Latest Crypto Bill Draft Updates DeFi Rules But Not Ethics

By Aislinn Keely

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., on Thursday shared an updated draft of the Clarity Act that tweaked the crypto market structure bill's provisions around decentralized finance but left unaltered ethics language critical to winning Democrat support ahead of next week's cloture vote.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bankman-Fried Asks Justices To Review His Fraud Conviction

By Rae Ann Varona

Incarcerated FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to review the Second Circuit's decision affirming his fraud conviction and $11 billion forfeiture order, saying now is the time to resolve whether evidence of fraud victims' losses belongs in fraudulent-inducement prosecutions and whether his "crushing fine" is constitutional.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC Must Police Some Event Contracts: Citadel Securities

By Aislinn Keely

Citadel Securities told federal derivatives and securities regulators that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should take the lead on oversight of event contracts and other wagers when they're linked to public companies or equities.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Regulators Expand Examination Cycle For More Banks

By Katryna Perera

Nearly 200 banks may receive some relief from annual regulatory exams under a new interagency rule published Thursday that amends the eligibility requirements for an 18-month on-site examination cycle, instead of 12 months.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Treasury Clearinghouse's Stress Fund Delayed By SEC Review

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday it needs more time to determine whether an agency that clears U.S. Treasury securities can set up a new fund to mitigate against member bankruptcy, with smaller brokerage firms complaining they would be forced to foot the bill for the clearinghouse's largest members.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed Colluded With Wall Street On New Capital Rules, Suit Says

By Katryna Perera

The Federal Reserve Board and its vice chair for supervision, Michelle Bowman, were sued on Thursday by Wall Street reform group Better Markets Inc., which alleges Bowman secretly met with the heads of Wall Street giants to manipulate the newly proposed U.S. bank capital rules.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

BitConnect Promoter To Pay $1.9M In SEC Settlement

By Sydney Price

A cryptocurrency promoter was ordered by a New York federal judge to pay over $1.9 million to end claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he recruited investors into a $2 billion unregistered cryptocurrency lending program, marking the end of litigation launched in 2021.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Squires Grants 10 Patent Reviews, Rejects None

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has instituted 10 more Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions, largely in the pharmaceutical space.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boutique Bellementis Brings On Ex-FINRA Enforcer

By Katryna Perera

A former senior Financial Industry Regulatory Authority enforcement attorney has joined the boutique firm Bellementis PLLC as a partner in Washington, D.C.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AI And AML: Rulemakings Lean Into Responsible Innovation

Recent federal rulemaking increasingly supports deployment of artificial intelligence tools for anti-money laundering compliance purposes, and institutions that build clear use and governance frameworks will be best positioned to defend programs when AI systems err, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Voyager Ruling Maps Out Ch. 11 Exculpation Lessons

Chapter 11 plan proponents drafting exculpation provisions may benefit from contrasting the exculpatory language recently invalidated by a New York federal court in the Voyager Digital Holdings case with successful recent use of these provisions in confirmed bankruptcy plans, say attorneys at Debevoise.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senior Lawyers Survey: Tell Us About Your Career

How are senior lawyers adapting to evolving career paths and emerging technologies? Share your perspective in this five-minute survey.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Engineering Co. Calls Atty-Ouster Bid Retaliatory In Wage Suit

By Benjamin Morse

An engineering company urged a Pennsylvania federal judge to reject a bid to remove its lawyer from a wage case, arguing the worker is retaliating because the company tried to disqualify one of his attorneys from a separate case.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Elias Law Group LLP and Stinson LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Missouri cannot use a newly drawn congressional map that favors Republicans in the midterms.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In-House Atty Org. Says Rival Ripped Off Data For AI Tool

By Andrea Keckley

The Association of Corporate Counsel alleges in Delaware federal court that its competitor used the nonprofit's proprietary materials to train its artificial intelligence tool Lloyd and "brazenly promoted its Lloyd product by showing the public that ACC materials could be accessed via Lloyd."

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Greenberg Traurig, Eckert Seamans Hit By Data Breaches

By Ryan Boysen

Greenberg Traurig LLP and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC have publicly revealed that they've been hit by data breaches, adding to the dozens of cybersecurity incidents U.S. law firms have suffered this year.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Legal Ops Duo Sees AI Driving Department Redesign

By Anna Scott Farrell

Connie Brenton and Jeff Franke consider themselves, and others in the field of legal operations, to be, fundamentally, entrepreneurs. Here, the pair sat down with Law360 Pulse to talk about the state of their field, why legal ops is still misunderstood, and their annual conference, Running Legal Like a Business, which took place this week in Las Vegas.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

AI is driving a significant gap between in-house legal departments' budgets and the cost of their workloads, according to a new study. Speaking of gaps, a new Law360 Pulse report on women in law found that men still make up 71% of law firm equity partners and 63% of nonequity partners. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Midterm Wins Could Help Dems Probe Trump's BigLaw Deals

By Courtney Bublé

If the Democrats take back one or both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, a big item on their oversight agenda will be to step up ongoing investigations of the deals that nine major law firms cut with the Trump administration last year.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Personal Injury Firm Beats Atty's Bid For 'Birth Justice' TM

By Adam Lidgett

A former associate at a personal injury and medical malpractice law firm can't register in her own name a trademark for birth-injury legal services that she helped develop before and during her employment with the firm, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trial Errors 'Crippled Goldstein's Defense,' 4th Circ. Hears

By Jeff Overley

Appellate luminary Tom Goldstein unveiled a sweeping and forceful critique aimed at erasing his felony fraud convictions, telling the Fourth Circuit that prosecutors were hell-bent on convicting him "no matter the facts or law," disregarded a star witness's "incompetence" and benefited from a trial judge's "inexplicable" rulings.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Interview

ABA Cyber Task Force Co-Chair Eyes AI Education Boost

By Allison Grande

With the legal industry presenting a more and more enticing target for cyberattacks, it's becoming increasingly important for practitioners to know how to best protect clients' data and most effectively use emerging artificial intelligence tools — a task that the American Bar Association's Cybersecurity Legal Task Force is well positioned to assist with, its incoming co-chair recently told Law360.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Afghan Woman Deported in 1st 'Alien Terrorist' Case

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Trump administration deported an Afghan woman accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired mass shooting in the first case before the previously dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

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.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys Must Arbitrate $8 Oil To Fight $625K Sanction: 9th Circ.

By Jeff Overley

Class action lawyers slapped with six-figure sanctions for suing Walmart Inc. based on erroneous purchase information can't yet challenge the discipline, the Ninth Circuit ruled, suggesting they may first need to arbitrate grievances over an $8 bottle of avocado oil.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Wash. Bench Officer Censured Over Explicit Texts, Emails

By Ben Adlin

The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct censured a former Okanogan County Superior Court commissioner Friday, finding that Robert Colbert violated the Code of Judicial Conduct by engaging in what a stipulated agreement describes as "unprofessional, inappropriate communications" with a court employee that involved "sexually explicit language."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Colo. Governor Appoints Atty To Denver Court

By Rachel Konieczny

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis appointed Friday an attorney to the Denver District Court, filling the vacancy that will be created by a retirement on the bench.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »