SEC's Uyeda Says ERISA Needs Litigation Reform To Curb Suits

By Jessica Corso

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member Mark Uyeda called for litigation reform Thursday aimed at stopping lawsuits filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that he said discourage retirement plan fiduciaries from investing in the private markets.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC Walks Away From SolarWinds Data Breach Case

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it was voluntarily dismissing a lawsuit accusing software developer SolarWinds Corp. and its chief information security officer of failing to warn investors about lax cybersecurity standards prior to suffering a massive data breach.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump's CFTC Pick Selig Advances To Senate Floor

By Aislinn Keely

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will advance to the U.S. Senate floor after a Thursday agriculture committee vote on Michael Selig's nomination passed along party lines.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-SDNY Chief Rejects Claim Of Broken FTX Plea Promise

By Pete Brush

Former interim Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon told a federal judge Thursday that she never promised crypto lobbyist Michelle Bond any kind of no-prosecute deal as the government negotiated a guilty plea with Bond's husband, former FTX executive Ryan Salame.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Musk Lied About Tesla To Fund Twitter Buy, 9th Circ. Told

By Bonnie Eslinger

Tesla shareholders urged the Ninth Circuit Thursday to revive their allegations that Elon Musk lied about the capabilities and safety record of Tesla's self-driving technology, saying the district court erred in finding no evidence of fraudulent intent since the billionaire clearly needed to boost Tesla's share price to buy Twitter.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chancery Says $33M Nikola Deal 'More Than Fair'

By Jarek Rutz

Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick granted final approval Thursday to a pair of settlements totaling more than $33 million, including more than $1.8 million in fees and expenses, resolving years of shareholder litigation tied to Nikola Corp.'s fraud-shadowed SPAC merger.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Starbucks Can't Dump Investors' 'Triple Shot' Strategy Suit

By Emilie Ruscoe

Starbucks and its former CEO can't shed investor class action claims that the company harmed shareholders by concealing its struggles to implement a "reinvention plan," which came to light when the company disclosed that its sales were being harmed by longer waits for customized drinks in its U.S. stores and by fierce competition in China.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed's Cook Says AI Could Either Steady Wall Street Or Rig It

By Hailey Konnath

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lisa Cook said Thursday that the use of artificial intelligence in algorithmic trading in financial markets has the potential to improve on current trading, but it also has the potential to create "risks that are difficult to monitor or mitigate."

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Meta Will Pay $190M, Change Policies To End $8B Privacy Suit

By Hailey Konnath

Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to pay $190 million, as well as enhance its whistleblower program and implement a new code of conduct and insider trading policy, as part of a proposed settlement in an $8 billion privacy suit tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to several new filings Thursday.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Crypto Orgs. Call On White House To Spur Agency Guidance

By Aislinn Keely

A coalition of more than 65 crypto-focused organizations penned a letter to President Donald Trump asking the White House to encourage federal agencies to stop prosecuting developers of decentralized software, exempt decentralized projects from certain rules and clarify tax treatment.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Libra Buyers Push For Asset Freeze Over Alleged Fund Moves

By Sydney Price

Buyers of the collapsed crypto project Libra who allege operators misled them into buying the token with the help of an endorsement from Argentine President Javier Milei are again asking a Manhattan federal judge to freeze proceeds from the asset sale to purportedly stop evidence destruction.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fugees' Pras Gets 14 Years For Illegal Political Donation

By Rae Ann Varona

Former Fugees rapper Prakazrel "Pras" Michel was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison for illegally funneling money from a Malaysian billionaire into former President Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign and later lobbying the first Trump administration on behalf of China.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Investment Adviser Admits 2-Year Client Swindling Scheme

By Lauraann Wood

An investment adviser charged with running a two-year fraud scheme in which he convinced investors to put money toward non-existent business opportunities admitted Thursday that he is guilty of the government's allegations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UiPath Execs Want Derivative Suit Axed Over Board Demand

By Katryna Perera

The top brass of UiPath have hit back against a derivative suit in Delaware Chancery Court, arguing the plaintiff shareholder did not make a presuit demand on the company's board and that the complaint merely copies claims from a separate federal class action that was dismissed.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DocGo Investors Get First OK For $12.5M Settlement

By Sydney Price

Investors of mobile medical provider DocGo have received preliminary approval of their $12.5 million settlement of claims that the company deceived stockholders before a $432 million contract with New York City to provide emergency migrant housing came under public scrutiny.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Target Investors' Pride Month Merch Suit Shipped To Minn.

