Securities

  • March 18, 2024

    HSBC Securities Can't Exit Ex-Rep's Whistleblower Suit

    A New York federal judge on Monday green-lit a whistleblower retaliation suit by a former HSBC Securities employee who claimed he was fired for reporting "rampant front-running" by HSBC traders, saying that while certain claims must be trimmed the suit plausibly alleges protected activity was a contributing factor to his termination.

  • March 18, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy CEO's Fraud Trial Over $11.7B HP Deal Kicks Off

    Autonomy's former CEO Michael Lynch duped HP into buying his company at the inflated price of $11.7 billion, a federal prosecutor said Monday during opening statements in the British entrepreneur's criminal trial, while Lynch's lawyer countered his client had "all the money in the world" and no motive to commit fraud.

  • March 18, 2024

    SEC Fines Supervisor $47K Over Revenue Inflation Claims

    A former finance director of water treatment company Evoqua Water Technologies Corp. will pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $47,000 to resolve claims that he was part of a scheme to inflate the company's revenue by $36 million.

  • March 18, 2024

    Petrillo Klein Nabs NY Consumer Protection Chief As Partner

    The former acting head of the Consumer Protection and Financial Enforcement Division of the New York State Department of Financial Services has joined Petrillo Klein & Boxer LLP, where he will focus on white-collar defense of both individuals and institutions.

  • March 18, 2024

    Fund Industry Sues SEC To Overturn New Dealer Definition

    Private fund associations sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange in Texas on Monday in the hopes of reversing the agency's recent decision to bring proprietary trading firms and some hedge funds under its authority as securities dealers, a decision that the suing groups have said could drive some hedge funds out of business.

  • March 18, 2024

    SEC's Grewal Defends 'Shadow Trading' Case Ahead Of Trial

    The enforcement director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday defended the agency's stance in a novel "shadow trading" case one week before it's set to go to trial, saying that while it's the first case of its kind, the underlying allegations aren't new.

  • March 18, 2024

    Genesis Gets OK For $21M Deal To End SEC Crypto Loan Suit

    A New York federal judge on Monday approved a $21 million settlement to resolve allegations that bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global Capital LLC violated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulations by selling unregistered securities in a joint partnership with crypto exchange Gemini Trust Co.

  • March 18, 2024

    SEC Sanctioned Over 'Bad Faith Conduct' In Crypto Case

    A Utah federal judge sanctioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday over misstatements its counsel made to obtain emergency measures against crypto project Debt Box, ordering the regulator to pay both the defense's and receiver's attorney fees as well as legal costs arising from the regulator's "bad faith conduct."

  • March 18, 2024

    Justices Tilt Toward NRA In Free Speech Row With Regulator

    A cautious U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to rule in favor of the National Rifle Association in a case over allegations that a former New York state official pressured financial institutions to cut ties to the National Rifle Association in violation of its free speech rights.

  • March 18, 2024

    Genesis Defends Crypto Payments At Ch. 11 Plan Hearing

    Cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Holdco Monday told a New York bankruptcy judge its proposal to distribute cryptocurrency to its customers is both fair and legal as the hearing on its Chapter 11 liquidation plan wound down.

  • March 18, 2024

    Energy Co. Exec Cops To $5.5M Commodity Kickback Scheme

    A former president of a Texas energy company has pled guilty to fraudulently trading natural gas futures contracts and receiving $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks for the associated trades, the U.S. Department of Justice has said.

  • March 18, 2024

    Voyager Investors Suing Mark Cuban Seek Class Cert.

    Investors suing billionaire Mark Cuban over his role in promoting now-bankrupt Voyager Digital Ltd. have pushed for class certification and urged the court to rule that Voyager was selling unregistered securities.

  • March 18, 2024

    FINRA Fines Firm Over Social Media Influencers' Posts

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced Monday that it has settled its first formal enforcement disciplinary action stemming from a firm's supervision of social media influencers, fining financial services provider M1 Finance LLC $850,000 for its influencers' misleading posts.

