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White Collar
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August 14, 2024
SC Justices Agree To Hear Murdaugh's Jury Tampering Claim
South Carolina's Supreme Court has agreed to hear disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh's appeal claiming a clerk of court tampered with the jury that convicted him of murder, invoking a rule that bypasses intermediate appeals when "significant public interest or a legal principle of major importance" hangs in the balance.
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August 14, 2024
Feds Nab US-Iran Citizen On Aircraft Parts Charges
A dual U.S.-Iranian citizen was charged in D.C. federal court with procuring American aircraft parts and attempting to send them to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
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August 14, 2024
Rapper Gets Probation In Stolen Payment Card Scheme
A Chicago-area rap artist was sentenced to probation for his role in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that used payment card information stolen from the dark web to make purchases, including private jet flights and hotel stays.
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August 14, 2024
SEC Says Ga. Firm's Ponzi Scheme Fueled 'Lavish' Lifestyle
An Atlanta-area firm that promised investors lucrative returns on real estate deals was in reality running a "classic Ponzi scheme" by funneling portions of the $300 million it received into buying a yacht and a luxury condo for its founder, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday.
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August 14, 2024
NY Judge Rejects Trump's 'Stale' Recusal Bid A 3rd Time
The New York judge who presided over Donald Trump's hush money trial denied the former president's third attempt to remove him from the case ahead of sentencing, ruling that the motion was "nothing more than an attempt to air grievances."
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August 13, 2024
Ex-GM Worker Gets 2 Years For Seeking Bribe In $100M Deal
A former General Motors Co. commodity manager was sentenced to two years behind bars Tuesday for soliciting a $5 million cash bribe from an auto parts supplier in return for ensuring it secured a $100 million contract, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
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August 13, 2024
Judge Urged To Toss Novel Insider Trading Conviction
Former Ontrak CEO Terren Peizer has moved to rid himself of a first-of-its-kind insider trading conviction, arguing that the government's case "watered down" the standard it had to prove by failing to demonstrate that he believed Ontrak was about to lose its biggest customer at the time he shed $20 million in stock.
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August 13, 2024
SEC Drops Insider Trading Suit Against Ex-Mylan Exec
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday dismissed a Pennsylvania federal suit accusing the former chief information officer of Mylan NV of insider trading due to what his attorneys describe as compelling evidence showing his innocence, seven months after the Department of Justice dropped a parallel criminal case.
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August 13, 2024
Fund Manager Seeks Del. Legal Fee Rulings In Ponzi Fight
Attorneys for a former hedge fund manager now entangled in wide-ranging Ponzi scheme allegations urged a Delaware vice chancellor on Tuesday toward quick action on his legal fee indemnification claims, citing "great risk" from mounting personal liability exposure.
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August 13, 2024
Lin Wood Says Social Posts Were Defense, Not Offense
Controversial ex-attorney Lin Wood took the stand Tuesday in a defamation case brought against him by three of his former law partners over social media posts in which Wood claimed they tried to criminally extort him after his firm's dissolution, telling jurors he only took to social media to defend himself.
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August 13, 2024
Tesla Stock Buy Fraud Nets 33-Mo. Sentence For Calif. Man
A California man accused of bilking investors out of $4.7 million by falsely representing he'd use the money to buy Tesla stock before diverting it to his wholesale food distribution business was sentenced to 33 months in prison in California federal court Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
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August 13, 2024
Girardi's Ex-Accountant Testifies He Wasn't Always 'All There'
A former in-house accountant for Tom Girardi's law firm broke down in tears on the witness stand under cross-examination in Girardi's California federal criminal trial Tuesday, first saying he always seemed "lucid" before describing him in the month before Girardi Keese filed for bankruptcy as slipping mentally.
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August 13, 2024
Hunter Biden Says Corruption Claims Don't Belong In Tax Trial
Hunter Biden has urged a California federal judge to bar a jury weighing his tax charges from hearing any allegations of corruption regarding foreign sources of income for fear it would "insinuate extraneous, politically charged matters" into the trial.
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August 13, 2024
DOD Says Missing License Is Needed To Dispute $1B Fuel Deal
The Defense Logistics Agency has urged the Court of Federal Claims to toss a protest alleging a $1 billion African fuel supply deal requires a license that can only be secured through bribery, saying not already having the license dooms the protester's case.
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August 13, 2024
DOJ Gets Crash Course In AI As Attys Brace For Crackdown
The U.S. Department of Justice is working to keep pace with the swift rise of the tools known as artificial intelligence, investigating potential fraud as its Criminal Division learns the nuances of the technology — an unsettling dynamic for some defense lawyers.
