Analysis

SEC Eases Path For Crypto ETPs With New Listing Rules

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has eased a key part of the listing process for crypto exchange-traded products, and attorneys say the move may create a shorter path to market for years to come.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Demand DOJ Explain Binance Plea Deal Compliance

By Sarah Jarvis

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and two of her Democratic colleagues have asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for information on Binance's compliance with its 2023 plea agreement stemming from anti-money laundering lapses, pointing to President Donald Trump's ties to the crypto exchange.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Crypto Promoter Gets Prison For $14M Forcount Fraud

By Stewart Bishop

A Manhattan federal judge Thursday sentenced a promoter of the fake cryptocurrency outfit Forcount Trader Systems Inc. to a year and a day in prison for his role in a $14 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme that defrauded thousands of primarily Spanish-speaking investors around the globe.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tech Funds Sue Crypto Data Co. Over 'Pay-to-Play' Deal

By Benjamin Morse

Digital asset data firm Lukka Inc. has been sued in Delaware's Chancery Court by two London-based investment funds seeking to halt the firm's "pay-to-play" financing scheme they say would strip away their rights and senior equity position.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Asks High Court To Let Him Remove Fed's Cook

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to allow him to move forward with firing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook, escalating a fight over presidential removal power that will test the boundaries of the central bank's traditional independence.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senate Confirms Squires To Lead USPTO

By Dani Kass

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Dilworth Paxson LLP partner John Squires to serve as the next U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

5th Circ. Won't Rehear Crypto Exec's IRS Summons Case

By Anna Scott Farrell

The Fifth Circuit stood by its decision not to quash an IRS summons for a cryptocurrency executive's bank records, rejecting his request to reconsider its finding that he must wait until the federal government decides whether to bring legal proceedings against him before challenging a lower court's ruling.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trading Adviser, Convicted Owner Hit With $2.8M CFTC Fine

By Phillip Bantz

A commodity trading adviser and pool operator who pled guilty in Florida federal court to orchestrating a novel cryptocurrency-related scheme to cheat investors has agreed to pay more than $2.8 million as part of a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Virtual CFO' To Internet Scammers Gets 4 Years

By Emilie Ruscoe

A Rhode Island man who copped to money laundering and obstructing justice in connection with claims his "virtual CFO" business helped internet fraudsters launder over $35 million was sentenced to four years behind bars, Boston prosecutors have announced.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AMG Must Face $85M Fintech Collapse Suit, Customers Say

By Sydney Price

Account holders and customers of fintech platforms urged a Colorado federal judge Wednesday to reject AMG National Trust Bank's bid to exit litigation attempting to hold it liable for monetary losses related to the collapse of fintech middleman Synapse, arguing AMG's motion is based on faulty data from a consulting group.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. To Weigh EFTA's Scope In NY's Citi Wire Fraud Case

By Katryna Perera

The Second Circuit has granted Citibank's request for an appeal in its fight with New York Attorney General Letitia James over the bank's response to incidents of online wire transfer fraud, agreeing to review whether key federal consumer protections for electronic payments apply to wire transfers initiated over the internet.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sports Group Brera Raises $300M To Launch Solana Treasury

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Irish sports ownership holding company Brera Holdings, led by Lowenstein Sandler LLP, on Thursday announced that it plans to rebrand as a digital asset treasury company called Solmate following a $300 million private fundraise.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SafeMoon Ch. 7 Trustee Pitches $12M Settlement

By Emlyn Cameron

Cryptocurrency asset company SafeMoon US LLC's Chapter 7 trustee has asked a Utah bankruptcy judge to approve a settlement for a class action alleging the company defrauded investors, saying the deal to pay plaintiffs at least $12 million is fair and wise.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Firms Look To Drop Shareholder Client Sapien In Linqto Ch. 11

By Clara Geoghegan

Lawyers for Sapien Group, a shareholder that has taken an active role in investment platform Linqto's Chapter 11 in Texas, have asked to withdraw from the case — saying their client has not paid outstanding legal bills.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Earned Wage Access Providers Face State Law Labyrinth

At least 12 states have established laws or rules regulating services that allow employees to access earned wages before payday, with more laws potentially to follow suit, creating an evolving state licensing maze even for fintech providers that partner with banks, say attorneys at Venable.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

9th Circ. Ruling Leaves SEC Gag Rule Open To Future Attacks

Though the Ninth Circuit's recent ruling in Powell v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leaves the SEC's no-admit, no-deny rule intact, it could provide some fodder for litigants who wish to criticize the commission's activities either before or after settling with the commission, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Writing Musicals Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experiences with writing musicals and practicing law have shown that the building blocks for both endeavors are one and the same, because drama is necessary for the law to exist, says Addison O’Donnell at LOIS Law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Bar Escapes Class Claims Over Girardi Case

By Emily Sawicki

A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a proposed class action brought against the State Bar of California accusing the agency and its former leadership of mishandling its investigation into former celebrity attorney Tom Girardi, who was convicted of swindling clients, after plaintiffs seemingly abandoned the case.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Under Trump, Hiring Immigration Lawyers Is Often Impossible

By Daniel Connolly

As the Trump administration follows through on campaign promises to arrest and deport millions, immigrants are increasingly finding that hiring an immigration lawyer is impossible. And without lawyers, they usually lose, no matter how strong their case is.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hagens Berman Seeks To Limit Sanctions For AI Mistakes

