EQT Raises $15.6B For Asia-Pacific Private Equity Fund

By Najiyya Budaly

EQT AB said Tuesday that it has raised $15.6 billion for a fund that will give investors in the Swedish private equity firm access to technology and healthcare companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

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HarbourVest Wraps 13th Fund With $2.4B In Tow

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Boston-based private equity shop HarbourVest Partners, advised by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, on Tuesday revealed that it closed its 13th U.S. flagship primary fund after securing $2.4 billion in total capital commitments.

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3 Firms Guide $1.2B Semiconductor Equipment SPAC Deal

By Al Barbarino

U.S.-based semiconductor materials company Forge Nano said Tuesday it has agreed to combine with blank check company Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. in a deal that values Forge Nano at $1.2 billion.

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Del. Supreme Court Upholds Ruling On Truth Social Shares

By Jessica Corso

The Delaware Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling granting additional stock to the founding shareholder in the company that took President Donald Trump's Truth Social Media public, turning away a request from the shareholder for a second shot to prove it is owed even more shares.

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Latham, Loeb Guide AI Battery Co.'s $250M SPAC Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Electra Vehicles Inc., a provider of artificial intelligence-driven battery technology that is represented by Latham & Watkins LLP, outlined Tuesday its plans to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company advised by Loeb & Loeb LLP, in a deal valued at more than $250 million.

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Armistice Capital Head Calls COVID Stock Rise 'Fun,' 'Lucky'

By Bonnie Eslinger

Armistice Capital's founder defended his hedge fund Tuesday from claims it pump-and-dumped $250 million in Vaxart stock during the COVID-19 pandemic, telling a California federal jury that he and his fund got "lucky" and that the stock's rapid surge was "fun."

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Buyer Sues PE Firm, Alleging Fraud In $26M Manufacturer Sale

By Jarek Rutz

A Michigan-based buyer has sued a private equity firm and two executives in Delaware's Court of Chancery, accusing them of orchestrating a yearslong scheme to inflate a manufacturing company's value and fraudulently induce a $26 million sale.

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Biotech Co. Investors Clash Over 'Self-Dealing' Claim

By Jarek Rutz

Attorneys for a biopharmaceutical and technology company stockholder and a group of venture investors sharply disagreed Tuesday over whether a financing deal was a lifeline for a struggling company or a self-serving maneuver that enriched insiders, as they argued a motion to dismiss the derivative suit in the Delaware Chancery Court.

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Jury Told Ex-Finance CEO Is The Fall Guy In $100M Fraud Case

By Stewart Bishop

Counsel for the founder of Beneficient on Tuesday told a Manhattan federal jury that the founder of the Dallas-based financial services firm did not defraud its onetime business partner GWG Holdings out of more than $100 million, saying a group of former insiders are trying to scapegoat the executive for GWG's downfall.

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Evaluating Congressional Investigation Risk In Deal Diligence

Given the increasing frequency and sophistication of congressional investigations into corporate business practices, companies conducting transactional due diligence should add procedures to assess and mitigate the unique challenges and wide-ranging risks that can arise from Capitol Hill’s scrutiny, say attorneys at Covington.

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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On ESI Control

Several recent federal court decisions have perpetuated a split over what constitutes “control” of electronically stored information — with judges divided on whether the standard should turn on a party's legal right or practical ability to obtain the information, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

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Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

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Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

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Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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