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Capital Markets
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April 30, 2024
'Bitcoin Jesus' Dodged Nearly $50M In Taxes, Feds Say
The U.S. has charged an early bitcoin investor dubbed "Bitcoin Jesus" over allegations that he dodged approximately $48 million in taxes by filing false tax returns and concealing how much of the cryptocurrency he owned, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
Skadden, Latham Lead Travel Firm Viking's Upsized $1.5B IPO
Private equity-backed cruise operator Viking Holdings Ltd. on Tuesday priced an upsized $1.5 billion initial public offering within its price range, represented by Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP and underwriters counsel Latham & Watkins LLP, marking the largest IPO of 2024.
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April 30, 2024
5th Circ. Questions Texas' Standing In SEC Proxy Rule Battle
The Fifth Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday of a Texas-led challenge to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulation that will require fund managers to make it easier for investors to identify ESG issues on corporate ballots, with the judges wondering whether the Lone Star State and others had standing to bring the lawsuit.
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April 30, 2024
Debt Box Wants Attorney Fees Paid If SEC Brings New Action
Crypto project Debt Box has asked a Utah federal judge to impose multiple "guardrails" if the court allows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to refile its troubled registration suit against the firm, including payment of all attorney fees arising from the original, compromised suit.
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April 30, 2024
Genius Sports Investors Urge Chancery To Save Merger Suit
The special-purpose acquisition company that took Genius Sports Ltd. public in 2021 didn't fully disclose how a newly inked agreement with the National Football League would affect the sports data company, investors told Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday, urging a judge to preserve their case against the SPAC and its directors.
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April 30, 2024
Chancery Partially Vacates Trump Media Suit Fast-Track Order
A Delaware vice chancellor pulled the plug Tuesday on a bid to fast-track part of a suit brought by two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group against former President Donald Trump's Truth Social media company before it went public.
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April 30, 2024
Crypto Exec Denies $2B Laundering Charges, Is Out On Bail
The CEO of crypto mixer Samourai Wallet has pled not guilty to charges he helped facilitate over $2 billion in illegal transactions and was released on $1 million bail after surrendering to federal authorities voluntarily.
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April 30, 2024
Truth Social Investor Had No Criminal Intent, NY Jury Told
Counsel for a Florida investment pro accused of insider trading on advance knowledge of a deal to take public former President Donald Trump's media concern Truth Social argued to a Manhattan federal jury Tuesday that he acted in good faith.
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April 30, 2024
NY Bank Investors Spar Over Bid To Merge, Pause Suits
New York Community Bancorp Inc. shareholders traded barbs in filings this week over whether a New York federal judge should allow an individual shareholder to intervene in the larger group's attempt to consolidate and stay their derivative shareholder suits against the bank.
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April 30, 2024
Dechert Adds Wilson Sonsini, Ex-SEC Crypto Expert In DC
A cryptocurrency and financial technology attorney who spent nearly six years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has left his most-recent role as a partner with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC to join Dechert LLP in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Tuesday.
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April 30, 2024
Software Firm Silvaco Launches Plans For $108M IPO
Designer of automation software and semiconductor intellectual property solutions Silvaco Group on Tuesday unveiled plans to raise $108 million in its initial public offering, which at midpoint would give the Santa Clara, California-headquartered company a fully diluted market value of $550 million.
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April 30, 2024
Binance Founder Gets 4 Mos. For Lax Money Laundering Policy
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was sentenced Tuesday to four months in prison for his failure to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at the global crypto exchange, as a federal judge rejected a more severe punishment sought by the government citing concerns about sentencing disparity.
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April 29, 2024
Robinhood's Top Lawyer Saw Pay Slashed By 29% In 2023
Dan Gallagher, the chief legal officer for online securities trading company Robinhood, earned $10.7 million in 2023, a nearly 30% decrease from the $15.1 million he came away with in 2022, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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April 29, 2024
Pomerantz, Glancy Prongay Spar To Lead LexUrban Fraud Suit
Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP and Pomerantz LLP are vying to represent a proposed class of investors in a New York federal suit against real estate company LuxUrban Hotels, with Glancy Prongay accusing Pomerantz of "cobbl[ing] together" a would-be co-counsel group and Pomerantz defending its proposed lead plaintiffs as a proper "cohesive duo."
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April 29, 2024
Terraform Says SEC's $5.4B Sanction Bid Fails Under Morrison
Crypto firm Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon struck back at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's $5.4 billion sanctions request following its trial win, filing dual briefs Monday that argued the regulator has only shown that "a small number" of allegedly illegal token sales took place in the U.S. and under its jurisdiction as outlined in the U.S. Supreme Court's Morrison decision.