By Jack Karp

A Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP partner should face only limited sanctions and the firm shouldn't be sanctioned at all over a contract attorney's use of artificial intelligence to generate legal briefs in a proposed class action against online platform OnlyFans since its attorneys did not act in bad faith, the firm told a California federal judge.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pro Bono Spotlight

HSF Kramer, Brown Goldstein Exonerate Man For '90s Murder

By Jack Rodgers

Earlier this year, Tyrone Jones finally closed the book on his 1999 conviction for conspiracy to commit murder, proving his innocence and receiving a nearly $1 million award from a Maryland administrative law judge. His exoneration was decades in the making, and required his attorneys from HSF Kramer and Brown Goldstein to not just dig up new evidence but convince lawmakers to update a state law.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nevada Trust Accuses Texas Firms Of $9M Crypto Scheme

By Tom Lotshaw

A Nevada-based trustee accused a Texas law firm and various other companies and residents of the Lone Star State, Wyoming and Florida of carrying out an "audacious, multi-layered scheme" to steal $9 million meant to be used for Bitcoin trades.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sirva Sues Ex-General Counsel Over $2.6M Fund Transfers

By Rose Krebs

Moving giant Sirva has sued the ex-general counsel of a predecessor company, seeking a declaration from a New Jersey federal court that it is the rightful owner of $2.6 million in funds it says the lawyer sent to a bank account he controls for an investment entity.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Firm Says Newsmax Wants 'Haircut' On Fees In Dominion Suit

By Julie Manganis

Todd & Weld LLP said Newsmax has refused to pay outstanding billings for the Boston-based boutique's work in defending the cable news channel from a Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DNA Phenotyping May Help Police, Or Spur Racial 'Dragnets'

By Jack Karp

Law enforcement says the relatively new science of using DNA to generate an estimation of a person's physical appearance is a powerful tool that can help lead police to suspects, but critics of the practice warn that the still-untested technology will lead to racial profiling.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bankruptcy Firm Fined, Banned For 3 Years Over Disclosures

By Clara Geoghegan

A Michigan bankruptcy judge has hit Recovery Law Group, a national consumer bankruptcy law firm, with a fine of about $392,000 and a three-year ban on bringing insolvency cases in the Eastern District of Michigan, finding it violated fee disclosure requirements in 220 cases.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ICE Leaders Sued For Calif. Court Arrests, Custody Conditions

By Tom Lotshaw

A class action complaint filed Thursday accused Trump administration officials of turning Northern California's immigration courts into "a trap" where masked agents ambush and needlessly arrest immigrants who must then endure squalid conditions in a makeshift San Francisco holding facility.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Bar Must Conduct Bondi Ethics Probe, State Justices Told

By Madison Arnold

An attorney has doubled down on his attempt to force the Florida Bar into investigating U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for alleged unethical conduct, arguing to the state Supreme Court that the bar has a clear legal duty to do so.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DA In Gilgo Beach Killings Case Talks Advances In DNA Use

By Elizabeth Daley

Law360 sat down with Suffolk County, New York, District Attorney Ray Tierney, who is prosecuting architect Rex Heuermann on charges that he murdered seven women on Long Island, to discuss the use of a newer form of DNA testing that has passed rigorous admissibility standards for the first time, among other aspects of the case.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Off The Bench

Off The Bench: Briefings On Trans Ban, New Kalshi Conflicts

By David Steele

In this week's Off The Bench, the U.S. Supreme Court receives initial briefs from West Virginia and Idaho regarding their bans on gender identity-based participation in school sports, Kalshi is taken to court by another state over its event contract offerings, and Washington, D.C.'s National Football League team takes a major step toward returning to its namesake city.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Former Immigration Judge's Bias Suit Gets Trimmed In Fla.

By Madison Arnold

A Florida federal judge has trimmed multiple counts from a former immigration judge's discrimination lawsuit, finding that she failed to back up her bias claims.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lawmakers' Exit Puts Court, Judicial Security Funds In Limbo

By Courtney Bublé

Congress left for recess Friday afternoon after the Senate failed to pass a stopgap spending measure that includes funds for judicial security and the courts.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

USPTO's Top Solicitors To Leave Amid Continued Shake-Ups

By Theresa Schliep

The legal department at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is facing some shake-ups, with two of its top officials slated to leave the agency in the coming weeks.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Treasury Launches Stablecoin Rule Push With Call For Input

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday asked for public input on key regulatory considerations for stablecoins as it begins crafting rules to govern the stable-value crypto tokens under the recently signed Genius Act.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen brokerage firm ADS Securities file a fresh claim against German entrepreneur Lars Windhorst, AmTrust and Endurance Worldwide Insurance tackle an ongoing £50 million ($67 million) dispute over a failed litigation and insurance scheme, and Howard Kennedy LLP sue the son of a diamond tycoon over a £3.1 million legal bill. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The SEC issued a policy statement that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies, but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions. Meanwhile, a wrongful death suit claiming that ChatGPT aided in a teenager's suicide is set to be a high-stakes test of the responsibilities that AI firms will have toward vulnerable users. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Agnifilo Intrater LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a New York judge threw out the top two charges against Luigi Mangione concerning allegations he killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »