Securities

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Must Clarify Murky Crypto Rules, Ex-Officials Tell House

    Two former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officials who now represent crypto businesses told House lawmakers Wednesday that the agency's insistence on analyzing the economic realities of every crypto transaction in lieu of clear rulemaking has put the sector and its attorneys in unworkable situations.

  • September 18, 2024

    FTX Auditor Prager Metis Settles SEC Charges For Negligence

    The former auditor of Sam Bankman-Fried's defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX agreed Tuesday to pay $1.95 million to resolve allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of misconduct in FTX audits and, in a separate case, violations of auditor independence rules.

  • September 18, 2024

    Loper Bright Undercuts SEC Climate Rule, Fracking Cos. Say

    Two fracking companies suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its climate disclosure rules have again urged the Eighth Circuit to vacate the measures, offering a diverging interpretation of how the U.S. Supreme Court's decision axing Chevron deference should apply.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Files Its 1st Suits Over 'Pig Butchering' Crypto Scams

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed two first-of-their-kind suits against a series of entities and individuals behind a pair of so-called pig butchering schemes that allegedly solicited investments in fake crypto platforms by gaining people's trust over social media only to scam them out of nearly $3 million.

  • September 18, 2024

    $24.5M Fee Sought In Del. For $125M Discovery Suit Deal

    Class attorneys who secured a proposed $125 million settlement in a Delaware Court of Chancery suit filed by former Discovery Inc. stockholders challenging the company's $43 billion merger with AT&T in April 2022 proposed a $24.5 million fee for their efforts Wednesday.

  • September 18, 2024

    Fed's Powell Sees Final Basel Rule Less Than 1 Year Away

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that a revamped version of the Basel III endgame capital rules for big banks could be finalized before next summer, adding that the federal banking agencies will be "moving together" as the controversial rulemaking project enters its next phase.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC Settles Latest Covington Info Theft Case For $33K

    A New Jersey man will pay a $33,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading on confidential merger tips that his cousin stole from a Covington & Burling LLP lawyer, according to a settlement filed in New York federal court on Wednesday.

  • September 18, 2024

    Meta Ditches Investor Suit Over Apple Ad Changes For Good

    A California federal judge on Tuesday tossed an investor suit against Meta alleging the tech giant hid the financial impact of Apple's privacy changes on its business, finding the suit's allegations weren't detailed enough to avoid dismissal.

  • September 18, 2024

    Telecom Co. PLDT Gets Final OK For $3M Investor Settlement

    A California federal judge has given final approval to a $3 million deal settling investor allegations that Philippine telecommunications company PLDT Inc. hid an $866 million budget overrun, giving class counsel a $750,000 cut of the deal.

  • September 18, 2024

    SEC's Equity Trading Reforms Allow Half-Penny Stock Pricing

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday unanimously agreed to allow exchanges to quote stock prices in half-penny increments, part of a wider overhaul purportedly aimed at improving transparency and lowering trading costs.

  • September 18, 2024

    Texas Criminal Court Pauses Paxton Prosecutor Fee Ruling

    The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday agreed to pause a lower court ruling that would allow Collin County to pay a lower amount to the special prosecutors appointed to oversee the securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, putting the county's victory on ice while it considers the dispute.

  • September 18, 2024

    Norton Rose Adds Family Office Ace From Sidley In Dallas

    Norton Rose Fulbright has expanded its Dallas shop with the addition of a former Sidley Austin LLP attorney to its corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities practice who boasts substantial expertise in the family office industry.

  • September 18, 2024

    Biotech Co. Escapes Stock-Drop Suit Over COVID-19 Drug

    A Massachusetts biotech company won dismissal Wednesday from a proposed class action by investors who say their shares tanked in value after it allegedly came to light that executives had falsely touted an unproven prospective COVID-19 medicine.

  • September 18, 2024

    GameStop CEO Pays $1M For Failure To Flag Bank Stock Buy

    GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice claims that the Canadian entrepreneur violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act when he bought more than $20 million worth of Wells Fargo shares in 2018.

  • September 18, 2024

    Silvergate Bank Parent Co. Files Ch. 11, Plans Liquidation

    The parent company of shuttered cryptocurrency-focused bank Silvergate filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Wednesday with plans to wind down and liquidate its remaining assets.

  • September 17, 2024

    Conn. Adviser Gets 21 Mos. For $2.7M Cherry-Picking Scheme

    An investment advisor was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in prison for bilking clients out of $2.7 million through a "cherry-picking" securities scheme, Connecticut's top federal prosecutor said.

  • September 17, 2024

    Chancery Sides With Truth Social Backer In SPAC Deal Payout

    A Delaware Chancery judge sided Tuesday with the investment sponsor of the entity that took former President Donald Trump's Truth Social media company public, on claims it was shortchanged in the deal, ordering a larger share of the stock be handed over from the transaction.

