Securities

  • May 14, 2024

    Billionaire's Pilot Cops To Tax Count, Avoids Insider Trial

    A pilot from Virginia accused of profiting from stock tips fed to him by British billionaire Joe Lewis on Tuesday copped to dodging taxes on $500,000 of income from Lewis' company, in a plea deal that avoids an insider trading trial.

  • May 14, 2024

    Sullivan & Cromwell Seeks To Ax Claims Of Aiding FTX Fraud

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP wants a Florida federal court to dismiss a proposed class action alleging the firm knew about and helped facilitate the massive fraud by FTX, saying customers of the cryptocurrency exchange platform fail to claim anything beyond a "series of speculative allegations with no factual basis."

  • May 14, 2024

    Convicted Fraudster Says Exchanges With Atty Are Privileged

    A convicted fraudster who had his sentence commuted by then-President Donald Trump — now charged with launching another scam shortly after leaving prison — is embroiled in a fight with New Jersey federal prosecutors over his attempt to assert attorney-client privilege for communications with an Israeli attorney who allegedly participated in the scheme.

  • May 14, 2024

    Carbon Capture Co.'s $1.8B SPAC Deal Sparks Chancery Suit

    Stockholders who lost big after a blank-check company took carbon-capture venture LanzaTech NZ Inc. public in a purportedly $1.8 billion reverse-merger in February 2023 have sued for damages in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging disclosure failures and other defects prior to closing.

  • May 13, 2024

    Tesla Threatened To Fire Holland & Knight, Law Prof Says

    Tesla tried to bully a law professor out of filing an amicus brief in investors' suit over Elon Musk's $56 billion compensation plan, in part by threatening to fire the company's longtime outside counsel at Holland & Knight LLP if the professor submitted his brief, according to a filing Monday in Delaware.

  • May 13, 2024

    Irked Autonomy Judge Vents On HP Fraud Trial's Slow Pace

    U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Monday blasted lawyers for the government and two former Autonomy Corp. PLC executives in a criminal fraud case over the trial's slow progress, saying he's "annoyed," but also "complicit" because he "did not take more of a controlling posture."

  • May 13, 2024

    CFTC Hits Crypto Firm With First-Ever Registration Claims

    A Seychelles-incorporated entity has agreed to pay nearly $1.8 million in penalties and disgorgement to end U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission allegations it failed to register as a futures commission merchant in what the CFTC described Monday as a first-of-its-kind action involving digital asset exchanges.

  • May 13, 2024

    Sens. Slam DOJ's Money Transmitting Biz Interpretation

    A pair of U.S. senators say they have "significant concerns" about how the U.S. Department of Justice is interpreting the definition of "money transmission" in two recent criminal actions over crypto mixers, warning that such an interpretation "threatens to criminalize core elements of Bitcoin and other crypto networks."

  • May 13, 2024

    SEC, FinCEN Propose Money Manager Customer ID Rule

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network on Monday proposed a rule that would require money managers such as hedge funds and private equity firms to document and maintain customer identification programs.

  • May 13, 2024

    SEC Tells 3rd Circ. Coinbase Can't Force Crypto Rulemaking

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has told the Third Circuit that it already "reasonably explained" why it denied Coinbase's petition for crypto rulemaking and that it shouldn't have to retool its policy priorities just because crypto firms find it challenging to comply with existing laws.

  • May 13, 2024

    NJ Fraudster Gets More Prison Time, Owes $6M For Tax Evasion

    A New Jersey man who was convicted of dodging taxes on more than $16 million he stole from securities fraud victims was handed a six-year prison sentence — most of which will be served simultaneously with his fraud sentence — and ordered to pay over $6 million in restitution during a Garden State federal court hearing Monday in which he denied the crimes. 

  • May 13, 2024

    SPAC Investor Says Insiders Overvalued Satellite Co. Deal

    An investor has sued a blank-check company and several of its top brass in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging the defendants protected their buy-ins while leaving public investors to suffer losses following a merger with satellite imaging company BlackSky Holdings Inc.

  • May 13, 2024

    Biogen Investors Seek Class Cert. In Alzheimer's Drug Suit

    A proposed class of Biogen shareholders urged a Massachusetts federal court to certify their now-revived class action alleging the drugmaker made misleading statements about a deficient Alzheimer's drug, arguing it can sufficiently lead the suit with Block & Leviton LLP as class counsel.

  • May 13, 2024

    Chancery Orders Check Of Trump-Tied SPAC Sponsor Deal

    Delaware's Court of Chancery refused Monday to impose a settlement on investors behind the sponsor of the company that took former President Donald Trump's Truth Social media company public after they filed and later abandoned a suit to remove the special-purpose acquisition company's managing member.

  • May 13, 2024

    Ex-BP Manager Admits Trading On Inside TravelCenters Info

    A former BP PLC senior manager has admitted engaging in insider trading over the British oil and gas company's planned $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America Inc., according to court records entered Friday.

  • May 13, 2024

    Judge Says Bold, Italic Font Muddies Allbirds Investor Suit

    A California federal judge has tossed for now a proposed class action from Allbirds Inc. investors who claim the sustainable shoe retailer made false and misleading statements in registration documents connected to its initial public offering, saying the complaint doesn't indicate which statements from the company's executives were allegedly misleading.

  • May 13, 2024

    Binance Says Sullivan & Cromwell, FRA To Serve As Monitors

    Crypto exchange Binance said Monday that the federal government has selected a Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partner and a Forensic Risk Alliance founding partner to serve as independent third-party monitors overseeing its compliance with the terms of its $4.3 billion settlement and guilty plea over money laundering, bank fraud and sanctions violations.

