U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins on Thursday pushed back on claims his agency dropped against cryptocurrency firms as a political favor to President Donald Trump, telling Senate Democrats a "changed attitude" by the commission led to the dismissals.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

SEC's Atkins Rejects Top Dem's Crypto Corruption Claims

By Jessica Corso

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins on Thursday pushed back on claims his agency dropped against cryptocurrency firms as a political favor to President Donald Trump, telling Senate Democrats a "changed attitude" by the commission led to the dismissals.

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Analysis

5 Key Flashpoints From Fed's 'Skinny' Account Proposal

By Jon Hill

The Federal Reserve's push to create "skinny" master accounts that would open up access to U.S. payment rails has become the latest front in long-running turf wars between banks and fintech companies. Here are five of the project's hottest flashpoints attracting controversy.

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Top SEC Enforcer Sees Fewer Cases Over Common Violations

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement chief says she is confident that many violations of federal securities laws concerning requirements for reporting, recordkeeping and internal accounting should not result in agency enforcement actions.

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Simpson Thacher, Davis Polk Steer SoftBank-Backed IPO

By Lauren Berg

SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Japanese mobile payment service PayPay Corp., represented by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, on Thursday filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering, the underwriters of which are represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

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Investor Claims $250K Fraud In Project Tied To Magic Johnson

By Elaine Briseño

A business owner accused an associate of Earvin "Magic" Johnson of fraudulently taking $250,000 to invest in an online education platform about cryptocurrency that was endorsed by the legendary basketball player but never launched or paid any royalties.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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PRACTICE GROUP OF THE YEAR

Fintech Group Of The Year: Sullivan & Cromwell

By Aislinn Keely

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP steered collapsed crypto exchange FTX to the resolution of an industry-defining bankruptcy process, was early to the wave of public crypto treasury companies as an adviser to Twenty One Capital, and advised SmartBiz Loans through the acquisition of a bank — landing the law firm among the 2025 Law360 Fintech Groups of the Year.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Bipartisan Bill Targets Scam Ads On Social Media Platforms

By Jon Hill

Federal lawmakers are pushing to require social media companies to crack down on fraudulent advertising on their platforms under new bipartisan legislation that is drawing praise from banking and consumer groups.

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ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE

'Texit' Crypto Offering Halted By Texas Securities Regulator

By Emilie Ruscoe

Texas' state securities regulator has filed an emergency cease-and-desist order against an enterprise selling mining interests for a cryptocurrency invoking the Texas secession movement, alleging the scheme constitutes a fraudulent and unregistered offering and sale of securities.

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LITIGATION

Fla. Bank Punished Whistleblowers, Fired Execs Say

By Katryna Perera

Three former top executives of First National Bank of Pasco have sued their ex-employer in Florida federal court, alleging it wrongfully fired them for blowing the whistle on what they called banking law violations, risky fintech exposure and improper board conduct, among other things.

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DEALS

Elliott Takes Stake In Stock Exchange Group, More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Activist investor Elliott Management has taken a sizable stake in the London Stock Exchange Group as it faces underperformance, payments company giant Stripe is planning a tender offer that could value it at $140 billion, and private equity firm Hellman & Friedman is looking to buy payments firm Bill Holdings.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

A Closer Look At California Financial Regulator's 2026 Agenda

California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Commissioner KC Mohseni in recent remarks demonstrated the regulator's growing importance amid the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's retreat by debuting expansive goals for 2026, including finalizing rulemaking for the state's digital asset law and expanding enforcement authority around consumer complaints, says John Kimble at Hinshaw.

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Series

Trail Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Navigating the muddy, root-filled path of trail marathons and ultramarathons provides fertile training ground for my high-stakes fractional general counsel work, teaching me to slow down my mind when the terrain shifts, sharpen my focus and trust my training, says Eric Proos at Next Era Legal.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen a former U.S. defense contractor convicted of tax evasion face legal action, French football club Olympique Lyonnais sued following a $97 million ruling against its owner John Textor, consulting giant Kroll targeted by a South African airline, and H&M hit with a claim alleging it copied protected sunglasses designs. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

WilmerHale and Gillam & Smith LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Texas federal jury cleared Apple of infringement claims over patents covering 4G wireless technology, in a case that previously led to jury verdicts of $506 million and $300 million.