  • March 18, 2024

    Del. Suit Details Wrongful Takeover Of Telecom System Co.

    The founder and former CEO of a Florida-headquartered telecommunications infrastructure building company has sued the head of an investment firm and others Monday in Delaware's Court of Chancery, accusing them of carrying out a "fraudulent scheme" to wrest control of the business.

  • March 18, 2024

    Biotech Ardelyx Beats Shareholder Suit Over Kidney Drug

    Biotechnology company Ardelyx Inc. has for now beaten a shareholder class action alleging the company and its top brass made false and misleading statements about regulatory approval of Ardelyx's drug for patients with chronic kidney disease.

  • March 18, 2024

    2 Investment Firms To Pay SEC $400K For 'AI Washing'

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday said it had reached settlements totaling $400,000 with a pair of investment advisers over claims that they made false and misleading statements about their use of artificial intelligence.

  • March 18, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Amyris Gets OK To Settle Pot Co.'s $15M Trade Secret Suit

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved biotechnology company Amyris' $15.1 million settlement with cannabinoid manufacturer Lavvan, resolving yearslong litigation and arbitration proceedings alleging the debtor misused its then-business partner's trade secrets.

  • March 18, 2024

    Ex-Holland & Knight Atty To Lead Hilgers Graben Gov't Team

    A former securities defense leader at Holland & Knight LLP has moved to Hilgers Graben PLLC's Dallas office to lead the firm's government investigations and regulatory enforcement group.

  • March 18, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Multimillion-dollar e-cigarette settlements, $4 billion in stock buybacks and a $6.1 million appraisal tweak were among the big-dollar items logged in the Delaware Court of Chancery's ledger last week. Also on the docket: a Panama port project, a news outlet's defamation case, drone disputes and a flood of mail from Tesla shareholders. In case you missed it, here's all the latest from the Chancery Court.

  • March 18, 2024

    Ex-CEO Sues Trump-Tied SPAC For Litigation, Probe Fees

    A director and former CEO of Donald Trump-tied Digital World Acquisition Corp. has sued the venture in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking legal fee advancements from DWAC for costs arising from federal probes, lawsuits in multiple states and potential fiduciary breach claims.

  • March 16, 2024

    Up Next At High Court: Gov't Jawboning & Retaliatory Arrests

    The U.S. Supreme Court has a packed oral arguments calendar this week that includes disputes over the Biden administration's work with social media companies to combat misinformation, the appropriate evidence standard for bringing retaliatory arrest claims and whether the federal government can object to a consent decree entered into by three states.

  • March 15, 2024

    5th Circ. Blocks SEC Climate Reporting Regulations, For Now

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday temporarily blocked the implementation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new emissions reporting requirements, issuing an administrative stay in a challenge brought by oil and gas company Liberty Energy Inc.

  • March 15, 2024

    SolarEdge Hit With Derivative Suit Over 2023 Earnings Miss

    Current and former executives and directors of equipment maker SolarEdge Technologies Inc. face an investor's derivative suit in Manhattan federal court alleging they concealed distributor order cancelations and other developments that would ultimately result in a low quarterly revenue outcome.

  • March 15, 2024

    Texas Justices Side With Dallas In Retirement Fund Row

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday handed a win to the city of Dallas in its fight against a retirement fund, saying the fund doesn't have veto power over city lawmakers in a dispute over an ordinance that enshrined term limits for fund board members.

  • March 15, 2024

    'Cobra Venom' Painkiller Co. Inks Deal To Settle SEC Claims

    A penny stock company that previously held itself out as a maker of cobra venom-infused pain drugs has agreed to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud claims, according to court filings that note the company's two principals have also reached a settlement.

Expert Analysis

  • How Private Funds Can Navigate New FinCEN Reporting Rules

    Author Photo

    In light of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's new regulations implementing beneficial ownership reporting requirements, private fund managers must assess whether certain obligations apply to entities within their structures and whether potential structural changes could simplify those obligations, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • How AI May Be Used In Fintech Fraud — And Fraud Detection

    Author Photo

    Recent enforcement actions in the fintech and finance industries show that the government is increasingly pursuing fraud enabled by artificial intelligence — at the same time it’s using AI innovations to enforce regulations and investigate fraud, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

    Author Photo

    Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.

