White Collar

  • September 12, 2025

    Chinese Co. CEO, Adviser Charged In $100M Pump-And-Dump

    An executive for a publicly traded Chinese technology company and a financial adviser were indicted Wednesday for allegedly running a complex pump-and-dump scheme that bilked more than $110 million from unwitting investors, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

  • September 12, 2025

    2nd Circ. OKs Verdict In DEA Bribe Case But Nixes Forfeiture

    The Second Circuit on Friday affirmed the convictions of a pair of ex-Drug Enforcement Administration agents over a bribery scheme but overturned an order requiring both to forfeit funds, saying it would constitute a double payment for the same crime.

  • September 12, 2025

    Ex-US Attorney Expands Taft's Litigation Team In Cincinnati

    Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP has strengthened its Cincinnati roster with the recent addition of a litigator who spent more than 25 years with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

  • September 12, 2025

    LA Lawyer Disbarred For Overcharging Inmate Clients

    The Golden State's Supreme Court has disbarred a Los Angeles attorney who repeatedly collected "unconscionable legal fees" after misleading inmate clients about their chances for resentencing, the State Bar of California has announced.

  • September 12, 2025

    Another Investor Settles In $2.1B Danish Tax Fraud Case

    A U.S. investor and two of his alleged pension plans have settled claims by Denmark's tax agency accusing them of participating in a $2.1 billion scheme that fraudulently claimed refunds on tax withheld from stock dividends, with a New York federal court dismissing the allegations.

  • September 12, 2025

    27-Year Labor Department Lawyer Makes Littler His First Firm

    An attorney who has spent his entire career working in public service and who most recently completed more than 27 years with the U.S. Department of Labor's office focused on workplace safety has joined Littler Mendelson PC in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Wednesday.

  • September 12, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen former Master Chef presenter Gregg Wallace sue the BBC, Elon Musk's xAI take legal action against a staff engineer, and fashion mogul Kevin-Gerald Stanford file a fresh claim against Lion Capital-owned Klotho and EY amid a long-running All Saints share acquisition dispute.

  • September 11, 2025

    Ex-Two Sigma Quant Rigged Models For $23M Profit, Feds Say

    A former Two Sigma Investments quantitative analyst was hit Thursday with criminal charges and a civil enforcement action for allegedly manipulating the hedge fund's algorithmic models used to forecast securities performance in order to snag a $23 million payday while causing $165 million in harm to clients.

  • September 11, 2025

    Trump's CFTC Nominee Publicly Feuds With Winklevoss Twins

    Brian Quintenz is accusing crypto exchange founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of pressuring President Donald Trump to delay his nomination to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, saying in a social media post that the identical 44-year-old twins were apparently unhappy that he refused to make promises about a complaint they've lodged against agency attorneys.

  • September 11, 2025

    Girardi's Atty, Judge Debate If His Conviction Is 'Debatable'

    A California federal judge pushed back Thursday on arguments by Tom Girardi's lawyer that he should be free on bond while he appeals his wire fraud conviction, saying that debating the case doesn't automatically mean it raises "fairly debatable" questions sufficient to meet the Ninth Circuit's standard for remaining free on appeal.

  • September 11, 2025

    Ex-Nikola CEO Seeks To Undo Investor Class In Fraud Case

    Former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton on Thursday asked an Arizona federal judge to decertify at least part of a class of investors accusing him and the company of exaggerating the viability of Nikola's technology and its business prospects, arguing the lead investors didn't identify and contact class members during discovery.

  • September 11, 2025

    SEC Sues Podcast Host, Others Over $82M In Securities Sales

    A trio of allegedly unregistered securities brokers, including a podcaster, are facing a suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging they sold unregistered oil and gas securities at the behest of sponsors of the associated unregistered offerings, raising a combined $82 million in exchange for transaction-based compensation.

  • September 11, 2025

    SEC Drops Suit Against Nikola Founder After Trump's Pardon

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday ended its civil enforcement action in New York federal court against Nikola founder Trevor Milton months after he was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his securities fraud conviction on charges of lying to boost the company's stock on Wall Street.

  • September 11, 2025

    Federal Judges Faced Over 500 Threats Amid Rising Tensions

    More than 500 threats have been made to federal judges over the last year to over 300 distinct judges, according to data released by the U.S. Marshals Service.

  • September 11, 2025

    US Attorneys, Judicial Noms Advance Amid Senate Tensions

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, faulted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday, for getting in the way of efforts by him and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee's ranking Democrat, to expedite the confirmation of U.S. attorney nominees. 

  • September 11, 2025

    Ex-Mars Risk Exec Cops To Wire Fraud In $28M Fraud Case

    Mars Inc.'s former risk executive copped to wire fraud and tax evasion in Connecticut federal court Thursday over a scheme where he bilked the company out of more than $28 million by diverting funds from Mars assets to an account of a shell entity he created, and billing Mars for phony services.

