White Collar

  • May 28, 2025

    Sens. Urge Treasury To Rescind Ownership Reporting Rule

    A bipartisan duo from the Senate Finance Committee has urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to fully implement the Corporate Transparency Act, criticizing an interim final rule that exempts domestic businesses from contested reporting regulations.

  • May 28, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Pot Smell Needs Link To Suspect For Search

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday found that the smell of cannabis alone is not enough to establish probable cause to arrest or search a person unless it can be linked by the arresting officer to the suspect.

  • May 28, 2025

    Security Exec Gets $20K Fine For Rigging DOD Contracts

    A former executive with a Belgian security company pled guilty to antitrust violations Wednesday in D.C. federal court, receiving a sentence of probation and a $20,000 fine for conspiring with rivals to rig bids for U.S. Department of Defense contracts in Belgium.

  • May 28, 2025

    DOJ Says Justices' Ruling Backs Nursing Exec's Conviction

    The U.S. Department of Justice is pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to bolster its fight against a new trial being sought by a convicted Nevada nursing home executive, saying that the new high court decision establishes that economic loss isn't needed to prove wire fraud.

  • May 28, 2025

    Ohio Exec Pleads Guilty In Ponzi Scheme Investigation

    A Toledo, Ohio, investment firm executive has copped to a role in a purported Ponzi scheme that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said bilked investors out of $72 million.

  • May 28, 2025

    Vt. Judge To Order Release Of Harvard Researcher

    A Vermont federal judge on Wednesday said a Harvard Medical School researcher and Russian national accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States is entitled to release from immigration custody while she challenges her detention.

  • May 28, 2025

    IUOE Ex-Leader Pardoned In DOL Disclosure Case, Attys Say

    President Donald Trump has pardoned a former International Union of Operating Engineers president who was facing the prospect of six months in prison for accepting free sports tickets without disclosing their value to the U.S. Department of Labor, his attorneys told a Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday.

  • May 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs 5-Year Sentence In $9.3M Ponzi Scheme

    The Fourth Circuit stood by a lower court's decision to imprison a North Carolina man for 63 months after he pled guilty to wire fraud and "use of manipulative and deceptive devices," concluding that the sentence is not unreasonable and was ordered after proper consideration of the public interest.

  • May 28, 2025

    One Convicted For Role In €195M VAT Fraud Scheme

    A Munich court convicted a man for his role in a value-added tax fraud scheme that spanned 17 countries and caused an estimated €195 million ($220 million) in damages, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

  • May 28, 2025

    DC Circ. Denies Steve Bannon's Bid For En Banc Rehearing

    Right-wing media figure Steve Bannon, who was a chief strategist during the first Trump administration, has been rebuffed in his bid for an en banc rehearing at the D.C. Circuit on his contempt of Congress conviction, a move his legal team deemed "overriding politicalization."

  • May 28, 2025

    Ga. Bank Wins Appellate Review Of Claim Against Law Firm

    The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to review a dismissed portion of a bank's suit against law firm Stanley Esrey & Buckley LLP, after the bank argued it had sufficiently explained that it loaned millions of dollars to a woman who was later convicted of fraud based on the firm's "false assurances."

  • May 28, 2025

    Ex-Benghazi Investigator Sworn In As Interim NorCal US Atty

    A longtime Los Angeles attorney and former investigator into the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans was appointed on Tuesday as interim U.S. attorney in California's Northern District, where he'll be allowed to serve up to 120 days pending Senate confirmation.

  • May 28, 2025

    Trump Nominates Ex-Personal Atty Emil Bove For 3rd Circ.

    President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is nominating Emil Bove, his former criminal defense attorney who served as acting deputy attorney general, for the Third Circuit.

  • May 28, 2025

    $8M Penalty Sought In Par Funding Exec's Racketeering Case

    A cash advance company's ex-financial officer, who once worked as both an accountant and a competitive food eater, should pay $8 million to the federal government after admitting he helped run a $404 million racketeering scheme, federal prosecutors told a Pennsylvania court.

  • May 27, 2025

    OneTaste Co-Founder Tells Jury Of Group's Pressure Tactics

    The co-founder and former chief operating officer of OneTaste on Tuesday testified that he and ex-CEO Nicole Daedone manipulated adherents of the sexual wellness company's teachings and described how psychological pressure was used to keep workers in line, as the trial of its former top executive and the head of sales entered its third week. 

  • May 27, 2025

    Judge Taps Attys To Lead Ex-UMich Coach Hacking Suits

    Eight lawsuits accusing the University of Michigan of failing to safeguard the private images and data of thousands of student-athletes from a former assistant football coach have been consolidated by a federal judge, who also appointed interim lead counsel.

  • May 27, 2025

    Bill To Curb Public Info Misuse Clears Texas Legislature

    A bill aimed at curbing so-called bid-rigging by imposing significantly harsher penalties for misuse of official information unanimously passed both branches of the Texas Legislature and was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk Monday.

