Securities

  • June 04, 2024

    HP Fraud Charges Against Ex-Autonomy Execs Head To Jury

    Closing arguments wrapped Tuesday in a California federal criminal trial over claims that former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and ex-finance vice president Stephen Chamberlain duped HP into overpaying billions for the British tech company, with Chamberlain's lawyer saying his client did his job "in good faith," which, in the court's eyes, is a "complete defense."

  • June 04, 2024

    SEC Inks Deal With Ex-Food Co. Execs Over Misspent Funds

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a $7.8 million settlement with former executives of HF Foods over claims they siphoned millions of dollars from the company for personal use in a scheme that was eventually revealed after HF Foods went public with a blank check company.

  • June 04, 2024

    Bread Financial Wants Suit Over Spinoff's 'Death Spiral' Axed

    Financial services company Bread Financial Holdings Inc. and its CEO have asked an Ohio federal judge to toss a proposed investor class action over the alleged "death spiral" of a now-bankrupt spinoff company, saying the suit actually details Bread's "good faith efforts" to establish the spinoff as a successful independent venture.

  • June 04, 2024

    Chancery Pauses Meta Suit While Calif., Texas Cases Continue

    Delaware's Chancery Court on Tuesday paused a derivative suit seeking potentially massive damages from Meta Platforms Inc.'s leaders for failing to eliminate pedophilia, human trafficking and child exploitation content from its social media sites, pending resolution of direct damages suits in Texas and California.

  • June 04, 2024

    Matterport Hit With Investor Suit Over $1.6B CoStar Deal Docs

    An investor of 3D building imaging company Matterport is attempting to prevent the company's proposed merger with real estate analytics company CoStar Group Inc., saying Matterport's deficient registration statement fails to show how the transaction will benefit public shareholders.

  • June 04, 2024

    2 Firms Tapped To Lead Barclays Investor Suit

    Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP and Sperling & Slater LLC have been appointed to co-lead an investor suit accusing Barclays PLC of over-issuing $17 billion of securities.

  • June 04, 2024

    'Miles Guo Stole My Money': NY Jury Hears Of Alleged Fraud

    A former supporter of exiled Chinese billionaire Miles Guo testified in Manhattan federal court Tuesday that the purported billionaire conned her into investing more than $100,000 in the media company he founded alongside former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, describing Guo's interrelated business ventures as a "mafia."

  • June 04, 2024

    SEC Shutters Salt Lake City Office, Shifts Cases To Denver

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday that it will close its Salt Lake City office for budgetary and organizational purposes, saying that the caseload of the office, which among other things handled the troubled Debt Box case, will now be handled by staff in Denver.

  • June 04, 2024

    Fox Rothschild Partner Can't Testify In NJ Fraud Retrial

    Fox Rothschild LLP partner Ernest E. Badway can't serve as an expert witness for a businessman facing retrial on securities fraud claims, a New Jersey federal judge ruled Tuesday, siding with the government's contention that the testimony would be irrelevant.

  • June 04, 2024

    Legal Tech Co. Wants Ex-Exec's $1M Stock Suit Out Of NY

    A former legal tech executive's lawsuit claiming she was sexually harassed, fired and then cut out of $1 million in stock options should be moved from New York to either Texas or arbitration, or dismissed entirely, her former colleagues said Tuesday, calling the allegations against them "vague and conclusory."

  • June 04, 2024

    Illumina Board Puts Grail Spinoff In Motion After EU OK

    Illumina Inc. said Tuesday that its board had approved a spinoff of its cancer detection company following a push by activist heavyweight Carl Icahn and an ultimate order from European authorities to dispose of the asset. 

  • June 04, 2024

    Ex-Lumentum VP Traded On Merger Info, SEC Says

    The former vice president of product line management at Lumentum has been accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of using nonpublic information about a pending merger to trade stock during his time with the laser products company.

  • June 04, 2024

    Archegos Jury Note Demands Info After Atty's COVID Absence

    A juror hearing the government's $36 billion market manipulation case against Archegos founder Bill Hwang took the unusual step Tuesday of asking if there was "something we are not being told" after COVID-19 sidelined a lawyer and prompted others to don masks.

  • June 03, 2024

    FTX, IRS Propose Settling $8B Tax Fight For Just $885M

    FTX and the Internal Revenue Service have reached a proposed settlement worth roughly $885 million that would resolve the agency's contention that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange operator owes $8 billion in taxes, according to a motion filed Monday in Delaware federal bankruptcy court.

  • June 03, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy CEO 'Had 500M Reasons' For Fraud, Jury Told

    Autonomy's ex-CEO Michael Lynch "had 500 million reasons to defraud HP," since he reaped $500 million by selling his company to the tech giant at an inflated price, a federal prosecutor argued Monday during closings for the businessman's criminal trial, while Lynch's lawyer told jurors, "HP was not a victim."

  • June 03, 2024

    Self-Driving Tech Co. Beats Investor Suit Over Chip Pic Gaffe

    Autonomous vehicle technology company Luminar Technologies Inc. no longer faces a proposed investor class action alleging it passed off an image of a competitor's technology as its own after a Florida federal judge found that the allegedly stolen image wouldn't actually be relevant to reasonable investors.

  • June 03, 2024

    11th Circ. Backs Freeze Of Grants For Black Women Only

    In a split decision Monday, the Eleventh Circuit said that a Georgia federal judge should have blocked a Black-led venture capital firm from awarding grants to businesses owned only by Black women, opining that the practice was "substantially likely" to violate federal law barring racial discrimination in the writing of contracts.

