SEC Set to Warn Banks of Impending Suits over Bundled Subprime Mortgages

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly planning to warn several banks of impending civil lawsuits over bundled subprime mortgages. The targeted banks aren’t known, but several are being investigated, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. They include Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Goldman…

Feb 9, 2012 1:00 PM CST

$26B Foreclosure Settlement Announced After Holdout AGs Join Pact

Updated: State and federal officials have announced a $26 billion foreclosure settlement with five of the nation’s largest banks that was reached after two holdout attorneys general supported the deal. The pact announced today is the largest since a multistate tobacco settlement was reached in 1998, the Washington Post reports.…

Feb 9, 2012 12:44 PM CST

Show Me the Money: Helping Clients Find and Protect Assets in a Divorce

A client can try to preserve his or her assets during a divorce, but if the judge sees actions more along the lines of hiding money, the court will likely take more. Matrimonial lawyers Ira Friedman and Randall M. Kessler discuss this and other battle stories with ABA Journal Podcast moderator Stephanie Francis Ward.

Feb 6, 2012 2:59 PM CST

New York AG Sues 3 Major Banks and MERS, Calls Mass Foreclosure Filings a Fraud on Court

The attorney general of New York today filed suit in state court against three major banks and an electronic mortgage recording operation, contending that they circumvented legal requirements and cost the the state some $2 billion in property recording fees by keeping their own private list of property transfers and…

Feb 4, 2012 12:01 AM CST

Whistle-Blower Tips Pour in After Dodd-Frank Act Goes into Effect

Feb 1, 2012 10:20 AM CST

Ousted BigLaw Partner Gets 5 Years for Helping Client Trick Swiss Bank Into Making $28M Loan

A British lawyer ousted in 2008 from his equity partnership at Mishcon de Reya was sentenced today to 5½ years in prison for helping a client trick a private Swiss bank into making a loan of some $28 million. Solicitor Kevin Steele, 51, helped his client, Michael Shephard, present fake…

Jan 28, 2012 12:02 AM CST

BofA Borrowers Sign Confidentiality Pacts Before Getting Loan Modifications, Ariz. AG Says

The Arizona Attorney General’s office is asking a judge to block confidentiality agreements signed by borrowers who get mortgage modifications from Bank of America. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says the agreements are impeding his office’s investigation of the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit, according to the Phoenix Business Journal and…

Jan 27, 2012 2:03 PM CST

Ex-Client Sues Orrick for $95M, Says Law Firm Didn’t Explain Cancellation Provision in Loan Contract

A Dallas-based former client sued Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe yesterday in state court in Texas, claiming that it suffered $95 million in damages from a collapsed loan deal because of the law firm’s negligence. Investment company Highland Financial Partners says in the Dallas County suit that it wouldn’t have paid…

Jan 26, 2012 11:31 PM CST

Suit by Illinois AG Claims Credit Rating Agency Ignored Risks of Bundled Mortgages

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan claims in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that Standard & Poor’s gave high ratings to mortgage-backed securities while ignoring the risks of the investments. Madigan accuses the company of bolstering ratings to retain clients and generate revenue, report the Chicago-Sun-Times and the Associated Press. The…

Jan 26, 2012 2:26 PM CST

Bilked of $285K in Web Scam, Law Firm Faces Fla. Bar Probe re Its Related Financial Practices

Losing $285,000 in a scam by a virtual client has proven to be doubly painful for a Florida law firm. In addition to losing the money, which federal prosecutors are trying to regain through a bank forfeiture action, the KEL Law Firm is also facing a Florida Bar inquiry about…

Jan 25, 2012 2:57 PM CST

Obama Calls for Quicker Judicial Nominee Votes, Mortgage Crisis Unit; Four Justices Skip Speech

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. stayed away from the State of the Union speech for the second year in a row after his well-publicized reaction to the 2010 speech. Alito was one of four justices who did not attend on Tuesday evening, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal…

Jan 25, 2012 12:59 PM CST

Stanford Lawyers to Blame Feds, Economy for Investors’ $7B Loss at Fraud Trial Beginning in Texas

Federal prosecutors say onetime Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford made false representations to investors to persuade them to purchase so-called certificates of deposit at an offshore bank he controlled. However, his defense team is expected to point the finger at the feds and the global economic downturn at the federal…

Jan 23, 2012 7:18 PM CST

Disbarred NY Lawyer, 82, Gets 45 Days for Hiding $26M in Swiss Bank

A disbarred New York lawyer was sentenced today to only 45 days for tax evasion by a federal judge in Manhattan, apparently because of his advanced age and failing health. Kenneth Heller, 82, had faced a maximum 15 years in prison, and sentencing guidelines called for 30 to 37 months.…

Jan 20, 2012 7:09 PM CST

Federal Jury Says TD Bank Must Pay $67M to Investors Swindled by Ex-Attorney Scott Rothstein

After four hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Miami yesterday decided that a South Florida bank must pay $67 million to a group of 27 investors swindled by then-attorney Scott Rothstein. The award, which includes $35 million in punitive damages, is based on a determination that officials of TD…

Jan 19, 2012 6:05 PM CST

Consumer Chief Supports Legislation to Protect Attorney-Client Privilege for Supervised Banks

The recently appointed director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is siding with banks that hope to protect attorney-client privilege. At a news conference on Thursday, agency director Richard Cordray said he would support a push by banks that want the agency to be covered by a law requiring…

Jan 13, 2012 4:11 PM CST