  • May 27, 2025

    Native Church Sues Calif. Sheriff Over Raids On Sacred Plants

    A California branch of the Native American Church is accusing San Bernardino County and its sheriff's office of violating federal religious freedom laws by raiding its property and seizing sacramental cannabis and other plant medicines used in worship ceremonies, in a lawsuit removed to federal court.

  • May 27, 2025

    Unlicensed Adviser Charged With $4M Securities Fraud In NC

    Federal prosecutors in North Carolina have charged an unlicensed California investment adviser with fraud and money laundering after he allegedly lured more than 30 victims into investing more than $4 million in bogus commercial real estate opportunities.

  • May 27, 2025

    Trump's WilmerHale Order Struck Down In Forceful Decision

    A D.C. federal judge struck down President Donald Trump's executive order targeting WilmerHale in an impassioned opinion Tuesday, writing that Trump's entire order is unconstitutional, and "to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!"

  • May 27, 2025

    Feds Tell 11th Circ. 'No Error' In Ga. Bid-Rigging Conviction

    Federal prosecutors urged the Eleventh Circuit Friday to uphold the bid-rigging and price-fixing convictions of one of two brothers accused of manipulating the coastal Georgia concrete market, arguing his push for a new trial is a "virtual carbon copy" of one a district court already rejected.

  • May 27, 2025

    Trump To Pardon 'Chrisley' Stars Convicted Of Tax Evasion

    President Donald Trump is planning to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, the Georgia duo sentenced to prison after being convicted of running a yearslong bank fraud scheme and dodging federal taxes, according to a post Tuesday on X by Trump's communications adviser.

  • May 27, 2025

    CFTC Member Speaks On Agency Exits: 'Not A Great Situation'

    Departing U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Christy Goldsmith Romero said Tuesday that a possible leadership void at the agency could do a "great disservice to regulation" at a time when Congress is thinking of handing the agency the keys to the cryptocurrency industry.

  • May 27, 2025

    Colo. Jury Convicts Ex-Arrow Exec In $2M Fraud Scheme

    A Colorado federal jury on Tuesday convicted a former Arrow Electronics Inc. executive of helping steal $2 million from the company, finding the onetime chief technology officer guilty of six counts of wire fraud after just over an hour of deliberation.

  • May 27, 2025

    Justices Will Consider Judges' Limits Under First Step Act

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear arguments in a case that could determine how much discretion trial judges have when considering whether to reduce defendants' sentences under the First Step Act.

Expert Analysis

  • Opinion

    Judge Should Not Have Been Reprimanded For Alito Essay

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    Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor's New York Times essay critiquing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for potential ethical violations absolutely cannot be construed as conduct prejudicial to the administration of the business of the courts, says Ashley London at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.

  • What Day 1 Bondi Memos Mean For Corporate Compliance

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    After Attorney General Pam Bondi’s flurry of memos last week declaring new enforcement priorities on issues ranging from foreign bribery to diversity initiatives, companies must base their compliance programs on an understanding of their own core values and principles, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Perspectives

    DC Circ. Cellphone Ruling Upends Law Enforcement Protocol

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    The D.C. Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Brown decision, holding that forcibly requiring a defendant to unlock his cellphone with his fingerprint violated the Fifth Amendment, has significant implications for law enforcement, and may provide an opportunity for defense lawyers to suppress electronic evidence, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • Managing Transatlantic Antitrust Investigations And Litigation

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    As transatlantic competition regulators cooperate more closely and European antitrust investigations increasingly spark follow-up civil suits in the U.S., companies must understand how to simultaneously juggle high-stakes multigovernment investigations and manage the risks of expensive new claims across jurisdictions, say lawyers at Paul Weiss.

  • Cos. Must Prepare For Heightened Trade Enforcement Risks

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    Recent trade enforcement cases — including criminal prosecutions for tariff evasion — as well as statements from the Trump administration make it clear that companies must assess their risk profiles, review compliance programs and communication policies, and consider protocols for responding to subpoenas, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Engaging With Feds On Threats To Executives, Employees

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    In an increasingly polarized environment, where companies face serious concerns about how to protect executives and employees, counsel should consider working with federal law enforcement soon after the discovery of threats or harassment, says Jordan Estes at Gibson Dunn.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

  • A Halftime Analysis Of DOJ's Compensation Pilot Program

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    The U.S. Department of Justice appears to consider the first half of its three-year pilot program on compensation incentives and clawbacks to be proceeding successfully, so companies should expect prosecutors to emphasize the program and other compliance-related considerations early in investigations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Opinion

    Courts Should Nix Conferencing Rule In 1 Discovery Scenario

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    Parties are generally required to meet and confer to resolve a discovery dispute before bringing a related motion, but courts should dispense with this conferencing requirement when a party fails to specify a time by which it will complete its production, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law.

  • Perspectives

    How High Court May Rule In First Step Act Resentencing Case

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    U.S. Supreme Court justices grappled with verb tenses and statutory intent in recent oral arguments in Hewitt v. U.S., a case involving an anomalous resentencing issue under the First Step Act, and though they may hold that the statute is unambiguous, they could also decide the case on narrow, practical grounds, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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