Securities

  • December 05, 2024

    9th Circ. Open To Reviving Snap Stock Suit Over Privacy Tools

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared open Thursday to reviving a proposed securities class action alleging Snap downplayed the impact Apple's privacy changes would have on ad revenues, causing the stock to eventually plunge, with two judges noting they must infer the allegations in the investors' favor at the pleading stage.

  • December 05, 2024

    Jane Street Ends Trade Secret Fight With Rival Investing Firm

    Jane Street Group LLC and Millennium Management LLC have agreed to put to rest their trade secrets dispute over a proprietary trading strategy, according to a joint stipulation of dismissal filed Thursday in New York federal court.

  • December 05, 2024

    Man Cops To $3.5M 'Cryptojacking' Scam Against Cloud Cos.

    A Nebraska man admitted on Thursday to running a so-called "cryptojacking" scheme to defraud two cloud computing services out of $3.5 million of resources that were used to mine $1 million in cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • December 05, 2024

    CFTC Flags AI Compliance Obligations In New Advisory

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday issued a staff advisory outlining its registrants' compliance obligations under the Commodity Exchange Act regarding the myriad of ways they may be using artificial intelligence, with the agency's chair painting the guidance as a first step ahead of potential policies.

  • December 05, 2024

    Software Co. Five9 Sued After Surprise Guidance Slash

    Cloud-based customer contact center Five9 Inc. and two of its executives face claims they misrepresented that the company was on track for healthy revenue growth, only to hurt investors by reversing course nine weeks later when they slashed Five9's financial guidance for the year.

  • December 05, 2024

    Investors Sue Pegasystems In Corporate Espionage Case

    Business software developer Pegasystems Inc. has been hit with allegations that it misled an asset management firm by concealing its use of illegal and unethical tactics to misappropriate competitor Appian Corp.'s trade secrets, which led to a since-overturned $2 billion Virginia state court judgment for unjust enrichment. 

  • December 05, 2024

    SolarEdge's CEO, CFO Can't Escape Securities Lawsuit

    A New York federal judge ruled Wednesday that a proposed securities class action accusing SolarEdge Technologies Inc. of misrepresenting the demand for its solar energy products in Europe will go on against two of the company's top executives, saying investors adequately pled the executives knowingly misrepresented distributors' inventory levels.

  • December 05, 2024

    SEC Says Binance's Platform Is 'Integral' To Securities Claims

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that crypto exchange Binance can't escape amended claims that it failed to register with the securities regulator because the platform is "integral" to crypto issuers' alleged promises to increase the value of their tokens.

  • December 05, 2024

    DOL Says Court Erred In Tossing ESOP Claims Against Exec

    A medical equipment industry executive should continue facing claims that he ripped off workers by selling overpriced stock to his company's employee stock ownership plan, the U.S. Department of Labor told an Idaho federal judge Thursday, asking him to rethink letting the executive escape the allegations.

  • December 05, 2024

    Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.

  • December 05, 2024

    FINRA Fines Firm $900K Over SPAC Underwriting Fee Issues

    The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined New York-based LifeSci Capital LLC nearly $1 million over claims that it received and failed to disclose unfair and unreasonable fees for an initial public offering it underwrote.

  • December 05, 2024

    Abbott Accused Of 'Last-Ditch Effort' To Halt Formula Suit

    Investors accusing Abbott Laboratories leaders of concealing known safety issues related to recalled infant formula urged an Illinois federal judge to reject the company's bid to stay the case because it belatedly formed a special litigation committee to investigate the allegations two years into the litigation.

  • December 05, 2024

    Sports Collectibles Exec Gets 51 Months For Investment Fraud

    The owner of a Las Vegas sports memorabilia company was sentenced to four years and three months in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to lying to investors as part of a fraud scheme that prosecutors said funded a lavish lifestyle.

