JPMorgan said to reach tentative deal to pay $13B to resolve civil probes, a record amount

JPMorgan Chase has reportedly reached a tentative deal to pay $13 billion to resolve civil probes regarding the sale of troubled mortgage securities. The New York Times DealBook blog and the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) are among the publications reporting on the tentative deal with the U.S. Justice Department,…

Oct 21, 2013 1:29 PM CDT

Boies Schiller opens London office, firm’s first outside US

Boies Schiller & Flexner is opening an office in London, its first outside the United States. Partner Natasha Harrison will exit Bingham McCutchen to serve as managing partner of the new office, according to Bloomberg and Legal Week. She focuses her practice on securities and finance litigation, and is expected…

Oct 8, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Young lawyer takes plea in lender-looting case as trial looms for 4 other defendant attorneys

Cory A. Leshner said he was still a law student when he became part of a claimed scheme to take over and loot a Texas-based mortgage company. Now Leshner, a 30-year-old Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in federal court in Camden, N.J., according to…

Oct 2, 2013 8:25 PM CDT

An ‘inflammatory’ opinion? Judge bars pre-emption defense absent a Wells Fargo resolution

A federal judge who agreed a homeowner’s predatory lending claim was pre-empted by federal law plans to take the case to a jury anyway—unless Wells Fargo submits a board resolution standing by the defense. U.S. District Judge William Young of Massachusetts called his pre-emption ruling “technical” and told Wells Fargo…

Oct 1, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Judge Jed Rakoff’s stance on the SEC deals draws fire, praise—and change

Oct 1, 2013 10:10 AM CDT

Bank and accountants to pay $40M settlement in city embezzlement case

An Illinois bank and two accounting firms have agreed to settle for $40 million a lawsuit over a massive, nearly two-decade-long embezzlement by the then-treasurer of the city of Dixon, its mayor says. The bulk of the settlement, around $36 million, will come from accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen, Northern Public Radio…

Sep 25, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

TD Bank to pay $52.5M to settle regulatory complaints related to ex-attorney Rothstein’s $1.2B fraud

Without admitting wrongdoing, Canada’s second-largest bank has agreed to pay $52.5 million to settle complaints by U.S. regulators that it failed to put the brakes on a Florida lawyer who used his accounts at Toronto-Dominion Bank in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme for which he is now serving a 50-year…

Sep 24, 2013 7:45 PM CDT

JPMorgan Chase to pay $920M for its handling of ‘London whale’ scandal

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $920 million and admitted wrongdoing in connection with the so-called “London whale” scandal. The agreement disclosed on Thursday stems from risky 2012 trades by London traders that resulted in $6.2 billion in losses, report the New York Times DealBook blog, USA Today and Reuters.…

Sep 19, 2013 2:06 PM CDT

No criminal or civil charges against top Lehman execs, five years after investment bank collapse

Almost exactly five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers nearly sank the U.S. economy, regulators of the banking industry remain concerned that the country’s six largest lending institutions may still be undercapitalized even though their reserves have nearly doubled since then. “The basic model hasn’t changed much, and it’s…

Sep 10, 2013 5:10 PM CDT

Merrill Lynch reportedly agrees to $160M settlement in bias case

Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $160 million to settle racial bias claims by 700 African-American brokers who alleged unequal treatment impeded their careers at the brokerage, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs. The settlement is the largest amount ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against…

Aug 28, 2013 4:02 PM CDT

Lawyer who pleaded guilty to helping clients hide assets posts bond with $500K work of art

A Zurich-based attorney who recently took a plea after being charged with helping American clients hide assets in Swiss bank accounts has been allowed to return home prior to his February sentencing after posting bail with a work of art. The $500,000 piece, La Gardeuse de Chevres, is being held…

Aug 26, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Some Colorado law firms billed homeowners for foreclosure suits that weren’t actually filed

Some Colorado law firms are preparing statements sent to people facing foreclosure that include charges for lawsuits that were never filed. The so-called cure notices detail legal expenses incurred on behalf of lenders, missed mortgage payments, interest, late fees and county costs. If a homeowner pays up, the foreclosure process…

Aug 22, 2013 1:40 PM CDT

Economic meltdown cases are being readied, Holder says

Attorney General Eric Holder says he expects to announce new cases related to the financial meltdown in the coming months. Holder spoke with the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) about his plans. “My message is, anybody who’s inflicted damage on our financial markets should not be of the belief that…

Aug 21, 2013 12:30 PM CDT

Is it wrong—or a crime—to hire people because of elite connections?

A Securities and Exchange Commission probe of a bank that hired the children of powerful Chinese officials is causing consternation on Wall Street and raising questions about the legality of the practice. The SEC is investigating whether JPMorgan Chase provided a benefit to the foreign officials in return for business…

Aug 20, 2013 12:35 PM CDT

Two former JPMorgan traders charged in ‘London whale’ scandal

Two former traders at JPMorgan Chase in London are facing criminal charges for allegedly hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in trading losses. Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout are the first to be charged after trades by Bruno Iksil–the so-called “London whale”–cost the bank $6.2 billion in losses, report Reuters,…

Aug 15, 2013 4:30 PM CDT