  • September 17, 2024

    FDIC, OCC Cement New Bank-Merger Policy Guidelines

    Federal banking regulators on Tuesday approved plans to tighten their oversight of bank mergers, scoping out heightened scrutiny for deals that result in banks with $100 billion in assets among other things.

  • September 17, 2024

    Police Pension Fund Says Store Chain Inflated Stock Price

    Discount retailer Five Below is facing securities class claims in Pennsylvania federal court from a Florida police officers' pension fund, which says the company falsely attributed poor financial performance to inventory shrinkage while concealing deeper operational issues, causing substantial investor losses.

  • September 17, 2024

    FDIC Proposes Rule On Bank-Fintech Partnership Risks

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s rulemaking board on Tuesday proposed new recordkeeping rules aimed at both shoring up consumer protections as more fintech firms enter the banking space, and preventing a repeat of account freezes that have occurred after fintech service provider Synapse entered into bankruptcy earlier this year.

  • September 17, 2024

    Brooklyn Feds Unveil Whistleblower Nonprosecution Plan

    The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office on Tuesday announced an initiative to reward corporate whistleblowers with nonprosecution deals amid a broader effort by federal prosecutors to encourage voluntary disclosure of criminal activity.

  • September 17, 2024

    GC Base Salaries At Big Companies On The Rise

    General counsel base salaries at companies making $5 billion or more in revenue has increased from last year, while their total compensation has decreased, according to a report released Tuesday by the Association of Corporate Counsel and Empsight International LLC.

  • September 17, 2024

    SEC Fines 12 Muni Advisers $1.3M In Texting Probe Actions

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday fined 12 municipal advisory firms a combined $1.3 million over their failure to keep records of employees' use of text messages and other so-called off-channel communication methods to conduct business.

  • September 17, 2024

    Euronext Buys UK Stock Market Research, Data Software Biz

    Euronext NV said Tuesday that it has bought Substantive Research Ltd., a British provider of investment research and market data, as the stock exchange aims to bolster its analysis service for investors.

  • September 17, 2024

    Top UK Banks Push Payments Infrastructure Reform Plan

    The trade body for financial institutions urged U.K. regulators and companies on Tuesday to engage with a new infrastructure for digital payments that is backed by major banks and card providers.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • How Fund Advisers Can Limit Election Year Pay-To-Play Risks

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    With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz now the Democratic candidate for vice president, politically active investment advisers should take practical steps to avoid triggering strict pay-to-play rules that can lead to fund managers facing mutli-year timeouts from working with public funds after contributing to sitting officials, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • 'Pig Butchering': The Scam That Exploits Crypto Confusion

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    Certain red flags can tip off banks to possible "pig-butchering," and with the scam's increasing popularity, financial institutions need to take action to monitor entry points into the crypto space, detect suspicious activity and provide a necessary backstop to protect customers, say Brandon Essig and Mary Parrish McCracken at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • Opinion

    Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation

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    The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • 9 Liability Management Tips As Debt Maturity Cliff Looms

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    As the debt maturity cliff swiftly approaches in this challenging environment, attorneys at Winston & Strawn highlight the top considerations for boards of directors and finance professionals to think about when structuring and executing liability management transactions, including reviewing capital structure, evaluating debt covenants, and more.

  • How Transaction Lookbacks Can Guide Fintech Companies

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    As transaction lookbacks continue to be a key focus of enforcement actions, newer financial institutions like fintech companies should know they can benefit from proactively investigating their potential failure to identify suspicious activity, creating a compliance road map and building trust with regulators in the process, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Ways Life Sciences Cos. Can Manage Insider Trading Risk

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    In light of two high-profile insider trading jury decisions against life sciences executives this year, public companies in the sector should revise their policies to account for regulators' new and more expansive theories of liability, says Amy Walsh at Orrick.

  • Series

    A Day In The In-House Life: Narmi GC Talks Peak Productivity

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    On a work-from-home day in August, Narmi general counsel Amy Pardee chronicles a typical day in her life in which she organizes her time to tackle everything from advising on products and contract negotiations to volunteering and catching up on the New York Times crossword.

  • How Ripple Final Judgment Fits In Broader Crypto Landscape

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    The Southern District of New York's recent $125 million civil penalty levied in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple will have a broad impact on the crypto industry as it was the first to hold that blind sales of digital assets are not securities, even if deemed securities in other circumstances, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • Assessing Whether Jarkesy May Limit FINRA Prosecutions

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jarkesy v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, holding that civil securities fraud defendants are entitled to jury trials, may cause unpredictable results when applied to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority prosecutions, say Barry Temkin and Kate DiGeronimo at Mound Cotton.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

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