  • September 11, 2025

    Atty Accused Of Cyberstalking Law Firm Partner, Another Atty

    A Texas attorney has been arrested for allegedly cyberstalking and threatening to kill two other attorneys, one of whom is believed to be a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • September 11, 2025

    Nigerian Man Cops To Wire Fraud In $1.3M PPP Loan Case

    A Nigeria-born man pled guilty to one count of wire fraud on Thursday after being accused in 2023 of filing for more than $1.3 million in fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans from the Small Business Administration, while also agreeing to pay restitution and forfeit certain assets.

  • September 11, 2025

    2 DOJ Veterans Join Lawyers For Good Government

    Lawyers for Good Government announced Thursday that two longtime U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have joined the organization's ranks to help expand the reach of its Pro Bono Litigation Corps.

  • September 11, 2025

    Mistrial Declared For Execs Accused Of Bribing Navy Admiral

    A D.C. federal judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of two consulting company executives accused of bribing a top U.S. Navy admiral with a lucrative post-retirement job in exchange for government contracts.

  • September 11, 2025

    Nadine Menendez Gets 4½ Years In Bribery Case

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday sentenced Nadine Menendez to 4½ years in prison following her conviction at trial for aiding her husband Bob Menendez's corruption by acting as the go-between for bribe payments made to the former U.S. senator to help further the business and personal interests of three New Jersey businessmen.

  • September 11, 2025

    Italian Firm Adds Obama Counsel For Cross-Border Advice

    A former senior U.S. Department of Justice lawyer and senior counsel for former President Barack Obama has joined Italian digital media technology and life sciences firm Portolano Cavallo to bolster its cross-border capabilities, it announced Thursday.

  • September 10, 2025

    Medical Pot Manager Appeals $2M Judgment In Fraud Case

    The manager of a medical marijuana collective is appealing a $2.25 million judgment against him after losing a jury trial and a subsequent motion for a new trial in a lawsuit brought by an investor concerning shareholder rights in a cannabis corporation.

  • September 10, 2025

    SEC Says Adviser Startup Broke Investor Data Privacy Rule

    An investment adviser representative and his firm were hit with a suit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday over claims that the adviser, among other things, emailed himself confidential client information from his former employer as a step in creating his own investment firm.

  • September 10, 2025

    Ga. Panel Says Privilege Can Cover Unlicensed In-House Atty

    The Georgia Court of Appeals said a trial court rightly found that Church's Chicken and its chief legal officer were protected by attorney-client privilege in a franchisee's contract suit, finding privilege can sometimes cover communications between a corporation and unlicensed in-house counsel.

Expert Analysis

  • Congress Crypto Movement Could Bring CFTC 'Clarity' At Last

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    The Clarity Act's arrival at the House floor during "Crypto Week" in Congress demonstrates enduring bipartisan support for legislation addressing digital assets and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's important role in a future regulatory structure, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Practical Implications Of SEC's New Crypto Staking Guidance

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent staff guidance that protocol staking does not constitute securities offerings provides a workable compliance blueprint for crypto developers, validators and custodial platforms willing to keep staking strictly limited to protocol-driven rewards, say attorneys at Cahill.

  • DOJ Actions Signal Rising Enforcement Risk For Health Cos.

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's announcement of a new False Claims Act working group, together with the largest healthcare fraud takedown in history, underscore the importance of sophisticated compliance programs that align with the DOJ's data-driven approach, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • New FCPA Guidance May Flip The Whistleblowing Script

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    The U.S. Department of Justice’s updated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines lay out a new incentive structure that may put multinational U.S.-based companies in an unusual offensive whistleblowing position, potentially spurring them to conduct external investigations of their foreign rivals, says Markus Funk at Perkins Coie.

  • How To Strengthen A Case By Mastering Expert Witness Prep

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    A well-prepared expert witness can bolster a case's credibility with persuasive qualifications, compelling voir dire responses and concise testimony that can withstand cross-examination, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.

  • Spotlight On Medicare Marketing Practices Enforcement Trend

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    Recent U.S. Department of Justice actions, including its recent Medicare kickback allegations in Shea v. eHealth, demonstrate increasing enforcement scrutiny on Medicare Advantage marketing practices, say Ellen London at London & Naor, Li Yu at Bernstein Litowitz and Erica Hitchings at the Whistleblower Law Collaborative.

  • New FCPA Guidance Creates 5 Compliance Imperatives

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    In light of new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act guidelines that mark a fundamental shift in enforcement priorities, companies should consider several specific steps to ensure compliance, from enhanced due diligence to robust whistleblower protections, says Andrew Wirmani at Reese Marketos.

  • How Justices' Ruling Limits Options To Challenge DHS Orders

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    In Riley v. Bondi, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a 30-day deadline for challenging deportation orders begins when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, opening the door for the government to effectively bar circuit court review in future similar cases, says Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Federal Regs Order May Spell Harsher FDCA Enforcement

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    A recent executive order aimed at reducing criminal prosecutions of those who unknowingly violate complex federal regulations may actually lead to more aggressive felony indictments under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, but companies and executives can mitigate risks by following several key principals, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

  • DOJ's 1st M&A Declination Shows Value Of Self-Disclosures

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent decision not to charge private equity firm White Deer Management — the first such declination under an M&A safe harbor policy announced last year — signals that even in high-priority national security matters, the DOJ looks highly upon voluntary self-disclosures, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

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