Securities

  • May 30, 2024

    NY Expects Crypto Cos. To Meet Customer Service Standards

    The New York State Department of Financial Services on Thursday told the crypto firms under its purview that it expects them to resolve customer service issues promptly and fairly, according to newly issued guidance.

  • May 30, 2024

    Ex-BigLaw Atty Fights 10-Year Sentence In OneCoin Case

    A former Locke Lord LLP partner urged the Second Circuit Wednesday to ax his 10-year prison sentence and conviction for laundering around $400 million in proceeds from the global OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, saying the case was contaminated by perjury and errors at the trial court level.

  • May 30, 2024

    High Court Calls For 2nd Circ. Redo In BofA Preemption Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a Second Circuit decision that freed Bank of America NA from class action litigation brought over a New York escrow interest law, ruling that the circuit court wasn't "nuanced" enough in finding the law preempted for national banks.

  • May 30, 2024

    Justices Revive NRA's Free Speech Claims Against NY Official

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the National Rifle Association can proceed with certain claims in its lawsuit alleging that a former New York state official violated the gun rights group's free speech protections by pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with it.

  • May 29, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Merrill Lynch Inks $20M Deal In Financial Advisers' Bias Suit

    Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle class action claims filed in Florida federal court alleging discrimination and retaliation against a proposed class of nearly 1,400 Black financial advisers who alleged they received less pay and promotions compared to their white counterparts. 

  • May 29, 2024

    11th Circ. Backs SEC Win In Trader's Challenge To 'Dealer' Tag

    An Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday affirmed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's win in a suit accusing a microcap stock trader of earning $21.5 million while operating as an unregistered dealer, further solidifying the regulator's argument that so-called toxic lenders are considered unregistered dealers.

  • May 29, 2024

    Forescout Investors Win Class Cert. Over Tanked Sale

    A California federal judge agreed to certify a class of shareholders of cybersecurity company Forescout who allege the company deceived investors ahead of a sale that ultimately fell apart, marking the latest win for plaintiffs who previously saw the case dismissed with prejudice three years ago.

  • May 29, 2024

    SEC Says Asia-Focused Fund Firm Misled Its Investors

    A now-shuttered Asia-focused investment adviser and its CEO have agreed to pay fines totaling $600,000 as part of a deal to end U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allegations they misled investors about certain details of their portfolios, including a key metric for assessing the risks they faced, and failed to disclose a conflict of interest.

  • May 29, 2024

    Chancery Sends Momentus De-SPAC Claims Toward Trial

    A Delaware vice chancellor refused to dismiss any counts Wednesday in a suit filed by investors in the special purpose acquisition company that took commercial space venture Momentus Inc. public in August 2021, with the court noting that the case will be judged on plaintiff friendly entire fairness standards.

  • May 29, 2024

    Split 3rd Circ. Affirms Court's Revision To $10M SEC Deal

    A split Third Circuit panel has affirmed a district court's decision to revise a nearly $10 million consent judgment between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a man it accused of misappropriating millions from a private equity fund after he was found in contempt of the judgment.

  • May 29, 2024

    Bankrupt EV Charger Co. Execs Hid Liquidity Woes, Suit Says

    Three current and former executives of bankrupt electric-vehicle charging infrastructure company Charge Enterprises Inc. face an investor's proposed class action claiming the executives concealed a liquidity crisis involving the company's founder and his investment advisory firm that allegedly precipitated Charge's bankruptcy.

  • May 29, 2024

    Texas Securities Regulator Orders Crypto MLM To Shut Down

    Texas State Securities Board Commissioner Travis J. Iles has ordered the shutdown of an allegedly fraudulent Arkansas-based multilevel marketing scheme that claimed to offer investments in cloud mining cryptocurrency.

  • May 29, 2024

    Bankrupt BlockFi Agrees To $150k Penalty In Conn. Bond Row

    Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has reached a deal with Connecticut's banking regulator to pay a $150,000 civil penalty over claims the company failed to maintain a required surety bond, and a decision in November 2020 to halt account withdrawals from the platform.

  • May 29, 2024

    Robinhood Reaches Deal To End 'Meme Stock' Investor Suit

    Robinhood Markets Inc. told a Florida federal judge Tuesday that it has reached a settlement with investors to resolve a suit over the trading platform's suspension of so-called meme stock purchases, saying it anticipates finalizing the deal within the next two weeks.

  • May 29, 2024

    Chancery Pins Down Musk, Tesla On Pay Bid, Del. Jurisdiction

    Delaware's chancellor has nailed Elon Musk, Tesla Inc. and their counsel to assurances that the company won't flee state corporate law jurisdiction and a potentially massive stockholder attorney fee dispute by rushing votes on a struck-down, $56 billion compensation plan for Musk and proposed reincorporation in Texas.

  • May 29, 2024

    Atty Says SEC Waited Too Long To Secure Civil Penalties

    An attorney and her husband have told a Florida federal judge that it's too late for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reopen its case against them and seek civil penalties over a microcap scheme after almost four years of doing nothing to prosecute the case.

  • May 29, 2024

    Ex-Calif. Atty Cops To Role In $9.5M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

    A disbarred California attorney has pled guilty in federal court to his role in promoting a $9.5 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

  • May 29, 2024

    3 More Burns & Levinson Attys Join Blank Rome In Boston

    Less than one month after Blank Rome LLP announced it had opened its Boston office with 25 corporate and finance attorneys from Burns & Levinson LLP, another three Burns & Levinson partners have joined the firm.

