Overall
Key cases
Industries
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Corporate
Practice Areas
Securities
-
May 16, 2013
Wells Fargo Can't Shake Suit Over Conflict As RMBS Trustee
A Colorado federal judge on Wednesday allowed most claims to continue in a hedge fund's lawsuit alleging that Wells Fargo NA breached its responsibilities as both a trustee and a servicer for certain residential mortgage-backed securities, costing the fund millions of dollars in losses.
-
May 16, 2013
AIG Docs In $46M SEC Case Stay Secret, Judge Rules
A Washington federal court on Thursday blocked a journalist’s access to confidential reports on American International Group Inc.'s accounting practices that were ordered as part of a $46 million settlement with securities regulators in 2004, saying a recent appeals court ruling had closed the issue.
-
May 16, 2013
Fla. Law Firm Lands Banking, Securities Pro In Tampa
Florida law firm Saxon Gilmore Carraway & Gibbons PA recently announced it has landed a banking and securities litigation partner formerly of Trenam Kemker to join its Tampa office.
-
May 16, 2013
11th Circ. Won't Let Fraudsters Off Hook For $18M Scheme
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday dismissed appeals by the owner and office manager of a fraudulent investment firm, who had spent $18 million they collected from investors on spas, cars and office expenses, ruling that trial testimony didn't amount to conjecture about their states of mind.
-
May 16, 2013
Q&A With Foley & Lardner's Joe Edmondson
The language in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's Letters of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent could easily be changed to be more like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s settlement language, says Joseph Edmondson, a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP specializing in securities litigation.
-
May 16, 2013
Glencore Tightens Hold On Merged Co. As Xstrata Execs Axed
Glencore PLC tightened control over its newly expanded commodities empire on Thursday as shareholders voted out legacy directors from Xstrata PLC, whose grueling $33 billion tie-up with Glencore — billed as a merger of equals — closed just two weeks ago.
-
May 16, 2013
SEC Chairman White Disses GOP Cost-Benefit Bill
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White told U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers Thursday she opposes a GOP-sponsored bill that would force the agency to more closely scrutinize the costs and benefits of its rules.
-
May 16, 2013
Wells Fargo Dodges Claim In $13M RE Investor Suit
A Nevada federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a claim of unauthorized mortgage banker activity in a suit filed against Wells Fargo Bank NA by a group of real estate investors that put $13.4 million into properties owned by a convicted Ponzi schemer, ruling that the claim was preempted by federal law.
-
May 16, 2013
BofA Wants To Keep $10.5B RMBS Suit In Federal Court
Bank of America NA on Wednesday pressed a New York federal judge to reject American International Group Inc.'s motion to move a $10.5 billion lawsuit over residential mortgage-backed securities to state court, arguing that remanding the case would dangerously split the case between federal and state courts and would adversely affect certain bankruptcy proceedings.
-
May 16, 2013
Deals Rumor Mill: Marine Harvest, Actavis, Elliott Management
Marine Harvest could ratchet up its bid for rival fish farmer Cermaq past the current $1.7 billion mark if the target company agrees to make certain concessions in the deal, while activist hedge fund Elliott Management continues on its tear this proxy season with new plans to shake up yet another company.
-
May 16, 2013
Hess Makes 11th-Hour Deal To End Elliott Proxy Fight
Hess Corp. will add three directors nominated by Elliott Management Corp. and six new independent directors, ending a long-running proxy contest just hours before Thursday's shareholder vote after the early tally showed Elliott's slate in the lead.
-
May 15, 2013
CSC Strikes $97.5M Deal In Suit Over Contracting Cover-Up
Computer Sciences Corp. has reached a $97.5 million settlement with a class of shareholders alleging CSC's stock price fell due to revelations that it hid accounting irregularities related to a $5.4 billion contract with Britain's National Health Service, according to a Wednesday court filing.
-
May 15, 2013
9th Circ. Remands Atty Fee Award In Davis Wright Fraud Case
Attorneys for investors on Wednesday won their bid for reconsideration of an award of $231,000 for their work on a class action against Davis Wright Tremaine LLP when the Ninth Circuit ruled a judge had not explained how he calculated the number.
-
May 15, 2013
Businessman Denies Blocking FCPA Probe Into Mining Co.
A French businessman linked to BSG Resources Ltd. pled not guilty Wednesday to charges that he obstructed a U.S. investigation into bribes the mining company allegedly paid to secure mining rights in Guinea.
-
May 15, 2013
Shearman Snags 3 Weil Attorneys For London PE Team
Shearman & Sterling has nabbed three partners from Weil Gotschal & Manges for its private equity team in London, including two merger and acquisition whizzes and an investment expert, the firm announced Wednesday.