  • Innodata Suit Highlights 'AI Washing' Liability Risk For Cos.

    Author Photo

    A class action against software company Innodata over so-called AI washing, one of the first of its kind, underscores the litigation and enforcement risks that can arise from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's novel theory about misleading artificial intelligence capabilities, say attorneys at Bracewell.

  • Tips For CCOs Submitting Annual Compliance Reports

    Author Photo

    Recent settlement actions by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, coupled with statements made by both CFTC and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership, demonstrate why this year's chief compliance officer annual report filing is no ordinary exercise, and highlight the increasing importance of the report and its usage, say attorneys at Steptoe.

  • Fintech 'Prenups': Planning For A Card Program Breakup

    Author Photo

    After a year of economic downturns, some banks and their fintech partners are realizing they may have rushed to the altar without a good prenup, but planning ahead can curb both foreseeable and unexpected issues in the event of a termination of a bank-fintech card-issuing agreement, say Andrew Grant at Ketsal and Richard Malish at Community Federal Savings Bank.

  • SEC's Final Climate Disclosure Rules: What Cos. Must Know

    Author Photo

    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's scaled-back final rules requiring public companies to disclose certain climate-related information still face challenges in court, companies should begin preparing now to comply with the rules, say Celia Soehner and Erin Martin at Morgan Lewis.

  • Caremark 2.0 Lends Shareholders Agency Against Polluters

    Author Photo

    The Caremark doctrine has been liberalized by recent Delaware court decisions into what some have termed a 2.0 version, making derivative cases against corporations far more plausible and invigorating oversight duty on environmental risks like toxic spills and air pollution, say Joshua Margolin and Sean Goldman-Hunt at Selendy Gay.

  • BIPA's Statutory Exemptions Post-Healthcare Ruling

    Author Photo

    The Illinois Supreme Court's November opinion in Mosby v. Ingalls Memorial Hospital, which held that the Biometric Information Privacy Act's healthcare exemption also applies when information is collected from healthcare workers, is a major win for healthcare defendants that resolves an important question of statutory interpretation, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

  • 2nd Circ.'s Nine West Ruling Clarifies Safe Harbor Confusion

    Author Photo

    The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in Nine West’s Chapter 11 suit clarifies that courts in the circuit will apply a transfer-by-transfer analysis to determine the applicability of Section 546(e) of the Bankruptcy Code, and that to be safe harbored, a financial institution must act as an agent with respect to the specific transfer at issue, says Leonardo Trivigno at Carter Ledyard.

  • Opinion

    European Union Criticisms Of The FCPA Are Misguided

    Author Photo

    Some in the European Union have criticized U.S. enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for what they perceive as jurisdictional overreach, but this appears to overlook the crucial fact that jurisdiction is voluntary, and critics should focus instead on the lack of equivalent laws in their own region, say John Joy and YuTong Wang at FTI Law.

  • What Fed's Credit-Linked Note FAQ Means For Capital Relief

    Author Photo

    U.S. banks that seek to mitigate their loss of liquidity under the Basel III capital requirements by issuing direct credit-linked notes should turn to recent Federal Reserve FAQs for insight into how this new use of synthetic securitizations may reshape risk and regulation in the U.S. market, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.

  • Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing

    Author Photo

    For investors in public utilities, wildfire liability considerations include not only regulatory complexities, but also bankruptcy claims resolution, financing judgments and settlements, and how to leverage organizational structures to maximize investment protections, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.

  • Del. Dispatch: How Moelis Upends Stockholder Agreements

    Author Photo

    The Delaware Court of Chancery's Moelis decision last month upended the standard corporate practice of providing governance rights in stockholder agreements and adds to a recent line of surprising decisions holding that long-standing, common market practices violate Delaware law, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

    Author Photo

    As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!