  • December 05, 2024

    FTX Clawback Deal With Ex-Alameda Co-CEO Gets Court Nod

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved a deal to settle clawback claims by FTX against former Alameda Research Ltd. executive John Samuel Trabucco, who agreed to hand over two San Francisco apartments purchased in 2021 for $8.7 million and a 53-foot yacht bought in 2022 for $2.5 million.

  • December 05, 2024

    McKinsey Unit To Pay $123M Over South Africa Bribe Scheme

    The African unit of consulting giant McKinsey & Co. will pay about $123 million to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into an alleged scheme to bribe South African government officials for contracts with state-owned companies.

  • December 04, 2024

    Target Can't Escape Investors' Pride Month Merch Suit

    Target Corp. cannot escape claims alleging customer backlash over its 2023 LGBTQ-focused marketing campaign caused the retail giant's sales and stock price to decline, a Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday, finding that the investors have plausibly pled Target made misleading warnings about the risk of customer boycotts.

  • December 04, 2024

    Rep. Hill Vows To Tackle Crypto 'De-Banking' In Next Congress

    Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle plan to investigate alleged government efforts to cut off cryptocurrency businesses from the traditional banking system, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said Wednesday during a House Financial Services Committee hearing that also saw its retiring chair feted with a celebration of bow ties.

  • December 04, 2024

    'Side Deal' Unlikely To Ax Fees In $10M Morgan Stanley Deal

    A California federal judge said Wednesday he isn't inclined to strip counsel who negotiated Morgan Stanley's $10 million deal with its financial advisers of their fees over an abandoned "side deal" between the company and the lead plaintiff, saying it should have been disclosed but didn't impact the deal's fairness.

  • December 04, 2024

    SEC Scores $13M Default Judgment In Data Co. Insider Action

    China-based cloud analytics company Gridsum Inc. and its CEO have been ordered to give the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $13 million after failing to respond to the regulator's claims that they funneled investor money out of the company to the relatives of executives.

  • December 04, 2024

    GAO Finds Limited Oversight, Data On Crypto In 401(k)s

    Though crypto assets make up a small part of the 401(k) market, their limited federal oversight might leave workers responsible for monitoring the volatile investment options, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

  • December 04, 2024

    Mich. Justices Doubt Shareholder Agreement Bars Debt

    A chorus of Michigan Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared skeptical that a sister could claim her brother's ski resort company breached an agreement for shareholder redemption by taking out debt that altered her share redemption price, pressing her attorney as to how the contract prevented the company from doing so.

  • December 04, 2024

    PCAOB Boots Audit Firm, Partners Over Altered Documents

    The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has imposed $465,000 in total fines against Raines & Fischer LLP and three of its partners, permanently revoking the firm's registration and barring the partners after they allegedly altered audit documents prior to an inspection of the firm.

  • December 04, 2024

    CFTC Hits $17.1B Enforcement Record With FTX-Linked Deals

    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission secured a record annual enforcement haul of more than $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2024, including a historic $12.7 billion judgment against failed crypto exchange FTX and its affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, the agency announced Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    5th Circ. Probes $8M Payout For Allegedly Undelivered Services

    An investment company on Wednesday found itself before the Fifth Circuit having to justify paying $7.7 million for allegedly undelivered services from an affiliate, as it appeals a $2.6 million bill it got hit with for prematurely ending a contract.

  • December 04, 2024

    Starbucks Brass Face Derivative Suit Over 'Reinvention' Flop

    Officers and directors of coffee chain Starbucks are facing shareholder derivative claims over the company's so-called Triple Shot Reinvention strategy after the company disappointed the markets in April with updates about the plan.