  • June 03, 2024

    Humana Hit With Investor Suit Over Post-COVID Costs

    Health insurer Humana and two executives were hit with an investor class action on Monday, claiming they misled shareholders about the cost of pent-up demand for medical treatments once the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.

  • June 03, 2024

    ChampionX Investor Sues Over $7.8B Deal Proxy

    A shareholder of energy technology provider ChampionX Corp. has sued the company and its board of directors in an attempt to enjoin a proposed acquisition by another energy-focused technology company, SLB, alleging that ChampionX filed a deficient proxy statement.

  • June 03, 2024

    Green Groups Drop Their Challenge To SEC's Climate Rule

    The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club have voluntarily asked the Eighth Circuit to dismiss their challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule, saying they are instead focusing their resources elsewhere.

  • June 03, 2024

    Vietnamese EV Co. Hit With Investor Suit Over SPAC Merger

    Vietnamese electric car manufacturer VinFast Auto and several executives have been hit with a proposed class action alleging they exaggerated the strength of VinFast's business model and prospects following a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company last year.

  • June 03, 2024

    Exxon Fights Activist Investor's 'Toothless' Dismissal Bid

    Exxon Mobil Corp. is not backing away from a Texas lawsuit accusing investment adviser Arjuna Capital of improperly meddling in its business affairs by backing a proposal to reduce the company's greenhouse gas emissions, calling promises not to resubmit similar proposals in the future "toothless" in the wake of activist shareholder pressure to change the company's climate policy.

  • June 03, 2024

    Congress' Crypto Votes Lay Groundwork For Next Session

    Congress' sudden and surprisingly bipartisan momentum on crypto policy is unlikely to result in a signed law this year, but the agreements set the stage for proposals that could go the distance next session.

  • June 03, 2024

    Ericsson Says It Has Completed DPA Compliance Monitorship

    Swedish telecom giant Ericsson announced Monday that it has completed a four-year compliance monitorship imposed by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of a deferred prosecution agreement over long-running bribery and slush fund schemes around the world.

  • June 03, 2024

    Del. Court Tosses SPAC Suit Targeting $2.4B EV Co. Deal

    A Delaware vice chancellor has tossed a suit filed by an investor of a blank-check company challenging the $2.4 billion take-public deal it completed with electric-vehicle company Canoo Holdings Ltd., saying the investor's allegations of poor performance are not enough to assert claims for breaches of fiduciary duties.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    High Court Should Settle Circuit Split On Risk Disclosures

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    The U.S. Supreme Court should grant the petition for writ of certiorari in the Facebook case to resolve a growing circuit split concerning when risk disclosures can be misleading under federal securities laws, and its decision should align with the intent of Congress and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

  • For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill

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    A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Bankruptcy Courts' Role In Shaping Crypto's Legal Framework

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    Massive financial and criminal liability has led to the recent collapse of major cryptocurrency companies and put bankruptcy courts in the spotlight, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive regulatory framework, say Tara Pakrouh and Eric Monzo at Morris James.

  • Private Capital Considerations Amid Market Revival

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    As improved market conditions position traditional financing to regain lost market share, it's also worth considering the pace and structure of private credit and other forms of private capital, especially when seeking to set unique terms or build new corporate relationships, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Trump's NY Civil Fraud Trial Spotlights Long-Criticized Law

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    A New York court’s recent decision holding former President Donald Trump liable for fraud brought old criticisms of the state law used against him back into the limelight — including its strikingly broad scope and its major departures from the traditional elements of common law fraud, say Mark Kelley and Lois Ahn at MoloLamken.

  • Intent-Based Theory Of Liability In Hwang Creates Ambiguity

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    A case against Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang alleging that he participated in a securities manipulation scheme, which goes to trial next month in New York federal court, highlights the need for courts to clarify the legal standard defining "market manipulation," says Edward Imperatore at MoFo.

  • Opinion

    Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea

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    A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.

  • 4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best

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    As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.

  • A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'

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    Though they have been unsuccessful so far, opponents of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called gag rule, which prevents defendants from denying allegations when settling with the SEC, are becoming increasingly vocal and filing more challenges in recent years, say Mike Blankenship and Regina Maze at Winston & Strawn.

  • How American Airlines ESG Case Could Alter ERISA Liability

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    Spence v. American Airlines, a Texas federal case over the airline's selection of multiple investment funds in its retirement plan, threatens to upend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's legal framework for fiduciary liability in the name of curtailing environmental, social and governance-related activities, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Defense Attys Must Prep For Imminent AI Crime Enforcement

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    Given recent statements by U.S. Department of Justice officials, white collar practitioners should expect to encounter artificial intelligence in federal criminal enforcement in the near term, even in pending cases, say Jarrod Schaeffer and Scott Glicksman at Abell Eskew.

  • Tipsters May Be Key To Financial Regulators' ESG Efforts

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are looking to whistleblowers to assist their climate and ESG task forces, suggesting insider information could be central to the agencies' enforcement efforts against corporate greenwashing, false investment claims and climate disclosure violations, says John Crutchlow at Youman & Caputo.

  • 5 Takeaways From SAP's Foreign Bribery Resolutions

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    German software company SAP’s recent settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, resolving allegations of foreign bribery, provide insights into government enforcement priorities, and how corporations should structure their compliance programs to reduce liability, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

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