Tokenized Securities Get Same Capital Treatment, Feds Say

By Jon Hill

Federal banking regulators said Thursday that the capital treatment of so-called tokenized securities is the same as their traditional counterparts, emphasizing that bank capital rules are "technology neutral" and don't change when a security is recorded on a distributed ledger.

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Wells Fargo Exits Last Outstanding Fed Enforcement Order

By Jon Hill

The Federal Reserve on Thursday closed out the rest of a 2018 enforcement order issued against Wells Fargo & Co. in the wake of its fake accounts scandal, saying the bank has met all requirements for release after nearly a decade of work.

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Intel, Lutnick Face Investor Suit Over Government's 10% Stake

By Jessica Corso

An Intel Corp. shareholder is suing the company's board of directors and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over a deal in which the government received a 10% stake in the company in exchange for releasing billions of dollars in previously agreed-upon funding.

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Fintech Sues Deutsche Bank, Pathward Over Pharma Flags

By Emilie Ruscoe

A self-described barter-based payment platform sued Deutsche Bank AG and Pathward NA, alleging it was improperly placed on an industry blacklist following the banks' assertions it was "transaction laundering" for companies selling gray-market peptides.

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Mich. AG Accuses Kalshi Of Unlicensed Gambling

By Katryna Perera

Michigan is the latest state to take action against prediction-market exchanges, accusing KalshiEX LLC of running an unlicensed online sports betting platform in a lawsuit removed to federal court on Thursday.

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Feds Can't Repatriate Trusts In $28M Tax Suit, Court Told

By Kevin Pinner

The U.S. government cannot force a Floridian facing a $28 million tax bill to repatriate assets from his trusts because they're governed by Bahamian law and thus the trustee, a Bahamian trust provider, has sole discretion over making distributions, the provider told a federal court.

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Roundup

ERISA Recap: 6 Developments To Remember From Feb.

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Second Circuit refused to boot a former Luxottica worker's proposed class claims into solo arbitration, a Texas federal judge declined to snuff out a tobacco fee suit against 7-Eleven and a healthcare company inked a $43 million deal to wrap a case over how it handled 401(k) plan forfeitures. Here's a look back at six noteworthy moves in Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases from last month.

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Brief

Ex-Wells Fargo Worker's Atty Fee Bid Denied, For Now

By Sydney Price

A federal judge rejected a request for attorney fees by a former Wells Fargo worker who won a $22 million Americans with Disabilities Act verdict, saying he will consider the motion again after the Fourth Circuit renders its decision in the bank's appeal.

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Simpson Thacher Hires Capital Markets Partner From Dechert

By Nate Beck

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP said it has hired a New York-based partner who will focus on securitizations in its capital markets practice.

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King & Spalding Brings Back Business Atty To NYC Office

By James Boyle

A former trial attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has left the public sector to return to his post as a litigator at King & Spalding LLP's New York City office.

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How Banks Can Apply FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Relief

A recent Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit order limiting the circumstances under which banks should identify and verify beneficial owners may allow banks to tailor their approach to verification compliance, but only after reviewing customer due diligence policies and evaluating alignment with their risk profiles, say attorneys at Cleary.

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Opinion

3 Reasons We Need Digital Asset Market Structure Legislation

As bills to regulate the cryptocurrency industry risk stalling in Congress, policymakers and market participants must remember why a durable statutory framework, not governance by agency action, is key to unlocking the full potential of the U.S. digital asset ecosystem, say attorneys at Davis Polk.

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Series

Volunteering With Scouts Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Serving as an assistant scoutmaster for my son’s troop reaffirmed several skills and principles crucial to lawyering — from the importance of disconnecting to the value of morality, says Michael Warren at McManis Faulkner.

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OpenAI Practices Law Without A License, Insurer Alleges

By Lauren Berg

OpenAI is practicing law without a license, according to an insurer's lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court that alleges artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT provided faulty legal advice to a woman seeking disability benefits that led to a breached settlement and a flurry of frivolous court filings.

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Analysis

UK Law Sector's Private Equity Boom Offers Lessons For US

By Ryan Boysen

Private equity money is pouring into the U.K. legal sector, fueling a wave of consolidation in consumer-facing practices and offering a glimpse of what it could look like if outside investment in the U.S. legal industry takes off.

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Criminal Contempt Of DOJ Attys Unlikely For Violating Orders

By Jack Karp

Federal judges have been floating the possibility of holding government attorneys in criminal contempt of court for violating immigration-related court orders, a potentially shocking move that scholars say is unlikely and probably less effective than civil contempt orders.

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Lindsey Halligan Faces Fla. Bar Investigation, Watchdog Says

By Lauren Berg

The Florida Bar is investigating Lindsey Halligan, the former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia who pursued controversial indictments against President Donald Trump's political opponents, according to a letter the Campaign for Accountability made public Thursday.

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Troutman And Former Atty Push To Limit Scope Of Bias Trial

By Jake Maher

Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP and a former associate suing the firm for racial discrimination and retaliation this week fought over the role that charged language and calculations of financial damages should play in an upcoming trial.

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Atty's Scheduling Error Dooms Appeal In AT&T Forfeiture Suit

By Patrick Hoff

An AT&T worker can't ask the Ninth Circuit to review the dismissal of his proposed class action claiming the telecommunications company misused forfeited 401(k) funds, with a California federal judge saying his attorney's busy schedule was "one of the least compelling excuses" for filing a late appeal.

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Analysis

A Look At Four States' Tort Reform Legislation Fights

By Y. Peter Kang

There are currently four states debating whether to install business-friendly tort reform legislation or medical malpractice guardrails. The issues include a potentially brutal showdown in California over auto collision litigation and efforts in Florida to expand wrongful death liability for healthcare providers.

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Ex-Judge In Wis. Says ICE Prosecution Theory Has No Limits

By Britain Eakin

A former Wisconsin judge has said the government's case against her for obstructing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has no limiting principle and wrongly turned her authority to manage her courtroom into a federal felony for impeding ICE.

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Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana Judicial Nominees Advance

By Courtney Bublé

Four judicial nominees advanced out of committee Thursday along party lines, which included two for Texas.

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