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White Collar
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April 16, 2024
Ga. Sheriff's Abuse Conviction Should Stand, 11th Circ. Hints
An Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday appeared wary of dismissing the criminal conviction of Victor Hill, a former Georgia sheriff who was convicted in 2022 of violating the civil rights of detainees by strapping them to a chair for hours at a time.
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April 16, 2024
Ousted Fla. Atty To Seek Reelection Amid DeSantis Fight
Suspended Florida state attorney Andrew Warren announced Tuesday he's running for reelection as the top prosecutor in Hillsborough County, while he pursues an ongoing federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis over his suspension.
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April 16, 2024
Feds Want To Boot Gibbons Atty From Menendez Bribery Case
Prosecutors plan to call a Gibbons PC attorney as a witness during the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and want him disqualified from representing another defendant in the case, they told a New York federal judge Tuesday.
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April 16, 2024
Meet The Atty For An Ex-Union Leader Facing His 3rd Trial
The only thing standing between ex-Philly union leader John Dougherty and a third conviction is attorney Greg Pagano, and he feels confident going into the next trial that things will be different.
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April 16, 2024
Ga. Justices Nix Backdated Discipline For Atty In Forgery Case
The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously denied an attorney's request for a retroactive suspension for forging a court order for his client, ruling that it would be "inappropriate" if he resumed practicing law while in the process of a pretrial diversion program to have his felony forgery case dismissed.
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April 16, 2024
Retrial For Feds' Conduct Denied In $12M Tax Fraud Case
An Atlanta man convicted of running a $12 million tax refund fraud scheme isn't entitled to a new trial even though federal prosecutors withheld evidence that the man said minimized his role in the crime, a federal judge ruled.
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April 16, 2024
BigLaw Attys Among First 7 Jurors Picked In Trump's NY Trial
Two BigLaw attorneys on Tuesday were among seven people sworn in as jurors in Donald Trump's Manhattan hush money trial, which could proceed to opening statements as soon as Monday.
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April 16, 2024
Ex-North Korean Official Charged With Dodging US Sanctions
A former North Korean diplomat in Thailand is facing criminal charges in Washington, D.C., federal court alleging he conspired to surreptitiously ship goods into his home country in avoidance of U.S. sanctions.
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April 16, 2024
Focus On Prosecutor Will Set Ga. Trump Jury Questions Apart
The jury questionnaire currently before hundreds of Manhattan residents in Donald Trump's first criminal trial will serve as a partial blueprint for his upcoming election interference case in Georgia, experts told Law360, with at least one significant difference: a sharp focus on the Fulton County case's high-profile, controversial prosecutor.
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April 16, 2024
Investors Say Cannabis Group Took $9.1M In Fraud Scheme
Three investors are suing a California-based cannabis company and several affiliates, saying they were induced to invest more than $9.1 million in exchange for ownership shares of dispensaries, but have seen little to no return on their investment while their money was diverted.
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April 16, 2024
Moving Co. Execs Found Guilty In $7.7M Payroll Tax Scheme
The former president of a moving company and its head bookkeeper conspired to evade more than $7.7 million in federal payroll taxes, a New York federal jury has found.
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April 15, 2024
Ex-Autonomy Exec Testifies To Handshake Deals, Backdating
Autonomy's former U.S. head of sales testified for the prosecution Monday in the criminal fraud trial of founder Michael Lynch, saying he boosted sales figures via "quid pro quo" handshake deals with customers, created pretextual emails to cover his tracks and even backdated a deal to meet revenue targets.
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April 15, 2024
Funeral Home With Decaying Bodies Accused Of COVID Fraud
A couple who allegedly stored 190 decomposing bodies in their funeral home have been indicted on federal charges that they also fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds, which they spent on vacations and cosmetic surgery, among other things, Colorado federal prosecutors announced Monday.
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April 15, 2024
Structured Deposits Recalled In Ex-Ecuadorian Official's Trial
A bookkeeper testified Monday in Miami federal court that he conducted a series of structured deposits and other suspicious transactions while working at a tile company owned by the son of Ecuador's former comptroller general, who's accused of laundering millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA.
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April 15, 2024
Tax Attys, Broker Peddled 'Financial Fantasy,' NC Jury Told
A North Carolina federal jury on Monday heard a series of secret recordings at the start of a tax fraud trial in which an insurance agent and a St. Louis attorney unwittingly pitched an undercover IRS agent on a way to decrease taxable income — or what the government characterized as a "financial fantasy."
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April 15, 2024
Trump Tells Justices Impeachment Required For Prosecution
Former President Donald Trump told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday that the "inevitably and unavoidably" political nature of prosecuting a former president requires input from Congress, arguing the U.S. Constitution's framers carefully wrote the impeachment clause to act as an initial hurdle for criminal prosecutions.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Wary Of Strict Limit On Malicious Prosecution Cases
Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared open Monday to the idea that a charge made without probable cause can be grounds for a malicious prosecution civil suit even if another charge with valid probable cause accompanied it, but without a clear consensus on a precise boundary.