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August 13, 2024
'Delusional' Ex-Atty Gets 25 Years For Bank Embezzlement
An Illinois federal judge blasted a former attorney and real estate developer Tuesday as she handed him 25 years in prison for misappropriating a bank's embezzled money, saying he was "delusional" to assert he's a victim in the case.
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August 13, 2024
Mich. County Will Pay $7M To End Deadly Jail Beating Suit
A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday approved a $7 million settlement to end claims that Wayne County was responsible for the death of a man beaten by his cellmate on his first night in jail last year.
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August 13, 2024
Ruling On Reservation Shooting Can't Be Delayed, Feds Say
The U.S. government wants an Arizona federal court to deny a discovery bid by the family of a Tohono O'odham Nation man that seeks the names of the Border Patrol agents who discharged the weapons that killed him, saying the dispute shouldn't hold its motion to dismiss the lawsuit in abeyance.
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August 13, 2024
FirstEnergy Makes Nonprosecution Deal To End Ohio AG Probe
FirstEnergy said Tuesday that it has secured a nonprosecution agreement with Ohio's attorney general stemming from an alleged $1 billion bribery scandal involving the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, with both parties touting the utility company's remediation and compliance improvements.
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August 13, 2024
Quantum Energy Sued For Docs In Del. After SEC Action
A director of Quantum Energy Holdings LLC who joined the company after one of its directors was indicted has sued the firm in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking books and records and alleging the company's other directors have "repeatedly thwarted" his efforts to understand the business and its financial condition.
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August 13, 2024
Former Sprinter Eyes Plea Deal In 2020 Olympics Doping Case
A onetime world-class sprinter from the Atlanta area is in talks to resolve charges that he illegally provided banned performance-enhancement drugs while training other athletes ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, a Manhattan federal judge heard Tuesday.
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August 13, 2024
22 AGs Urge 2nd Circ. To Keep Limits On Interstate Gun Sales
The attorneys general for 21 states and the District of Columbia urged the Second Circuit to uphold a federal law limiting interstate gun sales to licensed dealers, arguing in a brief Monday that the law lets individual states regulate dealers and prevent black-market imports.
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August 13, 2024
Ex-Prosecutors Back Willis In Trump's Appeal Of DQ Ruling
Former federal prosecutors and others have thrown their support behind the State of Georgia, arguing that a trial court was right to let Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis continue prosecuting former President Donald Trump and others after a former outside counsel with whom she had a relationship resigned.
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August 13, 2024
Federal Judge Can't Shake Discipline For Handcuffing Girl
A review panel on Tuesday agreed with a unanimous Ninth Circuit Judicial Council finding that a federal judge in California engaged in misconduct when he ordered that a tearful 13-year-old girl be handcuffed during a criminal hearing for her father, upholding a public reprimand and three-year pause on criminal case assignments for the jurist.
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August 13, 2024
Ex-Rep. Santos Warned Not To Hide Evidence As Trial Nears
A New York federal judge cautioned former U.S. Rep. George Santos on Tuesday that failing to turn over discovery could box in his defense to allegations of campaign finance fraud and other criminal charges at a trial set to begin next month.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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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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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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NY Public Campaign Funding May Attract Scrutiny From Feds
The upcoming elections across New York this year will be the first under the state’s public campaign finance program — which may broaden federal prosecutors' purview to target state election fraud and corruption, says Jarrod Schaeffer at Abell Eskew.
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Perspectives
Justices' Repeat Offender Ruling Eases Prosecutorial Hurdle
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Brown v. U.S., clarifying which drug law applies to sentencing a repeat offender in a federal firearms case, allows courts to rely on outdated drug schedules to impose increased sentences, thus removing a significant hurdle for prosecutors, says attorney Molly Parmer.
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12 Keys To Successful Post-Trial Juror Interviews
Post-trial interviews offer attorneys an avenue to gain valuable insights into juror decision making and get feedback that can inform future litigation strategies, but certain best practices must be followed to get the most out of this research tool, say Alexa Hiley and Brianna Smith at IMS Legal.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Fintech Compliance Amid Regulatory Focus On Sensitive Data
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recent, expansive pursuit of financial services companies using sensitive personal information signals a move into the Federal Trade Commission's territory, and the path forward for fintech and financial service providers involves a balance between innovation and compliance, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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Lessons In High-Profile Jury Selection Amid NY Trump Trial
Richard Gabriel and Michelle Rey LaRocca at Decision Analysis consider how media exposure can affect a prospective juror in a high-profile case, the misunderstood nature of bias, and recommendations for jury selection in these unique situations as the Trump hush money trial continues in New York.
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Proposed Cannabis Reschedule Sidesteps State Law Effects
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act provides certain benefits, but its failure to address how the rescheduling would interact with existing state cannabis laws disappointed industry participants hoping for clarity on this crucial question, says Ian Stewart at Wilson Elser.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.