Expert Analysis

  • What Insurers Need To Know About OFAC's Expanded FAQs

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    The Office of Foreign Assets Control's recently expanded insurance FAQs clarify how OFAC views insurance policies in a number of specific circumstances involving sanctioned parties, and make plain that sanctions compliance is the responsibility of all participants in the insurance ecosystem, including underwriters, brokers and agents, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Rethinking Clawback Policies For 2025 Compensation Season

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    The start of a new year presents an opportunity for companies to reassess their executive compensation clawback policies, and while mandatory Dodd-Frank clawbacks are necessary, discretionary policies can offer companies greater flexibility to address misconduct, protect their reputations and align with shareholder priorities, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Series

    Gardening Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Beyond its practical and therapeutic benefits, gardening has bolstered important attributes that also apply to my litigation practice, including persistence, patience, grit and authenticity, says Christopher Viceconte at Gibbons.

  • Federal Embrace Of Crypto Regs Won't Lower State Hurdles

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    Even if the incoming presidential administration and next Congress focus on creating clearer federal regulatory frameworks for the cryptocurrency sector, companies bringing digital asset products and services to the market will still face significant state-level barriers, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • SEC Prioritized Enforcement Sweeps As Cases Slowed In '24

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    Following three consecutive years of increasing activity, fiscal year 2024 marked the lowest number of cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought since Gary Gensler assumed office in April 2021, buttressed by some familiar enforcement sweeps, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Equitable Mootness Insights From Greenlit Ch. 11 Plan Appeal

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    A Texas federal court recently allowed a challenge to ConvergeOne's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan to proceed because it wouldn't disrupt the IT company's confirmed plan or harm creditors, reinforcing the importance of judicial restraint in applying equitable mootness where limited relief is possible, say attorneys at Parkins & Rubio.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Reframing Document Review

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    For attorneys — new ones especially — there is much fulfillment to find in document review by reflecting on how important, interesting and pleasant it can be, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • 2 Cases Show DAOs May Face Increasing Legal Scrutiny

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    Two ongoing cases that recently survived motions to dismiss in California federal courts concerning Compound DAO and Lido DAO threaten to expand the potential liability for activity attributed to decentralized autonomous organizations — and to indirectly create liability for their participants, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • How Boards And Officers Should Prep For New Trump Admin

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    In anticipation of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs and mass deportation campaign, company officers and board members should pursue proactive, comprehensive contingency planning to not only advance the best interests of the companies they serve, but to also properly exercise their fiduciary duty of care, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • The Challenges Of Abandoned Retirement Plans In Ch. 7

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    The Department of Labor's rule for unwinding retirement accounts when plan sponsors file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy was intended to alleviate trustees' administration issues, but practical challenges, like unresolved fee and identification matters, could hinder its implementation, say David Goodrich at Golden Goodrich and Nancy Simons at Stretto.

  • 5 Ways SEC's Crypto Approach Could Change Under Trump

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    Given the Trump campaign's procrypto stance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could take a number of different approaches to crypto policy in the next administration, including pausing registration-only enforcement actions and proposing tailored rules that take into account the differences between crypto-assets and traditional securities, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

  • 2nd Circ. AmTrust Decision Shows Audit Reports Still Matter

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    Though the Second Circuit eventually found on reconsidering a case over the high-profile accounting meltdown at AmTrust that audit reports are material to investors, its previous contrary holding highlights the seriousness of the ongoing crisis of confidence in the audit report, say attorneys at Bernstein Litowitz.

  • Series

    Flying Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Achieving my childhood dream of flying airplanes made me a better lawyer — and a better person — because it taught me I can conquer difficult goals when I leave my comfort zone, focus on the demands of the moment and commit to honing my skills, says Ivy Cadle at Baker Donelson.

  • With Precautions, AI Can Help With Suspicious Activity Filings

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    While artificial intelligence can enhance suspicious activity report processes, financial services firms should review applicable expectations and areas of deficiencies that can lead to enforcement actions before using AI to help write SARs, say attorneys at Jenner.

  • How Crypto Cos. Can Take Advantage Of 'Mini-IPOs'

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    Against the backdrop of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement in the crypto space, mini-initial public offerings, with less burdensome requirements than full registration, can serve as an alternative way for token issuers to raise funds, say attorneys at O'Melveny.

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