the future of high court securities cases.
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December 10, 2024
Md. Jury Convicts Ex-Biotech Execs On Some Fraud Counts
Two former biotech executives were convicted on some counts Monday following a monthlong Maryland federal court trial in a case alleging they juiced CytoDyn Inc.'s share price by lying to investors about the development of a drug to treat HIV and COVID-19.
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December 10, 2024
Bristol-Myers Said To Renege On $450M Milestone Promise
Former security holders of a biotechnology company Bristol-Myers Squibb acquired in 2016 hauled the pharmaceutical giant into Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday, accusing it of using "patent prosecution sleight of hand" to avoid paying up to $450 million in promised milestone payments related to an autoimmune disorder treatment.
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December 10, 2024
Robinhood Seeks Arb. For Remaining Meme Stock MDL Suits
Stock trading platform Robinhood urged a Florida federal court to send to arbitration the seven remaining individual suits brought against it as part of a multidistrict litigation over the platform's decision to freeze trading in certain so-called meme stocks amid a social-media fueled run on shares of those issuers.
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December 10, 2024
SEC Says Ex-Rep Defrauded Investors With Short-Term Bets
A former registered representative of broker-dealer Western International Securities Inc. has agreed to pay over $2.1 million to end U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations he orchestrated a scheme to defraud retail clients by recommending costly investment strategies, and then covered up their "substantial" losses with phony financial statements.
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December 10, 2024
SEC Outlines Municipal Adviser Exam Process
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations has issued a risk alert outlining its process for selecting municipal advisers to examine, how advisers can prepare for exams, and the types of information examiners may request.
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December 10, 2024
Chancery Awards Ajamie $13M In Cell Partnership Fight
Boutique law firm Ajamie LLP has won a Delaware Court of Chancery ruling that clients in a more-than decade-long multi-site battle over dozens of AT&T cellphone partnerships owe Ajamie about $13 million in legal fees despite a court finding that a formal fee-sharing agreement is unenforceable.
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December 10, 2024
Pastor Targeted Churchgoers In $6M Crypto Fraud, CFTC Says
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced Tuesday that it has sued a Washington state pastor in federal court for allegedly targeting Spanish-speaking individuals, including members of his congregation, with a cryptocurrency multilevel marketing scheme worth at least $5.9 million.
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December 10, 2024
4th Circ. Casts Doubt On Broker's FINRA Challenge
A Fourth Circuit panel wondered Tuesday whether it was too soon to hear one North Carolina broker's constitutional challenge against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, with the circuit judges pointing out that FINRA's case against the broker was not yet over.
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December 10, 2024
SEC Says Xtreme Fighting CEO And GC Defrauded Investors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Xtreme Fighting Championships and CEO Steven Smith of defrauding investors by selling millions of dollars of stock in the martial arts organization without disclosing the involvement of Smith or its criminally charged general counsel, according to a Florida federal lawsuit.
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December 10, 2024
Crypto Groups Rally Against Reappointing SEC's Crenshaw
Cryptocurrency industry groups are pushing back on a potential second term for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw with an online ad campaign and letters to lawmakers ahead of a Senate Banking Committee vote Wednesday on the Democrat's confirmation.
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December 10, 2024
Soft Landing For Pilot As Billionaire's Insider Case Wraps
A pilot who admitted to dodging taxes on $500,000 in income after he was accused of taking stock tips from Joe Lewis, his billionaire boss, avoided prison on Tuesday at a sentencing that closed a high-profile insider trading prosecution.
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December 09, 2024
Trump Media Investors Urge Stay Denial In Del. Suit
Investors in Donald Trump's social media website urged a Delaware Chancery Court to deny a temporary stay brought by the president-elect in order to let Florida litigation play out first, saying presidential immunity doesn't extend to unofficial acts, and the lawsuit can proceed against Trump's affiliates.
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December 09, 2024
Akin Gump 'Totally Messed Up' With Texts, Vaxart Judge Says
A California federal judge asked by Vaxart investors to impose sanctions over a hedge fund's deleted text messages in a case claiming Vaxart inflated its stock price with deceptive headlines about a COVID-19 vaccine said Monday that the fund's lawyers at Akin Gump "totally, totally messed up."
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December 09, 2024
Blockchain Co. IP Fight With Investment Firm Teed Up For Trial
A California federal judge has said a jury should decide whether the investment firm Franklin Templeton misappropriated trade secrets of Blockchain Innovation LLC and breached its fiduciary duty and contract with the firm when it shut down a digital asset startup that Blockchain later acquired.