By Emilie Ruscoe

A consolidated set of shareholder class actions against Target Corp. over its 2023 Pride Month marketing campaign has been relocated from Florida to Minnesota, where the company is headquartered.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chinese Logistics Co. Investors Sue Over 95% Stock Crash

By Katryna Perera

Investors of China-based Jayud Global Logistics have filed suit in New York federal court, alleging the company's stock price was artificially inflated through fake social media posts before it suddenly collapsed by 95% in one day, leaving everyday shareholders holding the bag.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

X Corp. Ends $90M Fee Suit Against Wachtell

By James Mills

X Corp. has ended its California state lawsuit against Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz over $90 million in legal fees tied to the fight over Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, according to a court filing.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Contradictory Rulings Show Complexity Of Swaps Regulation

Recent divergent rulings, including two by the same Nevada judge, on whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling laws when applied to event contracts traded on U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated markets illustrate the uncertainty regarding the legality of prediction markets, say attorneys at Akin.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

The Ins And Outs Of Decentralized Digital Asset Exchanges

As decentralized digital asset exchanges lack intermediaries, and so remain susceptible to fraud and market manipulation, ​​​​​​​an understanding of their design is crucial to help market participants avoid fraudulent practices such as liquidity rug pulls, says Swati Kanoria at Charles River.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Worker Says Law Firm Fired Her Over Fraud Concern

By Irene Spezzamonte

Injury law firm Morgan & Morgan PA fired a case manager after she voiced a concern about fraudulent client hospital records she said the firm gave to opposing counsel to snag more favorable settlements and failed to pay overtime, according to a suit in California state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Judge Backs Local Grand Jury's Federal Indictment Power

By Jared Foretek

Following a D.C. federal judge's Thursday ruling that the city's unique legal structure allows prosecutors to bring indictments from local grand juries to federal court, a District of Columbia man on Friday asked the court to stay the ruling for five business days.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ga. Justices Spell Out How Atty Ads Can Be Misleading

By Emily Johnson

The Georgia Supreme Court has updated the State Bar of Georgia's rule that prohibits attorneys from misleading the public in advertising their services, defining how lawyers' messaging in ads could run afoul of the state's rule and possibly lead to disbarment.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen Clyde & Co. face a claim from Yorkshire firm GWB Harthills, a property developer previously investigated over suspected bribery and corruption sue the general counsel and solicitor to HM Revenue and Customs, and sportswear giant Gymshark bring an intellectual property claim against its co-founder's rival company, AYBL. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Gordon Rees Atty Reprimanded For Mistakes Blamed On AI

By Rose Krebs

An Alabama bankruptcy judge won't sanction Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLC for a filing submitted by one of its former lawyers that contained mistakes blamed on artificial intelligence, but has reprimanded the attorney and ordered her to notify her clients about the reprimand.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Will Speed Some Classified Discovery In Bolton Case

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors agreed Friday to accelerate their classified discovery timeline in the prosecution of John Bolton, as a Maryland federal judge pressed them to move faster.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a D.C. federal judge rejected a Federal Trade Commission suit accusing Meta Platforms of illegally monopolizing social media through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

Texas Boutique Giving Associates Bonuses Of Up To $135K

By Tracey Read

Texas complex commercial litigation boutique Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP announced Friday that it will reward associates with additional year-end bonuses of up to $135,000 by Dec. 31, while more firms said they'd match or exceed the prevailing BigLaw scale.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-US Trustee Director's Firing Appeal Tossed, For Now

By Clara Geoghegan

The former head of the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog program had her appeal challenging her abrupt firing dismissed, at least for now, while a federal agency mulls questions around executive power in separate cases.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fenwick & West Must Face New Claims In FTX Crypto MDL

By Madison Arnold

A Florida federal judge signed off on a bid to file new claims against Fenwick & West LLP by victims of the infamous FTX Trading Ltd. cryptocurrency scam after they argued that new information had emerged about the firm's alleged role in the trading platform's collapse.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Longtime Administrator Tapped For Conn. Trial Court Bench

By Rose Krebs

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has announced that he will be nominating a lawyer with a lengthy career in policy development and administration who is currently secretary of the state's Office of Policy and Management for a seat on the state's Superior Court bench.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

This week's edition of GC Cheat Sheet explores which top legal officers take home the most money and why. And the general counsel of SolarWinds Corp. can finally put its data breach regulatory problems behind it after the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its unprecedented case against the company and its chief information security officer.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »