Wall Street Giants Sued Over Alleged Stock Manipulation

By Emilie Ruscoe

An investor in Israeli chipmaker Eltek Ltd. has sued Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and Interactive Brokers Group Inc., alleging they had a role in a complex stock price manipulation scheme that played out over years, causing trading prices for the tech company's shares to be "irrationally depressed."

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'Good Riddance': Feds Ax Big-Bank Climate Risk Guidance

By Jon Hill

Federal regulators Thursday moved to scrap a set of Biden-era "principles" that sought to ensure large banks can manage potential balance-sheet risks from climate change, an ending that one Federal Reserve official greeted with a sharp send-off.

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Electric Aircraft Startup Beta Technologies Targets $750M IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Electric aircraft and propulsion system manufacturer Beta Technologies has unveiled plans for an estimated $750 million initial public offering, with Kirkland & Ellis LLP advising the company and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP advising the underwriters.

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Fed's Barr Calls For Rules To Plug 'Gaps' In Stablecoin Bill

By Aislinn Keely

Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr said Thursday that the success of the recently passed legislative framework for stablecoins is dependent on federal banking agencies and state regulators coordinating to "fill in important gaps" that could threaten consumer protection and the stability of the banking system.

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Musk, Twitter Investors Denied Early Wins In Fraud Suit

By Katryna Perera

Elon Musk and investors of X, formerly known as Twitter, are headed toward trial in a class action suit accusing the billionaire of intentionally tanking the social media platform's stock price, after a California federal judge denied the parties' cross-motions for an early win in the case.

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ADNOC's Covestro Buy To Get EU Nod, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Abu Dhabi oil giant ADNOC is expected to get a stamp of approval from European regulators for its €14.7 takeover of German chemicals company Covestro; Spanish grid operator Enagas is debating buying a minority stake in French gas operator Terega; and private equity giant Apollo has submitted another bid to acquire pizza chain Papa John's.

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OCC Inks Deal With Fla. Bank Over BSA, AML Controls

By Sarah Jarvis

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released an agreement Thursday with a Florida community bank for alleged law violations involving suspicious activity reporting and due diligence programs for foreign financial institutions' accounts.

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Kalshi Tells 4th Circ. Md. Is Stepping On CFTC Oversight

By Nadia Dreid

Maryland federal judge was wrong to reject sports betting company Kalshi's argument that its so-called prediction market, which allows users to wager on the outcome of real-world events, counts as a federal derivative exchange, the company said to the Fourth Circuit.

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Semler Investor Sues For Details Of Strive Bitcoin Merger

By Emilie Ruscoe

An investor in healthcare-focused bitcoin treasury company Semler Scientific Inc. has sued to block a shareholder vote on Semler's proposed acquisition by another corporate bitcoin holder until it provides more information on the deal.

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Fla. Judge Says Soccer CEO's Fraud Suit Belongs In UK

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Wednesday tossed a soccer company CEO's lawsuit alleging civil securities fraud in a deal to take his company public via a special purpose acquisition company, ruling that the dispute should be resolved in the United Kingdom.

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Texas Business Court Says Winter Storm Stalled Gas Delivery

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas business court found that Marathon Oil Co. had no obligation to buy natural gas to make up for delivery shortfalls to a commodity trading company created during Winter Storm Uri, saying the winter storm counted as an unforeseen event.

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What Cross-Border Task Force Says About SEC's Priorities

The formation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's cross-border task force, focused on investigating U.S. federal securities law violations overseas, underscores Chairman Paul Atkins' prioritization of classic fraud schemes, particularly involving foreign entities, say attorneys at Cleary.

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How A New BIS Rule Greatly Expands Export Restrictions

The newly effective affiliates rule from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security restricts exports to foreign companies that are 50% or more owned by entities listed on the BIS entity list and the military end-user list — a major shift in U.S. export control enforcement, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

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Series

Traveling Solo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Traveling by myself has taught me to assess risk, understand tone and stay calm in high-pressure situations, which are not only useful life skills, but the foundation of how I support my clients, says Lacey Gutierrez at Group Five Legal.

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Loan Forgiveness Overhaul May Chill Legal Aid Work

By Alison Knezevich

Civil legal services groups and public defenders say the Trump administration's proposed change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program would politicize the initiative and make it harder to recruit attorneys to jobs that pay less than the private sector.

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Atty Quits Ga. Bar's 'Facade' Committee On Client Solicitation

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia attorney resigned Friday as head of the state bar's committee on attorney-client solicitation, accusing the bar of not even "reaching for a garden hose" while unlawful solicitation of accident victims has spread "like wildfire" across the Peach State.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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

By Max Austin

This past week in London has seen Johnson & Johnson hit with a £1 billion ($1.34 billion) claim for allegedly selling contaminated baby powder, Carter-Ruck bring a claim against the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and Hewlett Packard file a probate claim against the estate of Mike Lynch.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Exxon was hit with a proposed class action alleging its new program to enable automated proxy voting for retail investors is intended to stifle shareholder dissent. Meanwhile, a new survey found that nearly two-thirds of in-house legal departments think they will rely less on outside legal service providers because of generative artificial intelligence. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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NY Court Orders Hearing On Counsel Conflict In Drug Case

By Elizabeth Daley

A man who pled guilty to gun and drug charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison can argue for a new trial due to ineffective counsel after a similarly culpable co-defendant got a light sentence allegedly due to cooperation between their attorneys, a New York state appeals court said in a reversal.

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Utah Fires Motley Rice From Opioid Case

By Jack Karp

The state of Utah has fired Motley Rice LLC from representing it in long-running litigation over the opioid crisis, a spokesperson for the Utah attorney general's office confirmed to Law360 Pulse on Friday.

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Ga. Judge Resigns After DUI Arrest Outside Fla. Strip Club

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia Superior Court jurist who led the state's Council of Superior Court Judges stepped down from the bench Thursday after his driving under the influence arrest last week outside a Jacksonville, Florida, strip club.

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UC Law School Can Drop Hastings Name, Appeals Court Says

By Andrea Keckley

California is allowed to drop Serranus Clinton Hastings' name from the University of California's San Francisco-based law school, a state appeals court has ruled, backing a trial judge's decision to toss a lawsuit filed by the former chief state Supreme Court justice's descendants and various school alumni.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Caldwell Cassady & Curry PC and Miller Fair Henry PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a California federal jury found Samsung must pay nearly $445.5 million for infringing four wireless communication patents.

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Liberty Mutual Attys Face Sanctions Bid Over Citation Errors

By Emily Sawicki

A St. Louis federal court is weighing whether to sanction Liberty Mutual Personal Insurance Company's lawyers after they submitted a motion containing citation errors and then, after a warning, "somehow" submitted a second motion with the same types of mistakes.

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Federal Courts To Scale Back Operations Amid Shutdown

By Ryan Boysen

The federal court system has run out of money and will scale back operations beginning Monday as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, possibly leading to case delays.

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Robbins Geller To Steer REIT Investors' Suit Over $787M Deal

By Sydney Price

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP will lead a proposed class of investors in real estate investment trust Broadmark Realty Capital Inc. who claim they were misled by executives from the REIT ahead of a $787 million merger with Ready Capital Corp. in 2023.

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