  • May 13, 2024

    SEC Says Biotech Co., Atty Should Pay $14M For Investor Lies

    Federal securities regulators have said a Colorado biotech startup and two of its founders should pay more than $14 million in ill-gotten profits, including interest, for lying to investors about the company's financial position, arguing that the founders showed a "total disregard" for investors.

  • May 13, 2024

    Fla. Investor Duped Brokerages In Trading Scheme, SEC Says

    A Tampa-area investor was sued Monday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Florida federal court over a scheme that involved him opening brokerage accounts with insufficient bank funds and taking advantage of the credit broker-dealer firms offered to trade stocks.

  • May 13, 2024

    Diaz Reus Attys Dodge Sanctions Over Last-Minute Dismissal Bid

    Citing a lack of good cause for sanctions, a south Florida federal judge determined Monday that shareholders in a Venezuela-linked bank cannot penalize Miami-based Diaz Reus & Targ LLP lawyers over allegations they delayed an expected October 2023 trial in a suit alleging the bank's directors breached their fiduciary duty.

  • May 13, 2024

    Ex-Police Chief Gets 3 Months For Alexion Insider Trading

    The former police chief of a town in Massachusetts was sentenced Monday to three months in prison after pleading guilty to trading on confidential information about a pending Alexion Pharmaceuticals merger that he said was provided by a "lifelong friend."

  • May 13, 2024

    CFTC Sues Over $161M Cattle Ponzi Scheme After SEC Deal

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued two Texas men who allegedly ran a $161 million Ponzi scheme involving cattle trading, saying investor cash lined the men's pockets and went to paying off obligations to previous investors.

  • May 13, 2024

    Chancery Scuttles Unfair Pirate Ship Salvage Co. Merger

    Finding the deal "wholly devoid" of attempts at fairness, a Delaware vice chancellor has ordered the unwinding of a 2018 pirate treasure hunting and salvage company merger with an asset-holding affiliate, while also finding that delay and fading evidence have scuttled minority investor fiduciary breach claims.

  • May 13, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Sunken treasure, recycled plastics, questionable denim and dog food all made appearances in Chancery Court dockets last week, along with developments in cases involving Qualcomm, Tesla Inc., and Truth Social. In case you missed it, here's the latest from Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • May 13, 2024

    Justices Deny Review Bid From Convicted REIT Execs

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by four incarcerated executives with Texas real estate investment trust United Development Funding to overturn a Fifth Circuit ruling upholding their convictions in a Ponzi scheme.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves

    Author Photo

    As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.

  • Basics Of Bank Regulators' Push For Discount Window Use

    Author Photo

    As the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency emphasize short-term liquidity risk management as central to preventing spring 2023-style bank collapses, banks should carefully tune into regulators’ remarks encouraging use of the Fed’s discount window, which some policymakers identify as a key component in the evolution of liquidity regulation and backstop lending, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • How Broker-Dealers Can Prepare For New Remote Work Rules

    Author Photo

    Securities regulators recently expanded broker-dealers' ability to permit flexible remote working arrangements through the introduction of residential supervisory locations, a welcome change that better allows broker-dealers to attract and retain talent, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Considerations For Disclosing AI Use In SEC Filings

    Author Photo

    Recent remarks from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler should be heard as a clarion call for public companies to disclose artificial intelligence use, with four takeaways on what companies should disclose, says Richard Hong at Morrison Cohen.

  • Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls

    Author Photo

    Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.

  • Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power

    Author Photo

    In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.

  • Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling

    Author Photo

    While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Gulf Cooperation Council

    Author Photo

    The Gulf Cooperation Council is in the early stages of ESG policy implementation, but recent commitments by both states and corporations — including increases in sustainable finance transactions, environmental commitments, female representation on boards and human rights enforcement — show continuing progress toward broader ESG goals, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

    Author Photo

    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • Cos. Must Know How NY, Federal LLC Disclosure Laws Differ

    Author Photo

    Though New York state's new LLC Transparency Act and the federal Corporate Transparency Act impose similar beneficial owner reporting obligations on limited liability companies, New York LLCs should study the important differences between the laws to ensure they are prepared to comply with both, say Abram Ellis, Olenka Burghardt and Jane Jho at Simpson Thacher.

  • 9 Considerations For Divestitures, Carveouts And Spinouts

    Author Photo

    Amid new economic optimism, data protection, transitional services and seven other considerations can help legal practitioners untangle complex divestitures, carveouts and spinouts to unlock value for corporate sellers, say Kimberly Petillo-Décossard and Kristen Rohr at White & Case.

  • Why Fla. High Court Adopting Apex Doctrine Is Monumental

    Author Photo

    The Florida Supreme Court recently solidified the apex doctrine in the Sunshine State, an important development that extends the scope of the doctrine in the state to include both corporate and government officials, and formalizes the requirements for a high-level corporate official to challenge a request for a deposition, says Laura Renstrom at Holland & Knight.

  • 5 Lessons For SaaS Companies After Blackbaud Data Breach

    Author Photo

    Looking at the enforcement actions that software-as-a-service provider Blackbaud resolved with state attorneys general, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in the past year can help SaaS companies manage these increasingly common forms of data breaches, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Del. Ruling Stands Out In Thorny Noncompete Landscape

    Author Photo

    In Cantor Fitzgerald v. Ainslie, the Delaware Supreme Court last month upheld the enforceability of forfeiture-for-competition provisions in limited partnership agreements, providing a noteworthy opinion amid a time of increasing disfavor toward noncompetes and following a string of Chancery Court rulings deeming them unreasonable, say Margaret Butler and Steven Goldberg at BakerHostetler.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Securities archive.
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!