Winklevosses' Crypto Co. Gemini Can't Ditch CFTC Settlement

By Bonnie Eslinger

A New York federal judge on Thursday denied a request by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Winklevoss-owned cryptocurrency exchange Gemini to throw out a settlement signed by the company to end a Biden-era enforcement action, saying there's no significant change of facts and a crypto policy shift under the Trump administration doesn't negate the deal.

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White House Crypto Aide Exits Role

By Aislinn Keely

White House crypto aide Patrick Witt announced Thursday that he's left his post, a departure that comes after key crypto legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate last month.

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Banks, Credit Union Escape Pig Butchering Scam Suit

By Sydney Price

Several financial institutions have been released from a suit brought by a California couple accusing them of allowing a so-called pig butchering investing scam that cost the pair $600,000, with a federal judge ruling the couple does not show how the defendants are liable for the harm, and that some of the claims were brought too late.

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Fed's Bowman Says Regulators Must Focus On Material Risks

By Sarah Jarvis

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman has urged international banking regulators to focus on addressing material risks to the financial system instead of pursuing what she described as "less valuable work," based on flawed assessments of Silicon Valley Bank's 2023 collapse.

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Market Surveillance Co. Taps Ex-CFTC Counsel To Lead Policy

By Aislinn Keely

Fintech-focused market surveillance firm Solidus Labs announced Thursday that it's brought on a former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission attorney who advised lawmakers on closely watched crypto legislation to lead its policy efforts.

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Womble Bond Gains 5 Finance Litigators From K&L Gates

By Andrea Keckley

Womble Bond Dickinson announced Thursday that it has hired five litigators from K&L Gates LLP to join its New York and Boston offices, touting their history advising some of the country's largest financial institutions.

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Series

Fintech Regulator Outlook: Collaboration In North Dakota

The recent speed of new digital asset products entering the market continues to introduce compliance challenges, so regulators and companies alike must examine the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, collaboration and modernization to navigate regulatory complexity, says Lise Kruse at the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions.

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Mayer Brown Lands 2 Sheppard FDA Partners

By Tracey Read

Mayer Brown LLP has bolstered its life sciences capabilities with two former Sheppard partners, including that firm's former U.S. Food and Drug Administration practice leader.

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Greenberg Traurig Hires Sidley Private Funds Atty In Chicago

By Jack Rodgers

Greenberg Traurig LLP has hired a former Sidley Austin LLP counsel, who spent nearly a decade before her last law firm position working with Balyasny Asset Management in a range of related legal roles, the firm recently announced.

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Analysis

Expect These Post-Midterm Probes If The Hill Changes Hands

By Phillip Bantz

The top investigative priorities of a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress are coming into sharper focus with the midterms weeks away and could impact an array of companies and individuals in technology, finance and energy, experts say.

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White & Case Taps 47 Partners In Largest US Class Since 2022

By Ashish Sareen

White & Case LLP has elevated 47 lawyers to its partnership, its largest promotion round since a record 59 lawyers became partners at the start of 2022.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the full Eleventh Circuit overturned decades-old precedent that took a strict view of when federal benefits law claims could be brought in court.

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Dems Press Kirkland Again For Details Of $125M Trump Deal

By Courtney Bublé

A trio of congressional Democrats once again accused Kirkland & Ellis LLP of subverting their oversight requests into the $125 million deal the firm cut with the Trump administration last year.

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Ex-Legal Tech Co. Exec Says Pregnancy Got Her Fired

By George Woolston

A legal technology company abruptly fired its director of partnerships after it learned she was pregnant, and has since withheld a nearly $40,000 bonus, according to a lawsuit lodged in New Jersey state court.

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Google Users' $85M Fee Ask Stalls Over 'Utterly Lacking' Bill

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Thursday rejected an $85 million attorney fee request following a $700 million settlement in a consumer-led case against Google, ruling that counsel's submitted billing records are "utterly lacking in information demonstrating what work was done and for what purpose," while granting leave to amend the request.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The top investigative priorities of a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress are coming into sharper focus with the midterms just weeks away and could impact companies in various sectors. In the meantime, one BigLaw firm formed a board to oversee the use of artificial intelligence and evaluate proposals from its practice groups and sectors. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Monopoly Allegations Test ABA's Role In Legal Education

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association is facing mounting claims that the council responsible for law school accreditation acts as a monopoly, an accusation levied amid a broader, politicized battle over the future of legal education.

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Brief

Cooley Reportedly Matches Milbank Pay Scale Starting In '27

By Matt Perez

Cooley LLP will reportedly increase U.S. associate base compensation in line with the pay scale set by Milbank LLP in June beginning on Jan. 1.

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Analysis

Could A Criminal Sentencing Case Upend Loper Bright?

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is concerned that a ruling instructing trial courts to defer to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's interpretation of federal sentencing guidelines could blow a "pretty big hole" in the court's recent rejection of deference doctrines. His colleagues, however, don't appear as perturbed.

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Google Class Attys Get $22.7M Despite Hourly Rate Rebuke

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has approved Google's $68 million class action settlement to resolve a long-running privacy suit, including class counsel's requested $22.67 million fee award, commending the parties' hard work while also criticizing a plaintiffs attorney's "patently unreasonable" proposed $3,000 hourly rate.

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Survey Of Ill. Attys Reveals Mental Health Struggles, Stigma

By Celeste Bott

A survey of nearly 7,000 Illinois lawyers found roughly 20% rated their mental health as fair or poor, according to an Illinois Supreme Court commission report documenting the toll of workplace stress on the state's attorneys and judges, their alcohol and drug use, and barriers to getting them care.

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San Benito Foods Deal Gets Early OK, With Notice Concerns

By Jonathan Capriel

A California federal judge has given her initial blessing to a nearly $1 million deal that would end a Monterey Bay-area township's lawsuit against a tomato cannery that claimed the cannery's noxious odors diminished residents' property values.

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Balancing The Scales: Criminal Appeals, Sentencing Rules

By Orlando Lorenzo

The Second Circuit has been ordered to take another look at a murder-for-hire conviction in light of the high court's new miscarriage-of-justice exception for criminal appeal waivers, and the top courts in Pennsylvania and Michigan will look at the retroactivity of new sentencing rules. Here, Law360 highlights access to justice stories arising from litigation, verdicts and judgments you may have missed.

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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.

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