  • May 29, 2024

    Israeli Atty Cops To Aiding Convicted Ponzi Schemer In NJ

    An Israeli attorney has admitted to conspiring to commit securities fraud, launder money and obstruct justice to aid alleged serial fraudster Eliyahu "Eli" Weinstein, who is facing new fraud charges just two years after then-President Donald Trump commuted Weinstein's 24-year prison sentence for previous fraud convictions amid a flood of last-minute pardons in January 2021.

  • May 29, 2024

    Womble Bond Adds Veteran Energy Transaction Atty In Mass.

    An experienced corporate transactional attorney has moved stateside from Thailand to join Womble Bond Dickinson in Boston.

  • May 29, 2024

    Archegos Jury Gets Glimpse At Founder's Earlier Legal Woes

    A banker told a Manhattan jury Wednesday that Archegos founder Bill Hwang's 2012 run-in with the law at his previous hedge fund was concerning, but details were largely kept from jurors hearing charges against Hwang over Archegos's $36 billion collapse.

  • May 29, 2024

    Gemini Returns $2.2B Of Crypto From Genesis Ch. 11

    Crypto Exchange Gemini and bankrupt former crypto lender Genesis Global Holdco LLC returned $2.18 billion worth of digital assets Wednesday to 232,000 users of an interest-accruing lending program, Gemini Earn, that have been locked up since Genesis had filed for Chapter 11 protection in early 2023.

  • May 28, 2024

    Autonomy Founder Says HP 'Panicked,' Tried To Unwind Deal

    Autonomy founder Michael Lynch testified Tuesday in a California federal criminal trial over claims he conned HP into overpaying for his company that HP's board "panicked" after news of the acquisition leaked and HP's stock dropped 20%, that HP fired its CEO and that it attempted to back out of the deal.

  • May 28, 2024

    Chancery Finds Ex-CEO Owed $79M For Share Lockup Losses

    The former CEO of a 3D building imaging company is owed more than $79 million in damages in his share value suit against the company, but not the more than $141 million he sought, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled Tuesday.

  • May 28, 2024

    Twitter Investors Seek Cert Over Musk's Backtrack On Buyout

    A group of Twitter investors have asked a California federal judge to certify a class over claims Elon Musk fraudulently tweeted about the social media company's alleged bot problem to get out of his $44 billion acquisition, arguing that the case is "perfectly suited for class certification."

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    The SEC Is Engaging In Regulation By Destruction

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent use of regulation by enforcement against digital assets indicates it's more interested in causing harm to crypto companies than providing guidance to the markets or protecting investors, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

  • Series

    NJ Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

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    Early 2024 developments in New Jersey financial regulations include new bills that propose regulating some cryptocurrency as securities and protecting banks that serve the cannabis industry, as well as the signing of a data privacy law that could change banks’ responsibility to vet vendors and borrowers, say attorneys at Chiesa Shahinian.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • ShapeShift Fine Epitomizes SEC's Crypto Policy, And Its Flaws

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    A recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission order imposing a fine on former cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift for failing to register as a securities dealer showcases the SEC's regulation-by-enforcement approach, but the dissent by two commissioners raises valid concerns that the agency's embrace of ambiguity over clarity risks hampering the growth of the crypto economy, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.

  • 2nd Circ. Adviser Liability Ruling May Shape SEC Enforcement

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rashid, applying basic negligence principles to reverse a finding of investment adviser liability, provides a road map for future fraud enforcement proceedings, says Elisha Kobre at Bradley Arant.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • New Concerns, Same Tune At This Year's SIFMA Conference

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    At this year's Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference on legal developments affecting the financial services industry, government regulators’ emphasis on whistleblowing and AI washing represented a new refrain in an increasingly familiar chorus calling for prompt and thorough corporate cooperation, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • And Now A Word From The Panel: Benefits Of MDL Transfers

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    A recent order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation highlights a critical part of the panel's work — moving cases into an existing MDL — and serves as a reminder that common arguments against such transfers don't outweigh the benefits of coordinating discovery and utilizing lead counsel, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

  • 8 Tips As GCs Prep For New SEC Climate Disclosure Rules

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently adopted rules governing climate-related disclosures represent a major change to the existing public company disclosure regime, so in-house counsel should begin to evaluate existing systems and resources related to emissions data, and identify the changes that will need to be made, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • An Overview Of Key Financing Documents In Venture Capital

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent Moelis decision highlights the importance of structuring corporate governance around investor demand, meaning early-stage companies seeking venture funding through sales of preferred stock should understand the legal documents needed to do so successfully, say Daniel Bell-Garcia and Tristan Kaisharis at Winstead.

  • Reducing Risk While DOJ Plans New Whistleblower Rewards

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    In light of the Department of Justice's newly announced plan to create a comprehensive whistleblower reward program to fill the gaps in the current patchwork of federal incentives, companies should mitigate their risk of external claims now by implementing internal systems where employees can confidently and anonymously report concerns, say Caleb Hayes-Deats and Walter Hawes at MoloLamken.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • How Activision Ruling Favors M&A Formalities Over Practice

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent nod to a proposed class action, alleging shareholder notice violations in Activision Blizzard’s sale to Microsoft, puts practitioners on notice that customary merger and acquisition market practices do not offer protection from potential liability, say John Stigi and Eugene Choi at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Takeaways From The 2023 DOJ Fraud Section Report

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    Attorneys at Wiley discuss notable trends from the U.S. Department of Justice's recently reported Fraud Section activity last year and highlight areas of enforcement to watch for in the future, including healthcare fraud and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.

  • How New SEC Rule May Turn DeFi Participants Into 'Dealers'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced a new rule to amend its definition of a securities "dealer," but the change could have concerning implications for decentralized finance and blockchain, as the SEC has suggested it may subject DeFi participants to registration requirements and other regulations, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

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