Securities

  • August 26, 2024

    Biotech Investor Sues In Chancery Over Alleged IP Diversions

    A private equity investor in biotech Vividion Therapeutics Inc., recently acquired by Bayer Corp. for up to $2 billion, sued the company's co-founder and others in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday, accusing them of secretly diverting to another company intellectual property worth "hundreds of millions, if not billions."

  • August 26, 2024

    Semiconductor Co. Overstated Recovery, Investors Say

    Semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics did not have the visibility it claimed to have to predict future growth in its core segments, leading it to make several false representations to shareholders, according to two investor suits filed in New York federal court.

  • August 26, 2024

    Fox Rothschild Lands Condo Team From Armstrong Teasdale

    A team of 10 real estate attorneys from Armstrong Teasdale LLP have jumped to Fox Rothschild LLP, where they'll form the core of a new practice, the firm said Monday.

  • August 26, 2024

    Shareholder Attys Get $11M For Taro Price-Fixing Deal

    Bernstein Liebhard LLP will receive approximately $11 million for securing a $36 million settlement in a shareholder suit against Taro Pharmaceutical Industries, which claims Taro lied about alleged price-fixing that led to a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation and subsequent stock price drop.

  • August 26, 2024

    JPMorgan Cash Sweep 'Shortchanged' Customers, Suit Says

    JPMorgan Chase has been hit with a proposed class action in New York federal court alleging its securities branch "shortchanged" customers by automatically "sweeping" their uninvested cash balances into deposit accounts at its affiliate, Chase Bank.

  • August 26, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Last week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, Boeing accused shareholders of using a new pressure tactic, Cantor Fitzgerald struck a $12 million deal, and a vice chancellor dealt with zombie companies. New cases involved displaced Pacific Islanders and an insurance customer acquisition platform. In case you missed it, here's a roundup of news from the Chancery Court.

  • August 24, 2024

    Italian Prosecutors Open Criminal Probe Into Yacht Sinking

    Italian prosecutors said Saturday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the sinking of a superyacht that claimed the lives of seven people including a partner at Clifford Chance LLP and his client, British technology mogul Mike Lynch.

  • August 23, 2024

    FDIC Says Ex-Lender Can't Have 3rd Bite At In-House Apple

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday urged a Washington, D.C., federal judge to reject a former small-business financier's bid to immediately halt an agency enforcement proceeding against him, saying a key recent U.S. Supreme Court decision doesn't apply to his case.

  • August 23, 2024

    Kraken Must Face SEC's Crypto Case Over Platform Sales

    A California federal judge on Friday denied a bid by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to ditch a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement suit, finding the regulator plausibly alleged that "at least some" of the digital currency transactions on Kraken's online platform constitute investment contracts.

  • August 23, 2024

    SEC Awards Nearly $100M To 2 Whistleblowers

    Two whistleblowers will receive more than $98 million for providing information the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission used to carry out an enforcement action, the agency said Friday.

  • August 23, 2024

    PE Fund Says SEC Is Overstepping With 'Fishing Expedition'

    A large South Carolina private equity fund has sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly overstepping its authority by trying to regulate the business' activities through an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" investigation that threatens the building of thousands of housing units.

  • August 23, 2024

    Crypto Founder Says SEC 'Twists' Claims To Make Suit Stick

    The cryptocurrency founder accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of misappropriating $12 million in customer assets from an alleged billion dollars in unregistered crypto securities offerings told a Brooklyn federal judge that the regulator "twists its timelines" to tie his conduct to the U.S.

  • August 23, 2024

    Ex-Exec Can't Reverse Medtronic Insider Trading Conviction

    A Minnesota federal judge on Friday declined to overturn fraud convictions against a former executive of a medical robotics firm, finding the insider tips he provided to a friend ahead of Medtronic's $1.6 billion acquisition of his company were not speculative.

  • August 23, 2024

    Hong Kong Relaxes Listing Rules For Tech Startups, SPACs

    Hoping to spur more investment into emerging businesses amid a dry spell, Hong Kong's securities watchdog and stock exchange leaders on Friday unveiled relaxed listing rules for technology startups and eased requirements needed to clear mergers involving special purpose acquisition companies.

  • August 23, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Says Ponzi Schemes Don't Need Proof Of Intent

    A split Ninth Circuit panel affirmed Friday a jury's finding in a fraudulent-transfer fight that a now-bankrupt company was a Ponzi scheme, with the majority writing that jurors didn't need to find an intent to defraud, while a dissenting judge slammed the majority's reasoning as "circular."

  • August 23, 2024

    Conn. Adviser Wants FINRA Complaint Records Deleted

    An investment adviser has sued the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in Connecticut state court, saying a complaint on his FINRA registration record is not valid and should be removed because, after filing it, the customers who complained realized they were in error and withdrew the complaint.