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April 15, 2024
FTX Liquidators Describe Operating Blindly In Initial Days
The U.S. liquidator for collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX told attendees at the OffshoreAlert Conference in Miami Beach, Florida, the case was unlike any other he'd handled as the company had "no set of books," forcing both onshore and offshore liquidators to scramble to track down assets.
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April 15, 2024
'Pig Butchering' Scams' Human Toll Has Experts Alarmed
Financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges and social media companies need to do more to stem a growing tide of so-called pig butchering scams, which experts at the OffshoreAlert Conference in Miami said Monday are wreaking havoc on victims while funding a large human trafficking operation.
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April 15, 2024
Calif. Cannabis Co. Stiiizy Sued Over Delta-8 Products
California cannabis giant Stiiizy has been accused of selling products which were touted as federally compliant hemp wares but purportedly had high enough levels of psychoactive THC to qualify as marijuana products, according to a proposed class action in Illinois federal court.
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April 15, 2024
Allstate Asks Court To Order Takedown Of 'Smear' Posts
Allstate asked a Colorado federal judge to order a former independent contractor to remove false statements on his website accusing the insurer of selling customers' personal information to criminals, arguing it has been irreparably injured and that the defendant has signaled he has no plans to stop his smear campaign.
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April 15, 2024
Solar Power Co. Accuses Ex-Insider Of Building, Selling Rival
Delaware-chartered solar energy venture Volt Energy Utility LLC has sued a former top officer in Chancery Court, alleging that while employed by Volt, she secretly launched a competing company, contacted Volt's lenders and customers and then sold the new business to a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. for $216 million.
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April 15, 2024
Coinbase Wants 2nd Circ. To Weigh Crypto's Howey Question
Crypto exchange Coinbase has asked a Manhattan federal judge to send the question of whether digital assets meet the definition of investment contracts to the Second Circuit, challenging a March order that found the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had adequately pled that the platform offered securities.
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April 15, 2024
Baltimore Taps DiCello Levitt, Saltz Mongeluzzi For Key Bridge
The city of Baltimore announced Monday it has hired DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC as it plans legal action against those responsible for a container ship destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, the same day FBI agents boarded the ship as part of a criminal investigation.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Suggest Bribery Law Could Criminalize Routine Gifts
U.S. Supreme Court justices pressed the federal government Monday to specify what kinds of rewards fall under a bribery statute frequently used in public corruption prosecutions and why they should be considered graft, voicing concerns that ordinary people could face hefty prison time for routine gift-giving.
Expert Analysis
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Valeant Ruling May Pave Way For Patent-Based FCA Suits
The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in Silbersher v. Valeant marks a significant development in False Claims Act jurisprudence, opens new avenues for litigation and potentially raises the stakes for patent applicants who intend to do business with the government, say Joshua Robbins and Rick Taché at Buchalter.
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The Corporate Transparency Act Isn't Dead Yet
After an Alabama federal court's ruling last week rendering the Corporate Transparency Act unconstitutional, changes to the law may ultimately be required, but ongoing compliance is still the best course of action for most, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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Complying With Enforcers' Ephemeral Messaging Guidance
Given federal antitrust enforcers’ recently issued guidance on ephemeral messaging applications, organizations must take a proactive approach to preserving short-lived communications — or risk criminal obstruction charges and civil discovery sanctions, say attorneys at Manatt.
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New FinCEN Guide Provides Useful BOI Context For Banks
Financial institutions should review a new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network compliance guide for helpful details about how the agency's beneficial ownership information database should be used, though questions remain about the access rule and whether it will truly streamline bank borrowers' Corporate Transparency Act due diligence, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition
Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.
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Opinion
OFAC Should Loosen Restrictions On Arbitration Services
The Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations should be amended so that U.S. persons can provide arbitration services to sanctioned parties — this would help align OFAC policy with broader U.S. arbitration policy, promote efficiency, and effectively address related geopolitical and regulatory challenges, says Javier Coronado Diaz at Diaz Reus.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.
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Perspectives
Compassionate Release Grants Needed Now More Than Ever
After the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent expansion of the criteria for determining compassionate release eligibility, courts should grant such motions more frequently in light of the inherently dangerous conditions presented by increasingly understaffed and overpopulated federal prisons, say Alan Ellis and Mark Allenbaugh at the Law Offices of Alan Ellis.
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Communication Is Key As CFPB Updates Appeals Process
Though a recently updated Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule expands financial institutions' abilities to appeal supervisory decisions, creating strong relationships and open communication channels with CFPB examiners may help resolve disputes faster than the more cumbersome formal process, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.
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Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls
Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling
While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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Perspectives
Justices' Double Jeopardy Ruling Preserves Acquittal Sanctity
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last week in McElrath v. Georgia, barring the state from retrying a man acquitted of murder after a so-called repugnant verdict, is significant in the tangled web of double jeopardy jurisprudence for its brief and unequivocal protection of an acquittal’s finality, says Lissa Griffin at Pace Law School.
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Steps For Companies New To Sanctions Compliance
Businesses newly required to implement compliance programs due to the increased breadth of mandatory sanctions and export controls, including 500 additional Russia sanctions announced last Friday, should closely follow the guidance issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and other regulators, say Jennifer Schubert and Megan Church at MoloLamken.