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White Collar
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October 09, 2024
Companies' Kratom Supplements Are Addictive, Class Says
A proposed class of buyers is suing Thang Botanicals Inc. and FTLS Holdings in California federal court, alleging that they failed to disclose that their kratom-derived 7ΩHMZ products are as addictive as opioids, if not more.
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October 09, 2024
NYC Housing Bribe Case Is 'Guilt By Association,' Jury Told
Counsel for a New York City public housing superintendent accused of taking nearly $38,000 in bribes told a Manhattan federal jury Wednesday that the defendant is a victim of "guilt by association," kicking off the first trial after an antibribery sweep saw 70 people charged.
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October 09, 2024
FTX Exec Wants Another Prison Date Delay Over Dog Attack
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame has again asked the court to delay his surrender date to begin his prison term from this Friday to Dec. 7, as he purportedly continues to undergo medical treatment and recover after being mauled by a German shepherd while visiting a friend's house in June.
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October 09, 2024
Sullivan & Cromwell Dropped From FTX Investor Suit
FTX customers dismissed Sullivan & Cromwell LLP from ongoing multidistrict litigation over the crypto exchange's collapse on Wednesday, after an investigation by the customers' counsel into the firm and dialogue with the FTX bankruptcy estate and appointed examiner resolved concerns about the law firm's conduct.
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October 09, 2024
Girardi Seeks New Fraud Trial Over Memory Issues
Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi has called on a California federal court to overturn his conviction for misappropriating $15 million in client settlement funds, arguing he was not competent to stand trial due to memory problems that left him unable to remember witnesses or even his own attorneys.
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October 09, 2024
Disbarred Atty Admits To Defrauding Investors, DOJ Says
A disbarred attorney has pled guilty in connection with a financial services scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $1 million, New Jersey's U.S. attorney announced Wednesday.
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October 09, 2024
Disbarred Calif. Atty To Pay $14M Over Crypto Ponzi Scheme
A disbarred California attorney has been ordered by a Nevada federal judge to pay nearly $14 million in restitution for his role in promoting a $9.5 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.
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October 09, 2024
Feds Seek 16 Months For Ex-BigLaw Partner's Tax Dodging
Prosecutors told a Wisconsin federal judge that a former Husch Blackwell LLP and Dykema Gossett PLLC partner who pled guilty to tax evasion should be sentenced to 16 months in prison, saying he lied to IRS revenue officers to keep them at bay while spending lavishly on private planes, jewelry and golf club memberships.
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October 09, 2024
Lead Test Maker Vows Compliance As $42M Deal Approved
The general counsel of Magellan Diagnostics promised Wednesday that the medical device maker "will be better," as a Boston federal judge officially sentenced the company for hiding flaws in its lead-testing kits, signing off on a $42 million plea agreement.
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October 09, 2024
'Ghost' Florida Atty Left Long Trail Of Irked Judges, Clients
A Florida lawyer accused in a state court suit of ignoring and defrauding dozens of clients who paid nonrefundable retainers has faced a series of similar allegations in federal court, drawing the ire of judges and opposing counsel.
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October 08, 2024
Ex-Girardi Keese CFO Inks Plea Deal Over Firm Embezzlement
Girardi Keese's former Chief Financial Officer Christopher K. Kamon reached a plea agreement Tuesday with Los Angeles federal prosecutors, who allege he spearheaded a "side fraud" that bilked millions of dollars from the embattled law firm's accounts behind disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's back.
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October 08, 2024
PetroSaudi Says US Not Entitled To All Of $380M Award
A PetroSaudi unit said it wants a California federal court to make clear that only 5% of funds should go to the Biden administration in a dispute over the proceeds of a nearly $380 million arbitral award allegedly tied to embezzled 1Malaysia Development Berhad funds.
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October 08, 2024
$424M Medicare Fraud Suspect Asks NJ Court To Modify Bail
The lead suspect charged in a $424 million international telehealth fraud scheme has asked a New Jersey federal judge for more freedom while out on house arrest in Florida, requesting to attend religious services, go to a gym, have unmonitored communications with his counsel, and to work.
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October 08, 2024
Ex-Uber Exec's Actions Smell Like Cover-Up, 9th Circ. Judge Says
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of Uber's ex-security chief's effort to overturn his convictions for obstructing an investigation into an Uber data breach, with one judge saying the defendant's abrupt changes to Uber's policies "does smell to me like a cover-up."
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October 08, 2024
Military Health Plans Deny They Were Overpaid On DOD Deal
Five military healthcare plan providers have asked the Maine federal court to dismiss the U.S. Department of Justice's claims that they were overpaid for healthcare services, arguing they were paid exactly what they were owed under their fixed-price contracts.
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October 08, 2024
Dem Rep. Reintroduces Death Row Appeal Bill
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., has announced that he is reintroducing a bill that would ensure inmates on death row would have the opportunity to present new evidence pointing to their innocence.
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October 08, 2024
Ropes & Gray Attys Chided For Wielding Excessive Footnotes
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday struck a summary judgment motion penned by Ropes & Gray LLP lawyers representing Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a challenge to the government's interpretation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, finding that the filing improperly employed "excessive" footnotes to circumvent page limitations.
