SEC's Atkins Mulls Broker, Exchange Rule Tweaks For Crypto

By Aislinn Keely

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins on Friday floated a series of potential rulemaking efforts to address how regimes for brokers, exchanges, clearing agencies and other types of regulated functions apply to cryptocurrency software projects that don't fall within traditional categories.

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Block Sets Aside $240M Amid Talks To Settle DOJ Probe

By Jon Hill

Jack Dorsey's Block Inc. has reserved $240 million as it works to settle a U.S. Department of Justice investigation tied to short-seller allegations that it turned a blind eye to fraud on Cash App, its mobile payment platform, according to an investor filing late Thursday.

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OCC Rules Spur 7th Circ. Remand In Ill. Swipe-Fee Fight

By Jon Hill

The Seventh Circuit hit reset Friday in a closely watched legal challenge to a pending Illinois law that bans swipe fees on taxes and tips, directing a lower court to take another look at the case in light of new federal rules declaring the restrictions preempted for many banks.

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Coinbase Stole Patented Blockchain Network Tech, Co. Says

By Hailey Konnath

A Texas company has asked a federal court to block Coinbase from infringing a group of patents covering improvements to blockchain technology, pointing to two of the cryptocurrency exchange's products: the Coinbase Wallet and the Base app.

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Crypto Co. Kraken Files For OCC Trust Charter

By Katryna Perera

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, the first digital bank to hold a Federal Reserve master account, announced Friday it has applied for a national trust company charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Payward National Trust Co., which would provide services for digital assets.

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White House Defends Pardon Process Following Dem Inquiry

By Courtney Bublé

The White House says it has a "rigorous" review process for pardons following an investigation launched by Democrats into possible corruption.

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Capital One Discloses 'Fair Access' Regulatory Inquiries

By Katryna Perera

Capital One has become the latest major bank to disclose that it is responding to demands and requests from government agencies related to President Donald Trump's "fair banking" executive order targeting alleged political and religious discrimination by financial institutions.

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Fintech Co. Will Pay $2.3M To End COVID Loan Fraud Case

By Hayley Fowler

A fintech company has agreed to pay $2.29 million to end claims it lied on an application for a COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Plan loan that it was not eligible to receive, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina said Friday.

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Payment Processing Co. Sued Over Data Collection, Breach

By Sydney Price

Payment processing company Total System Services LLC has been hit with a proposed class action in Georgia federal court accusing it of failing to protect consumers' personal information from hackers, resulting in a well-established cybercriminal group stealing the data over a six-month period and likely leaking it earlier this month.

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Consumers Say Bank Can't Escape Fintech Collapse Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

Consumers who lost access to their funds following the 2024 collapse of fintech middleman Synapse Financial Technologies pushed back against an Arkansas bank's bid to escape a consolidated proposed class action, contending in Colorado federal court they sufficiently alleged fraud.

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Goliath Investors Add Companies To Alston & Bird Scam Suit

By Adrian Cruz

Months after suing Alston & Bird LLP for its alleged role in a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., a proposed class of investors added a number of financial institution defendants and claims to their original complaint.

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2 Firms Advise On OnlyFans Stake Sale At $3.15B Valuation

By Al Barbarino

OnlyFans owner Fenix International Ltd. said Friday it has agreed to sell a minority stake to investment firm Architect Capital in a deal valuing the company at $3.15 billion, with the transaction aimed at expanding the platform's financial services and creator tools.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Corrs, Kirkland, Linklaters

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, gold companies Regis Resources and Vault Minerals combine, Long Lake Management acquires American Express Global Business Travel and Vodafone buys out CK Hutchison Holdings to become the sole owner of their telecommunications joint venture.

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Redgrave Adds Ex-Coinbase, AT&T Atty In DC Partner Hire

By Joyce Hanson

Electronic discovery and information law firm Redgrave LLP has hired a new partner to work in its Washington, D.C., office, saying he has played senior legal roles at a cryptocurrency exchange, a major telecommunications company and a disputes and forensic technology firm.

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Eversheds Sutherland Hires Ex-SEC Counsel In DC

By Matt Perez

Eversheds Sutherland has hired a 16-year veteran of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a counsel in its U.S. capital markets and investments practice group.

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OCC Proposal Frames Key Genius Act Implementation Issues

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule under the Genius Act previews federal expectations on permissible activities for stablecoin issuers, offering an early guide to potential compliance burdens and state-federal equivalency debates as the stablecoin regulatory regime continues to take shape, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Expect Trade Enforcers' Cartel Crackdown To Continue

Since agencies’ coordinated enforcement efforts targeting cartel-related activity have not slowed, U.S. companies in Latin America should assess new business lines for designated-cartel ties, scrutinize highest-risk third parties, and enhance training and internal investigation practices, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

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The Ethics And Practicalities Of Representing AI Agents

With autonomous artificial intelligence agents now able to take action without explicit instructions from — or the awareness of — their human owners, the bar must confront whether existing frameworks like informed consent and client privilege will be sufficient on the day an AI agent calls seeking counsel, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

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Ex-Wachtell Lipton Atty Tied To Stolen BigLaw Info Trades

By Chris Villani

A former Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz attorney who later worked for investment bank LionTree LLC is an unindicted co-conspirator in a sweeping alleged insider trading scheme that involved stolen information from several prominent law firms, according to a review of publicly available information.

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Legal Industry Bounces Back, Gaining 2,400 Jobs In April

By Tracey Read

The legal sector is once again on a positive trajectory, gaining 2,400 jobs last month, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Top Atty In DOJ Appeal Over Law Firm Exec Orders To Depart

By Jake Maher

The lead federal prosecutor on the Trump administration's appeal to reinstate executive orders targeting four law firms is stepping down from his government role at the end of May, he publicly announced this week.

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DLA Piper Accused Of 'Frivolous' Suit To Please Chipotle GC

By Gina Kim

DLA Piper aggressively litigated a "frivolous" computer fraud lawsuit against a nonprofit volunteer in order to appease the then-general counsel of Chipotle, a client, who referred the case to the firm, according to a malicious-prosecution complaint filed Thursday in California state court. 

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Prosecutor Faces Probe Into Withheld Immigration Case Info

By Bonnie Eslinger

The lead assistant federal prosecutor for Rhode Island's civil division is under investigation for allegedly withholding information in an immigration case, according to an order from the Ocean State's top federal judge.

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Prosecutors Oppose Move To Put Off Goldstein Sentencing

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors are claiming that SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein may have violated his pretrial release conditions when he racked up over $1.7 million in gambling income last year, telling a federal judge not to delay sentencing for the famed U.S. Supreme Court lawyer.

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Tort Report: Tesla's Legal Exposure Seen As High As $14.5B

By Y. Peter Kang

A new report stating that Tesla faces billions in legal liabilities and a $140 million football brain injury verdict against the NCAA lead Law360's Tort Report, which compiles recent personal injury and medical malpractice news that may have flown under the radar.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen Morrisons sued by a former logistics partner, EDF and Cripps LLP face a claim brought by a family estate near Hinkley Point C and a former BBC broadcaster file a defamation claim against a Welsh news site over articles linking her to Russian state media and conspiracy theories. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The head of the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits section said agency investigations will focus on benefit plan managers' loyalty conflicts, including pursuit of socially conscious goals. Meanwhile, Dell became the latest company to consider Texas as its new legal home. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a split Seventh Circuit panel rejected the Trump administration's argument that immigrants unlawfully in the United States have no due process rights.

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

By Adam LoBelia

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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