Senate Banking Committee Advances Landmark Crypto Bill

By Aislinn Keely

The latest version of a bill to regulate crypto markets advanced out of the Senate banking committee on Thursday in a vote that saw two Democrats break with their colleagues to support the measure, though they warned their continued support of the so-called Clarity Act is contingent upon adding ethics language and other updates before the bill reaches the Senate floor.

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Fenwick Hit With FTX Suit In DC Over $525M Losses

By Emily Lever

A group of former FTX customers has sued Fenwick & West LLP in federal court in Washington over its work representing FTX from 2018 to 2022, seeking to recover more than $525 million for losses stemming from the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

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2nd Circ. Backs 20-Year Stretch For Forcount Fraudster

By Pete Brush

The Second Circuit on Thursday affirmed a 20-year sentence for an Ecuadorian man from Florida who pushed the $14 million, international Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, concluding that "any error" from a broadcast of the sentencing did not impact the outcome.

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FDIC Signs Off On Stellantis Industrial Bank Bid

By Jon Hill

Stellantis, the company behind Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars, has received Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. clearance to open a U.S. industrial bank, a move that will put all of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers on track to own federally insured lenders.

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'Pig Butchering' Crypto Scam Victim Seeks $962K From IRS

By Kat Lucero

An Ohio man told a district court that the Internal Revenue Service wrongly denied his tax deduction claim for a loss of over $800,000 from a cryptocurrency "pig butchering" scheme despite the extensive documentation of the fraud he said he provided to the agency.

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Apple Drops Bid To Transfer Fintiv Suit Due To Albright Exit

By Adam Lidgett

Apple Inc. has abandoned its request to transfer Fintiv Inc.'s trade secret theft and racketeering lawsuit from Georgia to Texas, citing U.S. District Judge Alan Albright's decision to leave the bench in the Western District of Texas.

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Brown-Forman Rejects $15B Takeover Offer, More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Alcoholic drink maker Brown-Forman rejected rival Sazerac's $15 billion takeover offer; fintech Digital Asset is seeking a $2 billion valuation with its latest funding round; and shoemaker Skechers has upped its offer to settle an investor lawsuit.

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Sentencing Tips For Defending Crypto Conspiracy Cases

The sentencing of Evan Tangeman to 70 months in federal prison for laundering money in a cryptocurrency conspiracy illustrates that defense attorneys representing clients in multidefendant crypto cases need to understand the mechanics of conspiracy liability, loss attribution and restitution exposure before they reach the sentencing table, says Joseph De Gregorio at Sentencing Advocacy.

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Series

Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

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Brief

Colorado Passes Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Nonlawyers

By Emily Sawicki

The Colorado Legislature has approved a bill to bar attorneys and law firms operating in the state from sharing fees and revenue with non-attorney-owned firms, known as alternative business structure firms, making Colorado the latest state to tamp down the practice.

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Roundup

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

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen singer Rita Ora be sued by her management company, the billionaire Gertner brothers file a part 8 claim and Stephenson Harwood lodge a debt claim against a member of the Bulgari jewelry dynasty. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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K&L Gates To Part Ways With Singapore Law Firm

By Aebra Coe

K&L Gates LLP plans to separate from the Singapore law firm it combined with in 2019, while maintaining a presence in the city state, the firm announced on Friday.

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Girardi Trial Judge Josephine Staton To Take Senior Status

By Ryan Boysen

The California federal judge who sentenced disgraced trial attorney Tom Girardi to prison for wire fraud last year has announced that she'll be taking senior status in the fall, allowing President Donald Trump to appoint her successor.

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MMA Law To Shutter Under Ch. 11 Liquidation Plan

By Alex Wittenberg

Houston firm MMA Law has filed a Chapter 11 liquidation plan in Texas bankruptcy court, saying it plans to shut down its business and appoint an administrator to prosecute claims against multiple law firms.

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Roundup

Balancing The Scales: Justices To Revisit Sentencing Rules

By Orlando Lorenzo

The U.S. Supreme Court will take a closer look at a circuit split over the deference that should be allotted to U.S. Sentencing Commission commentary, and a man convicted in the killing of an infant has been released after 27 years served over evidence that points to pneumonia as the likely cause of death.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

PayPal settled with the DOJ to end a probe into what the government agency said was a discriminatory investment program for Black- and minority-owned businesses. Meanwhile, Meta's global head of legal operations during a panel discussion predicted that the billable hour will be the exception — not the rule — in five years. 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

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Haynes Boone lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts that have sent disputes to arbitration have jurisdiction to confirm or vacate subsequent awards.

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New Jersey AG Traces Her Path To Public Service

By George Woolston

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport talked shop at the State Bar Association's annual meeting, dishing on what it was like to get the call to be the state's top law enforcement officer, how her time as general counsel for a public utility informs her new role and what it's like to be both friend and foe to the federal government. The Cape May County native also revealed her favorite diner.

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ABA Section Votes To Scrap Law School DEI Standards

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association's legal education section on Friday voted to eliminate its requirements that law schools show a commitment to diversity in their student body in order to remain accredited, a policy that has been under fire since a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action in higher education.

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$19.2M Joint Juice Deal Ends Calif. False Ad Suit

By Mike Curley

A California federal judge has given final approval to a nearly $19.2 million settlement to end more than a decade of litigation alleging that the makers of Joint Juice misled consumers about its health benefits.

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Fed. Circ. Urges Justices To Reject Newman Suspension Case

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit has urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear Judge Pauline Newman's appeal targeting a suspension imposed on her by the court's other judges, arguing that a lower court correctly held that her challenges to the order are not subject to judicial review.

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