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October 08, 2024
Ex-Cop Guilty Of Excessive Force After Officers Testify
A federal jury in Indianapolis has convicted a former New Castle, Indiana, police officer of excessive force and witness tampering after a series of incidents in which prosecutors said he assaulted a suspect and two imprisoned persons, then lied to a state police detective.
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October 08, 2024
OneCoin Co-Conspirator Wants No Prison For Laundering Plea
A business consultant and investor who pled guilty to laundering approximately $35 million as part of the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam has asked a New York federal judge for a probationary sentence and a minimal fine, arguing that he had a minor role in the scheme compared to other defendants and has lived an otherwise law-abiding life.
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October 08, 2024
FTX's Ellison To Give Up 'Substantially All Of Her Assets'
Former FTX insider Caroline Ellison agreed to give up "substantially all of her assets" and cooperate with the FTX bankruptcy estate in a deal to resolve the claims against her in an adversary proceeding that sought to recover hundreds of millions of dollars from the collapsed crypto exchange's former leadership.
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October 08, 2024
Neb. Officials Cast Doubt On Medical Pot Legalization Effort
Nebraska state officials are alleging that signatures gathered by activists trying to put medical marijuana legalization on the ballot may be invalid because of purported irregularities and have asked a state judge to determine whether to void the legalization effort.
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October 08, 2024
Exporting Chips To China Doesn't Merit 7 Years, 9th Circ. Told
Counsel for a former UCLA electrical engineering professor urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reduce his seven-year prison sentence for illegally exporting high-powered semiconductor chips to China, saying the conduct did not amount to an evasion of national security controls.
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October 08, 2024
Convicted Fla. Atty Suspended Over Theft In Court Clerk Post
The Florida Supreme Court has suspended the law license of the onetime clerk of courts for Jefferson County after he was convicted of grand theft and sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
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October 08, 2024
Pa. Judge Misused COVID Funds To Pay Firm Staff, Feds Say
A York County Common Pleas judge faces more than 30 federal counts, including fraud, witness tampering and obstruction of justice, over allegations of using federal unemployment benefits to pay staff members of his law office while they remained employed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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October 08, 2024
Calif. Tax Preparer Gets 6 Years For $28M Scheme
The owner of a California tax preparation business who helped customers create sham companies was sentenced to six years in prison for a decadelong scheme that caused a tax loss of at least $28 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Expert Analysis
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Justices' 'Blind Mule' Ruling Won't Change Defense Strategy
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Diaz v. U.S., holding that expert witnesses can testify broadly about the mental state of “most people” in a group, simply affirms the status quo for the majority of defendants, and is unlikely to change defense counsel’s strategy at trial, says Walter Gonçalves at the Arizona Federal Public Defender's Office.
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4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements
Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Del. Bankruptcy Ruling Will Give D&O Insureds Nightmares
In Henrich v. XL Specialty Insurance, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court recently found that a never-served qui tam claim had been "brought" before a D&O policy's retroactive date, thereby eliminating coverage, and creating a nightmare scenario for directors and officers policyholders facing whistleblower claims, says David Klein at Pillsbury.
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Prejudicial Evidence Takeaways From Trump Hush Money Trial
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office's prosecution and conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts provides a lesson on whether evidence may cause substantial unfair prejudice, or if its prejudicial potential is perfectly fair within the bounds of the law, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Lower Courts May Finally Be Getting The Memo After Ciminelli
A year after the U.S. Supreme Court again limited prosecutors' overbroad theories of fraud in Ciminelli v. U.S., early returns suggest that the message has at least partially landed with the lower courts, spotlighting lessons for defense counsel moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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After A Brief Hiccup, The 'Rocket Docket' Soars Back To No. 1
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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A Framework For Investigating Commercial Loan Fraud
As commercial loan transactions are increasingly subject to sophisticated fraud schemes, lenders must adopt dynamic strategies to detect, investigate and mitigate these schemes, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.
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Recruitment Trends In Emerging Law Firm Frontiers
BigLaw firms are facing local recruitment challenges as they increasingly establish offices in cities outside of the major legal hubs, requiring them to weigh various strategies for attracting talent that present different risks and benefits, says Tom Hanlon at Buchanan Law.
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Series
Glassblowing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
I never expected that glassblowing would strongly influence my work as an attorney, but it has taught me the importance of building a solid foundation for your work, learning from others and committing to a lifetime of practice, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.
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3 Surprising Deposition Dangers Attorneys Must Heed
Attorneys often do not think of discovery as a particularly risky phase of litigation, but counsel must closely heed some surprisingly strict and frequently overlooked requirements before, during and after depositions that can lead to draconian consequences, says Nate Sabri at Perkins Coie.
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Money, Money, Money: Limiting White Collar Wealth Evidence
As courts increasingly recognize that allowing unfettered evidence of wealth could prejudice a jury against a defendant, white collar defense counsel should consider several avenues for excluding visual evidence of a lavish lifestyle at trial, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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How Associates Can Build A Professional Image
As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Takeaways From Nat'l Security Division's Historic Declination
The Justice Department National Security Division's recent decision not to prosecute a biochemical company for an employee's export control violation marks its first declination under a new corporate enforcement policy, sending a clear message to companies that self-disclosure of misconduct may confer material benefits, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.