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Asset Management
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April 10, 2024
9th Circ. Doubts Calif.'s Standing In DOL Union Transit Fight
The Ninth Circuit appeared open Wednesday to restoring the U.S. Department of Labor's power to deny California transit funding because of a perceived conflict between state pension law and bargaining rights, focusing on the state's standing in a dispute that began between the DOL and a union.
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April 10, 2024
Former X Worker Can't Force Doc Release In Bonus Suit
A California federal judge refused to grant an ex-worker's request that the court decide whether X Corp. must provide employee bonus-related documents to its former chief financial officer before he sits for a deposition, chiding the former worker for not filing a proper request.
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April 10, 2024
6th Circ. Says Firm Owes Insurer Part Of Defense Bill
A financial advisory firm's professional liability insurer had no duty to defend the company in underlying securities suits after underlying plaintiffs removed their common law violations, the Sixth Circuit ruled, further allowing the insurer to be reimbursed for some of its defense costs.
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April 10, 2024
NYSE Seeks To Provide SPACs More Time To Close Mergers
A New York Stock Exchange proposal would provide special-purpose acquisition companies with six more months to complete mergers while remaining listed — assuming relevant parties have signed a definitive agreement before a three-year deadline — potentially providing market participants more flexibility to close deals.
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April 10, 2024
Class Attys Seek Big Payday For $100M Pattern Energy Deal
Class attorneys are urging the Delaware Chancery Court to approve a $100 million settlement to end state and federal court litigation over Pattern Energy Group Inc.'s $6.1 billion go-private sale in 2020 and award them $26 million in fees for a deal they say is the largest of its kind in the Chancery's history.
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April 10, 2024
IRS' DOJ Referral Rules 'A Disaster,' Sen. Whitehouse Says
The IRS protocols for referring cases to the U.S. Department of Justice are "a disaster" for enforcing laws against bankers and other actors who help U.S. taxpayers evade taxes, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Wednesday during a hearing on offshore tax evasion before the Senate Budget Committee.
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April 10, 2024
Ex-BigLaw Atty In OneCoin Scam A Flight Risk, Feds Say
A former Locke Lord LLP partner who was convicted of laundering proceeds from the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam has "every incentive" to flee the country, prosecutors told a New York federal judge, arguing he shouldn't be allowed to stay out on bail while his appeal is pending.
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April 10, 2024
Blackwells Unveils Takeover Plans For Hospitality REIT
Blackwells Capital told Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. investors on Wednesday that its intention to take the reins of the real estate investment trust's board of directors is necessary to stop a manager from "milking" the company for all it's worth.
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April 10, 2024
Kirkland-Led Lone View Secures $850M For Inaugural Fund
Growth-oriented private equity shop Lone View Capital, advised by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on Wednesday announced that it clinched its inaugural fund after raising $850 million from investors, bringing the firm's total assets under management to roughly $1.1 billion.
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April 10, 2024
PCAOB Fines KPMG, Deloitte Units $27M For Cheating Claims
KPMG Netherlands and two Deloitte units will pay a combined $27 million to settle allegations from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of widespread answer sharing in their internal training programs, with KPMG's $25 million penalty marking the largest fine PCAOB has ever imposed.
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April 10, 2024
Macy's, Activist Firm End Board Fight, Takeover Talks Proceed
Macy's and activist investment firm Arkhouse Management Co. said Wednesday they have settled their proxy dispute by appointing two independent directors to the retailer's board, paving the way for further negotiations regarding a prior $6.6 billion acquisition proposal submitted by Arkhouse and Brigade Capital Management LP.
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April 09, 2024
Prime Healthcare Lacked Oversight Of 401(k) Plan, Judge Told
An attorney who specializes in Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation testified on Tuesday as the first witness in a California bench trial for two certified classes claiming Prime Healthcare Services Inc. poorly managed their 401(k) plans, and said the company's oversight of its investment committee was "almost a dereliction of duty."
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April 09, 2024
Carpenters Urge 9th Circ. To Restart Union Retirement Fight
A group of carpenters urged the Ninth Circuit to revive allegations that their union's retirement plan trustees played fast and loose with their savings, saying Tuesday that the trustees should face claims that their risky investment choices caused two retirement plans to plummet in value when the pandemic hit.
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April 09, 2024
Fintech Investment Biz To Go Public Via $700M SPAC Merger
Financial technology investment platform Linqto Inc., advised by Lowenstein Sandler LLP, on Tuesday unveiled plans to go public through a merger with blank-check company Blockchain Coinvestors Acquisition Corp. I, advised by Seward & Kissel LLP, in a deal valued at $700 million.
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April 09, 2024
Crypto Mining CEO's Asset Freeze Fight Axed At 11th Circ.
An Eleventh Circuit panel has rejected a bid to lift an asset freeze by a man accused of running a crypto mining scheme, ruling U.S. financial industry regulators did not have to formally serve him before asking a court to block activity in his financial accounts.
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April 09, 2024
House GOP To Air Measure Rejecting SEC Climate Rule
The U.S. House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday morning addressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, where a leading Republican member of the committee is expected to put forth a resolution that would nullify the rules.
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April 09, 2024
Judges Question Georgetown Staff's Standing In ERISA Row
D.C. Circuit judges questioned the standing of Georgetown University employees suing over alleged mismanagement of their retirement accounts, with one judge repeatedly telling the plaintiffs' attorney Tuesday that he should re-read a foundational case on the issue.
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April 09, 2024
Boies Schiller Attys Face Sanctions Bid Over Epstein Suit
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP's chairman and a co-managing partner are facing a sanctions bid from associates of billionaire and sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein for filing a proposed class action against them despite the attorneys' clients previously signing releases of liability to receive victim compensation.