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April 29, 2024
TD Ameritrade Fined $600K Over Flawed Automated Approvals
TD Ameritrade Inc. has agreed to pay a $600,000 fine to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which alleged the online stock trading platform relied on an inadequate automated approval system for options trading that allowed risk-prone customers to be approved for certain trades despite red flags.
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April 29, 2024
Maker Of 'Let's Go Brandon' Coin Seeks Lawsuit Transfer
An attorney behind the digital asset inspired by the "Let's Go Brandon" meme urged a Florida federal judge to hand off to another court a securities fraud lawsuit against him, arguing Monday that the remaining parties in the suit have no connection to the district where the action was filed.
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April 29, 2024
High Court Uncertainty Stalls SEC Case Against Marcum CPA
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to stay an in-house proceeding against a partner at accounting firm Marcum LLP accused of failing to properly oversee public company audits, saying that an impending U.S. Supreme Court ruling could call into doubt the agency's ability to fine the accountant.
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April 29, 2024
Bank Of China Beats Investor Suit Over Oil Derivative Trading
The Bank of China has beaten a proposed class action alleging it misled investors and mismanaged an oil-linked derivative product, leading to $1.6 billion in losses, with a New York federal judge saying the suit fails to assert specific allegations against each of the defendants and suffers from group pleading, among other things.
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April 29, 2024
'Tornado Cash' Crypto Fraud Wasn't Free Speech, Feds Say
The founder of the Tornado Cash cryptocurrency exchange is mistaken in his arguments that First Amendment protections on computer code are grounds to dismiss his money laundering and sanctions-dodging charges, prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge.
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April 29, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
A multibillion-dollar Tesla trust proposal, a Truth Social bond, power plays over Prince's estate, and three in the ring for World Wrestling Entertainment. All of this and much more came up in Delaware Chancery Court dockets last week.
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April 29, 2024
Venezuela Says It Has Proof Of Special Master Improprieties
Venezuela has asked a Delaware federal judge to disqualify the special master overseeing the sale of Citgo Petroleum Corp.'s parent company to repay billions of dollars in Venezuelan debt, saying it now has proof he engaged in improper advocacy before the Biden administration.
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April 29, 2024
Viking Upsizes IPO To $1.2B As More Companies Enter Fray
Cruise operator Viking Holdings Ltd. on Monday upsized its expected initial public offering to about $1.2 billion, by increasing the number of shares that existing stockholders plan to sell, as more companies join an expanding IPO pipeline.
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April 29, 2024
Orrick Adds Morgan Lewis Securities Regulatory Atty In DC
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has hired a longtime Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP partner who focuses his practice on helping clients understand a myriad of securities regulations and financial laws, the firm announced Monday.
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April 29, 2024
L'Occitane Chair Bids $6.4B To Take Cosmetics Brand Private
L'Occitane International SA said Monday that its billionaire executive director and chair is leading an offer to purchase all the company's shares he does not already own, in a take-private transaction that would value the company at about €6 billion ($6.4 billion) on an equity basis.
Expert Analysis
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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Opinion
Post-Moelis Del. Corp. Law Proposal Would Hurt Stockholders
The proposed Delaware General Corporation Law amendment in response to the Court of Chancery's recent opinion in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Moelis would upend the foundational principle of corporate law holding that directors govern corporations in the interest of stockholders — and the potential harm would be substantial, say attorneys at Block & Leviton.
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At 'SEC Speaks,' A Focus On Rebuilding Trust Amid Criticism
At the Practising Law Institute's SEC Speaks conference last week, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership highlighted efforts to rebuild and restore trust in the U.S. capital markets by addressing investor concerns through regulatory measures and enforcement actions, emphasizing the need for cooperation from market participants, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Calif. Verdict Showcases SEC's New 'Shadow Trading' Theory
Last week's insider trading verdict, delivered against biopharmaceutical executive Matthew Panuwat by a California federal jury, signals open season on a new area of regulatory enforcement enabled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shadow trading theory, say Perrie Weiner and Aaron Goodman at Baker McKenzie.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule
The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
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.
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Private Capital Considerations Amid Market Revival
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.
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Intent-Based Theory Of Liability In Hwang Creates Ambiguity
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.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
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.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
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.
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A Look At Recent Challenges To SEC's Settlement 'Gag Rule'
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.
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Flexibility Is Key In Hybrid Capital Investment Strategies
Flexible or hybrid capital funds have become a solution for some owners adverse to private debt or requiring short-term capital support not otherwise available in the market, but the complexity and possible range of structures available means that principals need to consider how they may work in different scenarios and outcomes, says Daniel Mathias at Cohen Gresser.
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How American Airlines ESG Case Could Alter ERISA Liability
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.