Banking Law

Some windfall winners need a lawyer to protect them from themselves

You could say Laura Kelly is in the big-money end of the legal profession. But for Kelly, a partner practicing wealth preservation and estate planning at McCarter & English in Newark, New Jersey, much of that money belongs to her often newly wealthy clients.

Dec 1, 2016 4:40 AM CST

Future is cloudy for Dodd-Frank and financial regulatory agencies under Trump presidency

Throughout the course of his presidential campaign, there was a veritable laundry list of proverbial bogeymen that Donald Trump promised to vanquish if and when he got into the Oval Office. One of the biggest was the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The wide-ranging law, which was…

Nov 30, 2016 1:25 PM CST

Supreme Court drops ATM fee cases because of a switch in arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dropped two antitrust cases involving ATM fees and explained the reason why. The court said (PDF) it dismissed the consolidated cases as improvidently granted because lawyers for Visa and MasterCard switched arguments after the court granted cert, report Lyle Denniston Law News, SCOTUSblog and…

Nov 18, 2016 10:23 AM CST

9th Circuit tosses arbitration decision because panel chair lied about being a lawyer

A federal appeals court has overturned an arbitration decision because the person who headed the arbitration panel had falsely claimed to be a California lawyer. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Nov. 4 that Move Inc. was denied a fundamentally fair hearing because of…

Nov 8, 2016 7:00 AM CST

SCOTUS will decide whether Miami can sue banks under the Fair Housing Act

The mortgage-lending practices of the nation’s largest banks and their effects on inner-city neighborhoods will be the backdrop in a U.S. Supreme Court case to be argued today.

Nov 1, 2016 2:40 AM CDT

Two law firms earned more than $1B to help US pursue banks

The National Credit Union Administration paid two law firms more than $1 billion in fees and expenses to help recover more than $4 billion from banks in cases related to faulty subprime mortgages. The U.S. agency sued the banks to recover money for failed corporate credit unions that lost money…

Oct 21, 2016 9:27 AM CDT

Suit blames Wells Fargo foreclosure response for bankrupt law firm’s financial predicament

A bankrupt New Jersey foreclosure law firm has filed a lawsuit blaming part of its financial predicament on Wells Fargo’s delay in correcting “robosigning” problems. The Oct. 14 suit (PDF) filed by Zucker, Goldberg & Ackerman claims Wells Fargo was slow to correct foreclosure procedures involving robosigning of documents and…

Oct 20, 2016 9:53 AM CDT

Kardashian hypothetical is raised in SCOTUS arguments on intent needed for bank fraud violation

Justice Stephen G. Breyer offered a Kim Kardashian hypothetical on Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court considered the intent requirement under the federal bank fraud law. At issue in the case is whether the bank fraud law requires only intent to deceive the bank, or whether it also requires an…

Oct 5, 2016 11:35 AM CDT

Judge orders race car driver and companies to pay record $1.3B restitution in payday-lending scheme

A federal judge in Nevada has ordered race car driver Scott Tucker and several of his lending companies to pay $1.3 billion restitution in a deceptive payday-lending scheme. The award is the largest litigated judgment ever obtained by the Federal Trade Commission, according to an FTC press release. The $1.3…

Oct 4, 2016 10:26 AM CDT

Does ban on merchant labeling swipe fee a ‘surcharge’ violate free speech? SCOTUS to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to decide the constitutionality of laws barring merchants from calling extra fees for credit-card use a “surcharge.” At issue is whether such laws violate the First Amendment by restricting speech on pricing information, or whether they merely regulate economic conduct, according to the…

Sep 29, 2016 12:38 PM CDT

US didn’t prove AmEx merchant policies violated antitrust law, 2nd Circuit says

The federal government failed to prove that American Express violated antitrust law with policies that stopped merchants from encouraging customers to use other, lower cost credit cards, a federal appeals court has ruled. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday, report Law.com (sub. req.), the…

Sep 27, 2016 10:51 AM CDT

Wells Fargo to pay $185M fine for opening bank accounts for customers without their knowledge

Wells Fargo was fined $185 million on Thursday for opening bank accounts and applying for credit cards on behalf of customers who were unaware they were being signed up. The penalty includes a $100 million fine imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is the largest penalty ever imposed…

Sep 8, 2016 3:03 PM CDT

JPMorgan decision on minimum level of assets for premium service hits lawyers hard

Lawyers are hard hit by JPMorgan’s decision to require clients of its top banking service to have $10 million in investible assets. Lawyers are the clients most affected by the bank’s decision to double the minimum required, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Those who meet the $10 million…

Sep 7, 2016 2:14 PM CDT

BigLaw firms say protocols followed after US claims two trust accounts held $586M in stolen money

A civil asset forfeiture case involving $3.5 billion in assets allegedly diverted from a Malaysian-owned economic development company has raised questions about the use of law firm trust accounts. The case filed by the U.S. Justice Department is getting press attention partly because one of the targeted assets consists of…

Aug 10, 2016 8:15 AM CDT

Goldman Sachs is ordered to pay $36.3M for alleged use of confidential information

Goldman Sachs has been ordered to pay $36.3 million for using confidential regulatory information from the Federal Reserve Board in client pitches. The board imposed the fine on Wednesday, report Bloomberg News, Reuters, the Hill and CNBC. A press release is here. The Federal Reserve Board alleges that a former…

Aug 3, 2016 11:58 AM CDT