ETF Issuers Urge SEC To Focus On Risk Over Novelty

By Aislinn Keely

Exchanges and issuers urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to apply existing rules for exchange-traded funds to oversee "novel" offerings holding asset classes like crypto and event contracts, while consumer advocacy groups took a hard line against products referencing sports or election wagers.

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SEC Plans To Bless Transfer Agents' Blockchain Use

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is promising sweeping changes to the rules governing transfer agents for the first time in 40 years, issuing a proposal Tuesday that would, among other things, allow agents to utilize the blockchain in tracking securities ownership. 

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SEC Sends White House Plan For Retail Private Market Access

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Investment Management has submitted to the White House a proposal to help facilitate retail investors' exposure to private markets and enable investment advisers to charge related performance fees, saying it could provide more opportunities for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.

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Meme Coin Platform Pump.fun Must Face Users' RICO Claims

By Katryna Perera

A New York federal judge has allowed racketeering claims to proceed against the operator of meme coin launchpad Pump.fun and its co-founders, while dismissing securities and unjust enrichment claims against the launchpad's related blockchain projects.

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Crypto Investment Firm Accused Of Fraud Must Face Ga. Suit

By Sydney Price

A Texas-based crypto investment company can't dodge a fraud suit brought against it in Georgia federal court, after a judge said the suit shows the firm and its management transacted business in the Peach State and used a business dinner in Atlanta to tout their offerings.

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Rutgers Prof Accused Of Crypto 'Pump And Dump' Scheme

By Hailey Konnath

A cryptocurrency investor alleges a Rutgers University computer science professor used his academic credentials and university affiliation to secure investments in a token whose value has since collapsed, "a classic pump and dump scheme," according to a suit filed in New Jersey federal court.

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SEC's Long-Awaited Crypto Rule Is 1st Piece Of Larger Puzzle

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently proposed crypto rule provides issuers with a workable exempt offering framework but leaves holder-side questions for forthcoming rules, meaning compliance officers and counsel will have to work from an incomplete picture for now, says Josh Burton at Silver Regulatory Associates.

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What Nonbank Lenders Should Watch In 'Open Banking' Redo

Nonbank mortgage lenders should prepare for several key changes in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's anticipated open banking rule rewrite that could reshape verification costs, vendor relationships and loan workflows, says Kara Ward at Baker Donelson.

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How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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HSF Kramer Added To $1B King & Spalding Malpractice Suit

By Jack Karp

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP and several of its partners on Tuesday were added to a $1 billion legal malpractice suit against King & Spalding LLP alleging that the firms engaged in multiple schemes to enrich a lawyer's friend at the expense of investment firm White Oak Advisors.

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Fla. Bar Tosses Complaint Over DHS GC's 'Worst' Judge Posts

By Adrian Cruz

The Florida Bar has refused to investigate the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for potential ethics violations over his recent series of social media posts attacking sitting judges, citing a potential conflict with the authority of the federal government.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Rodriguez On The Uses Of AI

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

Today, Judge Xavier Rodriguez is known as an expert in electronic discovery and a proponent of artificial intelligence, but his interest was piqued before he joined the bench of the Western District of Texas in 2003, when he was still a lawyer and the methods for sifting through electronically stored information were still primitive.

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Judges Say Social Media, Political Rhetoric Endanger Them

By Adrian Cruz

Increased access to social media and personal data via the internet, a larger number of high-profile cases, and inflammatory comments made by politicians have led to a rise in violent threats against judges and concerns about their safety, according to a recently published report.

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5th Circ. Judge Hints Court Order With AI Errors Can't Stand

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit judge wanted to know why a panel should keep intact a court order blocking an anti-DEI Mississippi law that contained artificial intelligence hallucinations, asking whether the judges could confidently find that made-up citations did not ultimately sway the district court's decision.

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Ex-Warriors GC, DEI Exec Say Bias Complaints Led To Firings

By Lauren Berg

The Golden State Warriors' former associate general counsel and its former vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion allege they were unlawfully fired in retaliation for speaking up about enduring a workplace marked by gender and race-based discrimination.

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NY Firm, Clinics Reject FedEx's 'Staged' Crashes Claims

By Linda Chiem

A New York personal injury firm and various healthcare providers have told a Manhattan federal judge that FedEx has asserted implausible claims alleging they orchestrated an insurance fraud scheme to fabricate medical records and inflate accident claims, saying there is no such racketeering enterprise.

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Brief

Barnes & Thornburg Says Ex-NBA Star Owes $1M Legal Fees

By Jonathan Capriel

Former NBA player Luol Deng is being sued for more than $1 million by a Chicago-based law firm that claims he failed to pay legal fees connected to two real estate matters, according to a suit filed in Illinois state court.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Bryan Koenig

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery pressured state attorneys general challenging their merger to settle, the Federal Trade Commission successfully challenged a construction adhesives tie-up, state officials waded in against the NextEra-Dominion transaction, and Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. defended their combination under review by federal regulators.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of August

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Anthropic, Zillow and ConocoPhillips. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from August.

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