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Securities
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May 03, 2024
3rd Circ. Clarifies Review Standard For Derivative Suits
In a precedential ruling Friday declining to revive Cognizant Technology investors' derivative claims over a bribery scandal, the full Third Circuit held that the best way to review such cases on appeal was from the beginning, not giving deference to the lower court's decision or considering whether there was an abuse of discretion.
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May 03, 2024
SoFi Unit To Pay FINRA $1.1M To Settle Customer ID Claims
SoFi Securities has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle Financial Industry Regulatory Authority claims that it lacked a suitable user verification process for the firm's cash management brokerage business, allowing the opening of 800 accounts used by third parties to illegally transfer $8.6 million from other financial institution accounts.
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May 03, 2024
Chancery OKs Record-Breaking $100M Pattern Energy Deal
A $100 million settlement ending state and federal court litigation over Pattern Energy Group Inc.'s $6.1 billion go-private sale in 2020 got the nod from Delaware's Court of Chancery on Friday, along with a requested $26 million fee award and two $25,000 incentive awards for the lead shareholder plaintiffs.
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May 03, 2024
Tech Security Firm Founder Sues Buyer For Legal Fees In Del.
The founder of security and information technology service venture Counter Threat Solutions sued the company that acquired it for legal fee advancement in Delaware's Court of Chancery, after accusing the buyer in a Delaware Superior Court suit of fabricating post-closing indemnity claims and refusing to honor payment terms.
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May 03, 2024
Brothers Accuse Cos. Of Mishandling $1.1M EB-5 Investments
Two brothers from India sued companies behind a combination residential-resort project they invested in under the EB-5 investor visa program, telling a Florida federal court that their green card petitions were denied because the companies mishandled their $1.1 million investment.
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May 03, 2024
No Retrial Coming After $20M Cannabis Investor Verdict
A Los Angeles judge has denied a bid by CADM Inc. for a retrial following a $20 million verdict against it and its affiliates on claims that they defrauded investors with a real estate scheme, finding that the motion was not served to the proper attorneys on time, and even if it had been, the judgment would stand.
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May 03, 2024
Kwok's Ex-Chief Of Staff Pleads Out Before $1B Fraud Trial
The former chief of staff to exiled Chinese billionaire Ho Wan Kwok pled guilty in Manhattan federal court on Friday to participating in a $1 billion investor fraud, less than three weeks before she was scheduled to go to trial alongside her erstwhile boss.
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May 03, 2024
SEC Fines Trump Media's Audit Firm For 'Massive Fraud'
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday that it has fined and permanently suspended the public accounting firm of former President Donald Trump's social media company for allegedly running a "sham auditing mill" by failing to meet industry standards in reviewing the financial statements of hundreds of clients.
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May 02, 2024
Whistleblower Claims Would 'Destroy' Autonomy, GC Was Told
Autonomy's former U.S. general counsel testified Thursday in the criminal fraud trial of former CEO Michael Lynch that the company's chief operating officer didn't want a whistleblower's claims to get into court, telling him that while the "law" was on their side, "the facts look bad" and would "destroy Autonomy."
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May 02, 2024
SEC Lands $25M Judgment In TikToker-Wannabe Ponzi Suit
A South Carolina man and his companies must pay the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $24.9 million to settle claims that he misappropriated investors' money to make Ponzi payments to earlier investors and to pay for luxury cars and over $1 million to TikTok creators, according to judgments issued in Georgia federal court.
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May 02, 2024
Ex-JPM Trader Slams DOJ's 'Rank Opportunism' In Doc Suit
A former JPMorgan Chase & Co. foreign exchange trader is pressing a D.C. federal court to order the release of investigative material from the government's failed market manipulation criminal case against him, saying the U.S. Department of Justice's arguments against disclosure amount to "rank opportunism."
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May 02, 2024
Masimo Hit With Derivative Suit Over Audio Co. Acquisition
The top brass at medical device company Masimo Corp. has been hit with a shareholder derivative action claiming they harmed the company and "confused" investors by pushing through a $1 billion acquisition of an audio equipment company, allegedly causing a steep drop in stock prices and a $5.1 billion market capitalization loss.
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May 02, 2024
Tech, Finance Experts Urge CFTC To Consider AI Regs
Tech advisers urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday to consider policies to manage the risks associated with artificial intelligence, along with a list of other recommendations detailing potential approaches to the growing use of AI in financial markets.
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May 02, 2024
Attys Due For Spam Suit Sanction, But Not $750K, Judges Say
Class counsel's misconduct in helping instigate a spam text suit against stock-trading app Robinhood Financial LLC warranted sanctions, a Washington state appeals court panel ruled Thursday, but the judges said the $750,000 penalty went over the top in deterring the bad behavior.
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May 02, 2024
Microsoft, Activision Seek Del. Court Patch For $68.7B Sale
Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard petitioned Delaware's Court of Chancery on Thursday for an order validating Activision's already closed but officially "defective" $68.7 billion sale agreement, arguing that the court pointed the two companies to a "solution for missteps in Delaware's General Corporation Law.
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May 02, 2024
Chancery Ruling Plays Role In Tesla's S&P Governance Grade
Business rating agency Standard & Poor's has revised downward to "moderately negative" electric vehicle company Tesla Inc.'s grade for management and governance, pointing in part to CEO Elon Musk's dominant role, and the company's "uncommonly high" risk from lawsuits, including the Delaware Chancery Court's recent scuttling of his $56 billion pay plan.
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May 02, 2024
ADM Investor Says Brass Misled About Growth, SEC Probe
The current and former top brass of food processing company Archer-Daniels-Midland were hit with a derivative suit in Delaware federal court alleging they provided false information to investors about the company's growth and failed to disclose a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation into its nutrition business.
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May 02, 2024
DOL Hit With First Lawsuit Over New Investment Advice Regs
The U.S. Department of Labor was hit with a lawsuit Thursday in Texas federal court seeking to invalidate recently finalized regulations that broaden who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, marking the first-filed legal challenge since the agency's late-April final release.
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May 02, 2024
Ex-FTX Boss Ryan Salame To Give Up $5.9M Bahamas House
Ryan Salame, the former co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, an affiliate of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd., has agreed to transfer a $5.9 million house he owns in the Bahamas to FTX in lieu of paying the firm restitution over fraudulent political donations, according to a Wednesday motion.
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May 02, 2024
Discover Ups Liability Costs For Card Pricing Issue To $1.2B
Discover Financial Services has put a $1.2 billion price tag on remediation for its previously disclosed credit card pricing misclassification, which is now the subject of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, representing an increase of nearly 230% from the $365 million liability it recorded nearly a year ago.
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May 02, 2024
Securities Firm Must Face Ex-Worker's Age Bias Suit
A Colorado federal judge refused to throw out a lawsuit a former securities sales representative lodged against a firm accusing it of firing him and replacing him with two younger workers, saying he put forward enough detail to keep his suit afloat.
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May 02, 2024
Davis Wright Brings On MoFo Appellate Litigator In San Fran
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP has brought on a former Morrison Foerster LLP partner in San Francisco, strengthening its appellate practice with an experienced appellate litigator who clerked for a U.S. Supreme Court justice, a California Supreme Court justice and other judges, the firm announced Thursday.
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May 02, 2024
Snell & Wilmer Adds Armstrong Teasdale Tech Pro In Denver
Snell & Wilmer LLP's Denver outpost has added a new transactional partner to its corporate and securities team, bringing with him 18 years of experience including co-founding the technology transactions group for Armstrong Teasdale LLP and leading its technology industry group.
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May 02, 2024
Sullivan & Cromwell Creates National Security Practice Group
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has launched a national security practice to help clients with matters stemming from the increased use of economic sanctions, anti-money laundering laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, foreign investment regulations, export controls and import restrictions, the firm said Thursday.
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May 01, 2024
Autonomy CEO's Atty Says Judge 'One-Sided' Against Client
A Steptoe LLP partner representing former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch in his criminal fraud jury trial accused the judge overseeing the case of making comments to the jury that are "one-sided" in a way that prejudices the defense.
Expert Analysis
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How Biotech Cos. Can Utilize Synthetic Royalty Financing
Synthetic royalty transactions have been on the rise as a funding structure for biotechnology companies, but questions have arisen surrounding how such transactions work, and structuring them correctly requires a nuanced understanding, say Todd Trattner and Ryan Murr at Gibson Dunn.
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2 SEC Orders Illuminate Bribery Risks For US-China Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s foreign bribery-related resolutions with 3M and Clear Channel offer important takeaways on compliance risks for companies with operations in China, from the role of traditionally low-risk vendors to gaps in internal accounting controls, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Election-Year Unknowns
In the final installment of this three-part article reviewing the top challenges for the maritime industry this year, Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight examines how the uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming U.S. election may affect the maritime sector — especially companies involved in offshore wind and deep-sea mining.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Environmental Challenges
In the second installment of this three-part article examining key concerns for the maritime sector this year, Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight considers how the industry will be affected by environmental concerns — including the growing push for decarbonization, and regulatory scrutiny around greenwashing and ESG issues.
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As Promised, IRS Is Coming For Crypto Tax Evaders
The IRS is fulfilling its promise to crack down on those who have neglected to pay taxes on cryptocurrency earnings, as demonstrated by recently imposed prison sentences, enforcement initiatives and meetings with international counterparts — suggesting a few key takeaways for taxpayer compliance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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SEC Registrants Likely Won't Get Cyber Disclosure Delays
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's sweeping cybersecurity disclosure final rules, its SolarWinds enforcement action and recent U.S. Department of Justice guidance show the pressure is on registrants to disclose incidents timely and accurately, but the circumstances in which an extension will be granted are extremely rare, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Geopolitics And Sanctions
Major challenges are on the horizon for the U.S. maritime sector in 2024, including geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea and ever-evolving sanctions targeting Iran and Russia — which may lead to higher shipping costs and greater compliance burdens for stakeholders, says Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight.
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New SDNY Whistleblower Program May Be A Game-Changer
A new pilot program in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York promises to immunize from prosecution certain individuals who blow the whistle on financial crimes and corruption, and if similar self-disclosure programs are any indication, this significant new policy may measurably increase white collar investigations, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Series
Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.
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A Guide To New Russia Sanctions For Foreign Financial Cos.
Attorneys at Foley Hoag take foreign financial companies on a deep dive into the compliance advice the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control issued after President Joe Biden's December executive order widened a Russian import ban and authorized sanctions against businesses that transact with Russia's military-industrial base.
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The Questions Around Prometheum's SEC-Compliant Strategy
While the rest of the crypto industry has been engaged in a long-running battle to escape the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's jurisdiction, a once-obscure startup called Prometheum has instead embraced the SEC's view to become the first crypto special-purpose broker-dealer, but it's unclear whether it can turn its favored status into a workable business, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
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Reverse Merger Tips For Biotechs After SEC's Recent Actions
Several recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission developments could limit the viability of reverse mergers for biotech companies, and will require additional creativity and analysis for private companies looking to go public, say attorneys at Orrick.