-
May 15, 2013
Fitch Questions Seagram Building Loan's AAA Rating
Fitch Ratings Inc. expressed concern Monday about the AAA rating that other ratings agencies gave a commercial mortgage-backed securities loan used to finance the iconic Seagram Building in Manhattan, saying the building's estimated income had been inflated and could be at risk for default.
-
May 15, 2013
No Market Check? No Problem
A Delaware judge effectively blessed the sale of Plains Exploration & Production Co. last week even though Plains never looked for a higher bid — a reminder that boards have a lot of leeway in crafting an arms-length deal, even if shareholders don't like it, attorneys say.
-
May 15, 2013
Wall Street To FCPA Enforcers: Bring It On
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutors have Wall Street in their crosshairs after suing two traders at New York broker-dealer Direct Access Partners LLC last week, but experts say the hyper-vigilant industry is ready for any clampdown.
-
May 15, 2013
Obama's 1st Term Rulemaking Rate Soars By Bush's Mark
President Barack Obama has pushed through a significantly higher number of major rules over the last four years than former President George W. Bush did during his own first term, according to a report by the research arm of Congress.
-
May 15, 2013
Q&A With Burr & Forman's Thomas Potter
Electronically stored information is a boon to productivity but a bane in investigations and litigation/enforcement, creating additional layers of costs and issues for all involved, says Thomas Potter, a partner with Burr & Forman LLP specializing in securities disputes and panel chairman for the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority.
Expert Analysis
-
What Does Cooperation Buy You?
Does cooperating really provide insider trading defendants with tangible benefits? Based on our analysis of cases in the past three years, cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York yields significant benefit — cooperators on average received lower overall sentences than noncooperators, say attorneys with Morrison & Foerster LLP.
-
A Path To Capital Markets For Private Entities
Rule 144A for life offerings allow private entities to enjoy many of the benefits that accrue to publicly listed entities by borrowing funds through U.S. capital market offerings without subjecting the private entity to periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or having its top executive officers attest quarterly to the adequacy of disclosure controls, says Richard Roth of Jackson Walker LLP.
-
Impact Of JOBS Act On 3rd-Party Marketers
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act that was enacted on April 5, 2012, will likely change the business of third-party marketers by expanding the scope of permitted promotional activities in connection with offering investments in hedge and private equity funds, says Richard Morris of Herrick Feinstein LLP.
-
How Lawyers Benefit From Early Neutral Evaluation
Early neutral evaluation usually asks a retired judge to consider one party’s case, as if preparing to rule on summary judgment or presiding over a bench trial. Effective evaluation can supply a reality check on a case — it gives the lawyer the gift of seeing the case as others see it, says James Rosenbaum, a panelist with JAMS and former U.S. district judge for the District of Minnesota.
-
The Fact Pattern Behind The Boeing Class Action Grounding
Defense counsel no doubt will be emboldened by the Seventh Circuit’s affirmation of the dismissal of a securities class action against Boeing in light of baseless confidential witness allegations. Simple themes emerge from this and similar cases, says Bryan House of Foley & Lardner LLP.
-
A Narrow Interpretation Of Section 546(e)
The approach by the Northern District of Illinois in Grede v. FCStone LLC represents a departure from the Second Circuit’s approach in Enron Creditors Recovery Corp. v. Alfa SAB de CV, in which the court of appeals broadly interpreted the language of Bankruptcy Code section 546(e) to protect a transaction that did not involve the traditional purchase or sale of securities, albeit under a distinguishable set of facts, says Matthew Kremer of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP.
-
Global Securities Enforcement: The Playbook Keeps Changing
There has been a marked increase in global securities enforcement activities by regulators in the U.S., U.K., Canada and the EU. Continued cooperation and coordination in enforcement activities will be required to seamlessly address the desire to strengthen global regulatory initiatives aimed at harmonizing and centralizing international securities regulation to create safer, more fundamentally sound financial markets for investors, say attorneys with Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
-
Rule 12(e): What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing
The recent evolution of case law governing the standard for Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss reveals that Rule 12(e) serves no practical purpose in modern pleading practice, says Nathan Kipp of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
-
Litigation Support At A Crossroads
Despite recession-driven cost pressures that have resulted in the downsizing of nonlawyer personnel at law firms, many litigation support departments are growing. In a recent survey, half of respondents indicated that their function has grown in size in the past three years, and more than half of respondents indicated that current staffing levels are inadequate for the projected needs of the coming year, say experts at Epiq Systems and Georgetown University Law Center.
-
The Business End Of Supreme Court's Current Term
This term marks a continuation of the Roberts court trend of close attention to business issues. From affirmative action and class actions to tort litigation, government enforcement and intellectual property, almost one half of this term’s argued cases are of interest to the business community, say Cliff Sloan and David Foster of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.