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April 09, 2024
PBGC Gets $127M Overpayment Back From Teamsters Fund
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has recovered nearly $127 million mistakenly allotted to dead Teamsters pensioners in a bailout of multiemployer retirement plans approved during the pandemic, the federal government said.
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April 09, 2024
Blue Owl Targets Real Estate Finance After $170M Prima Buy
Asset manager Blue Owl Capital Inc. on Tuesday unveiled plans to launch a real estate finance strategy following its $170 million purchase of real estate lender Prima Capital Advisors in a deal crafted by three firms, marking the firm's second acquisition in two weeks meant to broaden its service offerings.
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April 09, 2024
7th Circ. Allows Casino Workers To Appeal Class Cert. Denial
The Seventh Circuit granted Casino Queen workers' request to immediately challenge a trial court's refusal to certify a class in their suit alleging that company executives charged their employee stock ownership plan $170 million for shares that ended up being worthless.
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April 09, 2024
Venezuelan Oil Co. Gets $2B Bond Fraud Suit Nixed In NY
A New York federal judge has nixed VR Capital's lawsuit accusing Venezuela's state-owned oil company of fraud in connection with its issuance of some $2 billion in since-defaulted bonds, ruling that the asset manager couldn't prove that PDVSA had never intended to repay the bonds.
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April 08, 2024
W.Va. Blocks Citi, HSBC, Others Over Fossil Fuel 'Boycotts'
West Virginia's state treasurer announced Monday that Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, TD Bank NA and The Northern Trust Co. are ineligible for state banking contracts, finding they boycott fossil fuel companies under a Mountain State law, while two other banks escaped such a designation.
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April 08, 2024
Oppenheimer Beats FINRA Arbitration Bid By Ponzi Victims
Financial services company Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. has blocked a bid by investors seeking to arbitrate claims before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority that attempted to keep the company on the hook for a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a former Oppenheimer-registered broker.
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April 08, 2024
Southwest Gas Unit Centuri Eyes Spinoff Through $242M IPO
Southwest Gas Holdings Inc.'s infrastructure services unit Centuri Holdings Inc. on Monday unveiled terms for an estimated $242 million initial public offering that would lead to Centuri becoming a standalone public company, represented by Morrison Foerster LLP and underwriters' counsel Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
Expert Analysis
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A Breakdown Of The OCC's New Venture Lending Pointers
In light of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent bulletin outlining venture lending risks for banks, Matt Schwartz and Jeffrey Hare at DLA Piper highlight key considerations for both lenders and venture-backed companies seeking or maintaining loans from OCC-regulated national banks and federal thrifts.
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Crypto, Audit Cases Dominate SEC's Enforcement Focus In '23
Attorneys at Covington examine the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's fiscal year 2023 enforcement results, which marked the SEC's third consecutive year of increasing enforcement activity since Chair Gary Gensler took over in 2021 — this time driven by a focus on combating cryptocurrency-related scams and enforcing recordkeeping compliance.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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5 Steps To Meet CFTC Remediation Expectations
After the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently updated its enforcement policies, organizations should implement elements of effective remediation — from root-cause analyses to design effectiveness tests — to mitigate the risk of penalties and third-party oversight, say Jonny Frank and Chris Hoyle at StoneTurn Group.
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An Informed Guide To Mastering Retirement Plan Forfeitures
When considering how to allocate departing retirement plan participants’ forfeitures, sponsors should consider recently filed lawsuits that allege Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations for using such funds to offset employer contributions, as well as proposed IRS guidance concerning how and when they must be used, says Eric Gregory at Dickinson Wright.
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Asserting 'Presence-Of-Counsel' Defense In Securities Trials
As illustrated by the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, defense attorneys in securities trials might consider arguing that counsel had some involvement in the conduct at issue — if the more formal advice-of-counsel defense is unavailable and circumstances allow for a privilege waiver, say Joseph Dever and Matthew Elkin at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Mexico
ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.
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Crypto Has Democratized Trading In Bankruptcy Claims
Following the pandemic, there has been a wave of cryptocurrency bankruptcies and a related increase in access to information, allowing nontraditional bankruptcy investors to purchase claims and democratizing a once closed segment of alternative investing, says Joseph Sarachek at Strategic Liquidity.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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What SEC Retreat In Ripple Case Means For Crypto Regulation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has chosen a regulation-by-enforcement approach to cryptocurrency policy rather than through rulemaking, but the agency's recently aborted enforcement action against two Ripple Labs executives for alleged securities law violations demonstrates the limits of this piecemeal tactic, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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SEC Whistleblower Action Spotlights Risks For Private Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent whistleblower action against Monolith Resources holds important implications for private companies, who could face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny amid the agency's efforts to beef up environmental, social and governance reporting and enforcement, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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DOL's Retirement Security Rule Muddies Definitional Waters
The latest proposal changing how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act defines "investment advice," which the White House framed as a narrowly tailored regulation, would implement a sweeping regulatory overhaul that changes how the retirement services industry interacts with plans, participants and account owners, says Michael Kreps at Groom Law Group.
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A Deep Dive Into FSOC's Expansion Of Nonbank Oversight
The Financial Stability Oversight Council's new nonbank guidance, designed to provide the council with added flexibility in risk response, not only modifies the process for designating nonbanks as systemically important institutions, but also sends a clear signal that the FSOC may assume a more active role in addressing financial stability risks across the economy, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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9th Circ. ERISA Ruling Informs DOL's New Fiduciary Proposal
The Ninth Circuit's reasoning in its recent Bugielski v. AT&T decision illustrates the importance of the U.S. Department of Labor's proposals to expand the reach of Employee Retirement Income Security Act third-party compensation disclosure rules and their effect on investment adviser fiduciaries, says Jeff Mamorsky at Cohen & Buckmann.