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White Collar
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June 20, 2024
Meet The Bridgegate Atty For NJ Power Broker In RICO Case
Law360 Pulse caught up with Michael Critchley Sr., counsel for recently indicted New Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, and lawyers who know him about his decadeslong track record of successful legal defenses in high-profile cases and how he’s preparing for his latest challenge.
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June 20, 2024
Trump Says Willis Can't Erase DQ Appeal In Election Case
Former president Donald Trump urged the Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday to keep alive his appeal of a trial court's decision that blocked Trump's bid to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from the election interference case against him and co-defendants, arguing that his appeal involves issues of law.
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June 20, 2024
Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO Asks To Pull 5th Amend. Assertions
McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLC's former chief financial officer, who pled guilty to embezzling over $1.5 million from the firm in May, moved Wednesday to withdraw Fifth Amendment assertions he made in the firm's civil case against him.
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June 20, 2024
Prosecutors Deny Spoiling Evidence In OneTaste Case
Brooklyn federal prosecutors have denied allegations of misconduct in the forced labor conspiracy case against two executives of sexual wellness company OneTaste, who claim an FBI agent instructed a potential key witness to delete emails.
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June 20, 2024
Faegre Drinker Hires New State AGs Practice Co-Leader In NY
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has tapped a new co-leader for its national state attorneys general practice, who has also joined the firm's litigation group as a partner in its New York City office, the firm announced Tuesday.
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June 20, 2024
Tax Preparer With $38M In Refunds Cops To S-Corp. Scam
The owner of a tax preparation business that secured $38 million in federal refunds for customers pled guilty to helping prepare false returns and admitted he required clients to establish empty corporations to lower their tax bills illegally, according to his plea agreement in a California federal court.
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June 20, 2024
Ex-BVI Ports Director Gets 9 Years For Drug Smuggling Plot
A Florida federal judge on Thursday sentenced the former managing director of the British Virgin Islands Ports Authority to just over 9 years in prison for participating in a scheme involving a former BVI premier to move tons of Colombian cocaine through BVI ports to the United States.
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June 20, 2024
5th Circ. Misapplied Precedent In Arrest Case, Justices Say
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday scrapped a Fifth Circuit decision that a woman who claims she was jailed in retaliation for criticizing local government officials couldn't pursue her retaliatory arrest claim, reviving a five-year dispute between the woman and a Texas city.
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June 20, 2024
Justices Say Experts Can Testify Broadly On Criminal Intent
The U.S. Supreme Court found Thursday that a rule barring expert witnesses from testifying about a defendant's alleged criminal intent does not block testimony about the mental state of people in similar situations.
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June 20, 2024
Top Court Declines To Limit Malicious Prosecution Cases
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a charge made without probable cause can be grounds for a malicious prosecution civil suit even if another charge with valid probable cause accompanied it.
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June 18, 2024
Embattled Colo. DA Defends Handling Of Murder Case
An elected Colorado prosecutor facing disciplinary charges related to her handling of a high profile murder case testified before a disciplinary panel on Tuesday, insisting in sometimes combative testimony that she never made inappropriate public comments about the case.
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June 18, 2024
High Court Petition Asks Justices: What's A 'Willful' Kickback?
Does a "willful" act under federal anti-kickback law require a defendant to know that the conduct violates the law? That's the question a whistleblower is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to answer in order to resolve what the petition calls a circuit split on a key question of federal fraud prosecutions.
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June 18, 2024
Menendez Request On Pet Case Was Unique, Aide Testifies
When Sen. Robert Menendez allegedly directed an aide to tell a U.S. attorney that an alleged bribe-giver facing prosecution deserved "all due process," it was the only criminal case Menendez ever singled out that way in their years working together, the aide testified Tuesday.
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June 18, 2024
The 2 Attys Ensnared In A NJ Mogul's Racketeering Rap
New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III may be the alleged mastermind of a racketeering scheme to reap millions in tax credits on waterfront property in a distressed city, but the explosive indictment also reveals the purported roles of two attorneys with close ties to the Democratic Party.
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June 18, 2024
Company, States Battle In Court Over At-Home Rape Kits
A fight is brewing in federal and state courts between a company that purports to be the nation's only purveyor of self-administered sexual assault DNA collection kits and state attorneys general who believe it is misleading sexual assault victims.
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June 18, 2024
Cuomo's Ex-Aide Details Sex Harassment Claims In New Suit
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's onetime executive assistant has filed a civil lawsuit in New York state court, accusing Cuomo of "outrageous sex discrimination and retaliation" roughly two years after related misdemeanor charges over the alleged misconduct were dropped.
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June 18, 2024
Charges Dropped In NYC Mayor Straw Donor Case
A New York state judge on Tuesday dismissed charges against a former development consultant and state employee, who was accused of being part of a conspiracy to funnel straw donor funds to New York City Mayor Eric Adams' 2021 campaign, after prosecutors agreed to drop the case.
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June 18, 2024
Ayahuasca Church Says DOJ Should Pay $2.2M Legal Fees
A Phoenix-based church that secured a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice allowing it to legally use ayahuasca for its religious practices is now asking an Arizona federal court to make the government pay $2.2 million, covering the costs of litigating the case and giving its attorneys an "appropriate" bonus.
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June 18, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms Warrantless Search Of Probationer's Home
The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the denial of a woman's bid to suppress evidence obtained by police in a warrantless search of her home, finding that the search was reasonable because her live-in boyfriend's probation conditions authorized warrantless home searches.
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June 18, 2024
CFTC Awards $8M To Whistleblower Behind Multiple Actions
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced it awarded more than $8 million to an insider whistleblower who the agency said provided significant information that led to multiple enforcement actions from multiple agencies.