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Brief

Indiana AG Declines Intervention In Posner Wage Suit

By Emily Sawicki

Indiana's attorney general has declined to intervene in a pro se plaintiff's suit seeking to revive $170,000 in wage claims against retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner, finding the case did not pose a "substantial" constitutional challenge to a state statute mandating that delayed contracts must be written and signed to be enforced.

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Louisiana Atty Takes Responsibility For AI Usage Snafu

By Christine DeRosa

After facing the threat of sanctions alongside three of his co-counsel, a Louisiana attorney told a federal judge that he was solely responsible for an error-riddled brief written with the assistance of artificial intelligence. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Taking heat from Republican senators over not notifying members of Congress about subpoenas for their phone records, Verizon's general counsel has pledged that in the future, the company will fight gag orders requiring it to keep silent. And taking heat from shareholders and colleagues over her ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Goldman Sachs' chief legal officer has agreed to leave the firm in June.

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Colorado Atty Delayed Filing, Gave Faulty Advice, Suit Says

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado attorney waited nearly five years to file a lawsuit on behalf of two clients and provided faulty advice, the former clients alleged Thursday in a malpractice lawsuit in state court.

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6th Circ. Says Ch. 13 Motion Came 84 Minutes Too Late

By Vince Sullivan

A 2-1 split panel of the Sixth Circuit affirmed two lower court rulings from Michigan federal judges denying a Chapter 13 debtor's motion to dismiss his bankruptcy case because the request came 84 minutes after a bankruptcy court converted the case to a Chapter 7.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AARP Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Bankers Association

American Bar Association

American International Group Inc.

Anchor Labs Inc.

Apple Inc.

Association of Corporate Counsel

Aux

Bank Policy Institute

Barclays PLC

Binance Holdings Ltd.

British Broadcasting Corp.

ByteDance Ltd.

Cantor Fitzgerald LP

CenTrust Bank NA

Coinbase Global Inc.

Coinme

Consumer Bankers Association

Consumer Federation of America

Cornerstone Research Inc.

Financial Services Forum

Financial Technology Association

First National Bank of Pasco

Google LLC

H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB

Hellman & Friedman LLC

Independent Community Bankers of America

Instagram Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Investments Ltd.

J Sainsbury PLC

Kyndryl Holdings Inc.

Laing O'Rourke

Leidos Holdings Inc.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

LinkedIn Corp.

Lloyd's America Inc.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC

Los Angeles County Bar Association

Meta Platforms Inc.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Morgan Stanley

Nasdaq Inc.

Navy Federal Credit Union

New York University

PPG Industries Inc.

Payward Inc.

Renaissance Capital

Ripple Labs Inc.

Sling TV LLC

SmartBiz Loans

Snap Inc.

SoftBank Group Corp.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Hershey Co.

TikTok Inc.

Transocean Ltd.

Valaris

Verizon Communications Inc.

Vista Equity Partners Management LLC

Vodafone Group PLC

W.R. Berkley Corp.

W.R. Grace & Co.

Walmart Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

YouTube Inc.

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Addleshaw Goddard

Baker Donelson

Ben Crump Law

Brockstedt Mandalas

CMS Cameron McKenna

Clyde & Co

Conyers Dill

DAC Beachcroft

DLA Piper

Davis Polk

Dean Omar

Dentons

DiCello Levitt

Eichhorn & Eichhorn

Fenchurch Law

Gibbs Mura

Gillam Smith

Gowling WLG

HJV Car Accident Personal Injury Lawyers

Hacker Stephens

Harrison Goddard Foote

Hinshaw & Culbertson

Hogan Lovells

Homburger AG

Howes Percival

Ivie McNeill

Jones Fussell

Keoghs LLP

Kessler Topaz

LK Law Pty Ltd

Latham & Watkins

Lenz & Staehelin

Levin Sedran

Lieff Cabraser

Liskow & Lewis

Mayer Brown

MoloLamken

Motley Rice

Nabarro LLP

Osborne Clarke

Penningtons Manches

Quinn Emanuel

Reynolds Porter

Riess LeMieux

Seeger Weiss

Sharp Law LLP

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Sullivan & Cromwell

Taylor Rose

The Cochran Firm

Thompsons Solicitors

Trethowans LLP

Trowers & Hamlins

Tycko & Zavareei

Vincents Solicitors

Wagstaff & Cartmell

Walker Morris LLP

Ward Hadaway

WilmerHale

Wilson McCoy

gunnercooke LLP

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Conduct Authority

Indiana Attorney General's Office

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Texas State Securities Board

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

UK High Court