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December 09, 2024
Morgan Stanley Pays SEC $15M Over Theft By Ex-Reps
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a $15 million penalty against a Morgan Stanley subsidiary Monday, saying the company failed to put in place procedures that may have earlier caught four former employees who spent years stealing from clients.
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December 09, 2024
Satellite Co. Sued In Del. For Docs After $450M Merger
Two stockholders of satellite venture Terran Orbital Corp. sued the business in Delaware's Court of Chancery Friday for access to company records, linking the demand to their investigation of events leading up to the company's $450 million, 25-cents-per-share sale to Lockheed Martin in October.
Expert Analysis
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Nvidia Supreme Court Case May Not Make Big Splash
The skeptical tenor of the justices' questioning at oral argument in Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder suggests that the case is unlikely to alter the motion to dismiss pleading standard in securities class actions, as some had feared, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Series
Circus Arts Make Me A Better Lawyer
Performing circus arts has strengthened my ability to be more thoughtful, confident and grounded, all of which has enhanced my legal practice and allowed me to serve clients in a more meaningful way, says Bailey McGowan at Stinson.
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How D&O Coverage Can Aid Against Increased AI Scrutiny
The recent increase in regulatory enforcement and securities class actions stemming from corporate use of artificial intelligence should prompt companies to ensure that their directors and officers liability insurance coverage is appropriately tailored to AI-related risks, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
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Crypto Cos. Add New Play In Their Offense Against SEC
Consensys and Crypto.com have adopted a novel strategy of preempting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions by moving to crypto-friendly Texas and filing declaratory lawsuits challenging the SEC's jurisdiction to regulate crypto-assets — an aggressive approach that may pay off, say attorneys at Herrick Feinstein.
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3 Ways To Train Junior Lawyers In 30 Minutes Or Less
Today’s junior lawyers are experiencing a skills gap due to pandemic-era disruptions, but firms can help bring them up to speed by offering high-impact skill building content in bite-sized, interactive training sessions, say Stacey Schwartz at Katten, Diane Costigan at Winston & Strawn and Lauren Tierney at Freshfields.
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How To Safely Leverage AI In The Digital Assets Industry
Digital asset businesses that use or plan to implement artificial intelligence should assess their risk management frameworks to ensure that AI-related business areas, including customer support and fraud detection, are in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory guidance from the last year, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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$3B TD Bank AML Settlement Is A Wake-Up Call For All Banks
TD Bank’s historic settlement over anti-money laundering violations, resulting in over $3 billion in penalties, reminds banks of all shapes and sizes why they need to take financial crime compliance seriously, and highlights three areas that may be especially vulnerable to enforcement, says Jack Harrington at Bradley Arant.
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What Trump Presidency May Mean For Climate Reporting
While the Trump administration will likely take a hands-off approach to climate-related disclosures and rescind regulations promulgated under the Biden administration, state and international ESG laws mean the private sector may not reverse course on such disclosures, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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SEC Action Indicates Continued Focus On ESG Disclosures
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently settled enforcement action against Invesco Advisers provides a road map for how regulatory agencies will continue to focus on ESG-related disclosures going forward, and underscores a focus on greenwashing, say attorneys at V&E.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.
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The AI Consumer Class Action Threat Is Not A Hallucination
As regulators scrutinize whether businesses can deliver on claims about their artificial intelligence products and services, the industry faces a wave of consumer fraud class actions — but AI companies can protect themselves by prioritizing fundamental best practices that are often overlooked, say Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein and Richard Torrenzano at the Torrenzano Group.
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What's Next For The CFTC After The Election
While much of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's enforcement actions in line with its traditional priorities will continue as usual in the near term, postelection leadership changes at the CFTC and new congressional priorities may alter the commission's regulatory framework in 2025 and beyond — particularly its oversight of crypto, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Del. Dispatch: Clarifying Charter Amendment Vote Obligations
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held in Gunderson v. The Trade Desk that only a majority stockholder vote is needed to approve a company's proposed reincorporation from Delaware to Nevada through a corporate conversion, which bodes well for other companies also considering leaving the First State, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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What's Still Up In The Air After Ruling On Calif. Climate Laws
A California federal court's recent ruling on challenges to California's sweeping climate disclosure laws resolved some issues, but allows litigation over the constitutionality of the laws to continue, and leaves many important questions on what entities will need to do to comply with the laws unanswered, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Series
Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.