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June 18, 2024
Legalization Foe SAM Seeks Hearing On Pot Rescheduling
A leading anti-marijuana-legalization advocacy organization on Tuesday formally submitted its request to the Drug Enforcement Administration to hold administrative hearings on the Attorney General's proposal to reschedule cannabis.
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June 18, 2024
Gov't Says New Guidelines Can't Cut Crypto Expert's Sentence
Federal prosecutors have told a Manhattan federal judge that the crypto computing expert who received five years for aiding North Korea's blockchain development shouldn't get to cut a year off his sentence just because sentencing guidelines have been updated while he's served his term.
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June 18, 2024
Sterling Bank Ex-CEO Won't Face Charges Over Loan Program
The founder and former CEO of Sterling Bank and Trust, who has been investigated in connection with a fraud-plagued loan program, will not face criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice, according to Michigan federal court documents filed Monday.
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June 18, 2024
Archegos Trader Doubles Down On Hwang Accusations
A former protégé of Archegos founder Bill Hwang told New York federal jurors Tuesday that the hedge fund boss directed manipulative and improper trading, pushing back on insinuations by Hwang's counsel that the trades were above-board.
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June 18, 2024
Cozen O'Connor Names Ex-Arkansas AG As State AG Co-Lead
Philadelphia-based Cozen O'Connor announced on Tuesday the hiring of a former Arkansas attorney general to help lead the firm's state attorneys general group from its office in Little Rock.
Expert Analysis
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4 Ways To Refresh Your Law Firm's Marketing Strategy
With many BigLaw firms relying on an increasingly obsolete marketing approach that prioritizes stiff professionalism over authentic connection, adopting a few key communications strategies to better connect with today's clients and prospects can make all the difference, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law.
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Tips For Balanced Board Oversight After A Cyberincident
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cybersecurity disclosure rules, as well as recent regulatory enforcement actions bringing board governance under scrutiny, continue to push boards toward active engagement in relation to their cyber-oversight role, despite it being unclear what a board's level of involvement should be, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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Breaking Down DOJ's Individual Self-Disclosure Pilot Program
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently announced pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to voluntarily self-disclose corporate misconduct they were personally involved in, complementing a new whistleblower pilot program for individuals not involved in misconduct as well as the government's broader corporate enforcement approach, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.
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Ensuring Nonpublic Info Stays Private Amid SEC Crackdown
Companies and individuals must take steps to ensure material nonpublic information remains confidential while working outside the office, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission continues to take enforcement actions against those who trade on MNPI and don't comply with new off-channel communications rules in the remote work era, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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Opinion
Seafarer Detention Under Ship Pollution Law Must Have Limits
The U.S. Coast Guard should reinstate limits on the number of days that foreign crew members may be forced to remain in the country while the U.S. Department of Justice investigates alleged violations of shipping pollution laws, in order to balance legitimate enforcement interests and seafarer welfare, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Perspectives
Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McIntosh v. U.S., holding that a trial court’s failure to enter a preliminary criminal forfeiture order prior to sentencing doesn’t bar its entry later, is unusual in that it settles an issue on which the lower courts were not divided — but it may apply in certain forfeiture disputes, says Stefan Cassella at Asset Forfeiture Law.
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Binance Ruling Spotlights Muddled Post-Morrison Landscape
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Williams v. Binance highlights the judiciary's struggle to apply the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison v. National Australia Bank ruling to digital assets, and illustrates how Morrison's territorial limits on the federal securities laws have become convoluted, say Andrew Rhys Davies and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.
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IRS Sings New Tune: Whistleblower Form Update Is Welcome
In a significant reform at the Internal Revenue Service's Whistleblower Office, the recently introduced revisions to the Form 211 whistleblower award application use new technology and a more intuitive approach to streamline the process of reporting allegations of tax fraud committed by wealthy individuals and companies, says Benjamin Calitri at Kohn Kohn.
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Strategies For Challenging A Fla. Grand Jury Report's Release
A Florida grand jury’s recent report on potential wrongdoing related to COVID-19 vaccines should serve as a reminder to attorneys to review the myriad legal mechanisms available to challenge the lawfulness of a grand jury report’s publication and expunge the names of their clients, says Cary Aronovitz at Holland & Knight.
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First 10b5-1 Insider Trading Case Raises Compliance Issues
The ongoing case against former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer is the U.S. Department of Justice's first insider trading prosecution based primarily on the filing of 10b5-1 plans, and has important takeaways for attorneys reviewing corporate policies on the possession of material nonpublic information, say attorneys at Cadwalader.
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Series
Whitewater Kayaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Whether it's seeing clients and their issues from a new perspective, or staying nimble in a moment of intense challenge, the lessons learned from whitewater kayaking transcend the rapids of a river and prepare attorneys for the courtroom and beyond, says Matthew Kent at Alston & Bird.
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3 Lessons From Family Dollar's Record $41.7M Guilty Plea
Family Dollar's recent plea deal in connection with a rodent infestation at one of its distribution facilities — resulting in the largest ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case — offers key takeaways for those practicing in the interconnected fields of compliance, internal investigations and white collar defense, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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This Earth Day, Consider How Your Firm Can Go Greener
As Earth Day approaches, law firms and attorneys should consider adopting more sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint — from minimizing single-use plastics to purchasing carbon offsets for air travel — which ultimately can also reduce costs for clients, say M’Lynn Phillips and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.
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What FinCEN Proposed Customer ID Number Change Means
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recent request for comment on changing a requirement for banks to collect full Social Security numbers at account sign-up represents an important opportunity for banks to express their preferability, as communicating sensitive information online may carry fraud or cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach
Because complex cases with sophisticated defendants are unlikely to reveal much, if any, direct evidence, attorneys must aggregate many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a cohesive narrative — much like the painting technique of pointillism, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.