  • August 23, 2024

    CFTC Says Gemini's Appeal Bid Wouldn't Nix Need For Trial

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has told a New York federal judge that even if the Second Circuit found crypto exchange Gemini Trust Co. didn't have ultimate responsibility over allegedly misleading statements about a proposed bitcoin futures contract, there would still be disputed facts requiring a trial.

  • August 23, 2024

    Cantor, Lutnick OK $12M Deal To End View Inc. Suit In Del.

    Cantor Fitzgerald LP and its billionaire Chair and CEO Howard Lutnick on Thursday agreed to a $12 million settlement to resolve stockholder challenges to a special purpose acquisition company transaction that took window company View Inc. public, with a Delaware Court of Chancery hearing set for Dec. 6.

  • August 23, 2024

    Insurance Software Co. Probe, Insider Sales Prompt Del. Suit

    A MediaAlpha Inc. stockholder sued in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Thursday for access to the insurance marketing platform developer's books and records, pointing to stock sales by the company's two controlling investors that allegedly allowed them to avoid $66 million in stock drop losses.

  • August 23, 2024

    Texas City Can't Avoid Improvement District Bond Payments

    A Texas appeals court has affirmed a Dallas specialty finance company's win over the city of Hutto, finding this week that the finance company made valid transactions despite the city's protests that the bonds at issue weren't valid under state law.

  • August 23, 2024

    SPAC Investors Ask Full 9th Circ. To Rethink Lucid Merger

    Investors have urged the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a panel's refusal to revive their proposed class action alleging that Lucid duped them into buying stock in a special purpose acquisition company ahead of the electric vehicle maker's $11.75 billion merger, arguing that the panel's holding misconstrues U.S. Supreme Court precedent, among other issues.

  • August 23, 2024

    Wachtell Reps As MLB's Braves Announce Executive Shakeup

    The parent company of the Atlanta Braves on Friday announced that Chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk will have increased voting power, representing a major shift in control after Liberty Media Corp. split off from the MLB team and its associated real estate development company in November 2022 to become a separate publicly traded entity.

  • August 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Rebuffs Crypto Law Firm's Bid To Revive SEC Suit

    A Ninth Circuit appeals panel said Thursday that a California federal judge was right to toss a crypto-focused law firm's preemptive challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since the firm failed to show it faced any "realistic danger" of catching an enforcement case over its use of the ethereum network.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ex-MiMedx Sales Rep Says Fraud Schemes Pushed Her Out

    A former employee of controversial biotech firm MiMedx who was sued for joining a competitor earlier this year hit the company back with a counterclaim Tuesday charging that she was forced out for refusing to go along with the company's alleged flouting of U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations and rampant overbilling schemes.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ex-Morgan Stanley Representative Concedes SEC Suit

    A former Morgan Stanley representative who was criminally convicted in a $4.8 million Ponzi scheme has conceded in a suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying he agrees with the agency that judgment should be issued against him.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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.

  • Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals

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    In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits

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    Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    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.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    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.

  • Takeaways From SEC's New Data Breach Amendments

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent amendment of its consumer privacy rules to require investment advisers and broker-dealers to put procedures in place to uncover data breaches and report them to customers evidences that protecting client records and information remains an SEC priority, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    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.

  • NY Ruling Paves A Court Payment Shortcut For More Creditors

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    A recent New York state appeals court ruling expands access to an expedited statutory procedure for court enforcement of promissory notes or unconditional guaranties, allowing more creditors to minimize the risk of potentially challenging litigation on threshold issues, says Alexander Levi at Friedman Kaplan.

  • 9th Circ. COVID 'Cure' Case Shows Perks Of Puffery Defense

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    The Ninth Circuit's March decision in a case surrounding a company's statements about a potential COVID-19 cure may encourage defendants to assert puffery defenses in securities fraud cases, particularly in those involving optimistic statements about breakthrough drugs that are still untested, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability

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    After the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently announced enforcement proceedings against audit firm BF Borgers for fabricating audit documentation for hundreds of public companies, those companies will need to follow special procedures for disclosure and reporting — and may need to prepare for litigation from the plaintiffs bar, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    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.

  • Opinion

    Del. Needs To Urgently Pass Post-Moelis Corporate Law Bill

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    After the Delaware Chancery Court's decision in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension v. Moelis sparked confusion around governance rights, recently proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law would preserve the state's predictable corporate governance system, says Lawrence Hamermesh at Widener University Delaware Law School.

  • 4 Arbitration Takeaways From High Court Coinbase Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's May 23 decision in Coinbase v. Suski, which provides clarity to parties faced with successive contracts containing conflicting dispute resolution provisions, has four practical impacts for contracting parties to consider, say Charles Schoenwetter and Eric Olson at Bowman and Brooke.

  • Series

    Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    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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