Former mortgage-relief law firms ordered to pay $59M for misrepresenting their services

A federal judge in Wisconsin has ordered two defunct mortgage-relief law firms and their attorney principals to pay $59 million in restitution and civil penalties for misrepresenting their services to consumers.

Nov 7, 2019 11:22 AM CST

ABA hosts first-ever cannabis and hemp law conference

Sep 25, 2019 12:40 PM CDT

Lawyer is accused of creating sham secured creditor to shield client assets

A former partner with Freeborn & Peters in Chicago has been charged in an alleged scheme to protect a client’s assets by creating a sham secured creditor with a senior lien on assets sought by other creditors. The former partner, Edward Lee Filer, was charged in a July 11 federal…

Jul 17, 2019 1:40 PM CDT

Dad wins $5M class settlement after he’s denied primary caregiver parental leave

A fraud investigator at JPMorgan Chase who led a class action lawsuit over denied parental leave for fathers has won an agreement to settle the case for $5 million. Derek Rotondo, the lead plaintiff, obtained $5 million in a proposed settlement for fathers working at JPMorgan Chase who were denied…

May 31, 2019 10:56 AM CDT

New ABA report surveys cryptocurrency regulations

The ABA Business Law Section released a major report on digital assets and cryptocurrency regulation on Wednesday. The 353-page document titled “Digital and Digitized Assets: Federal and State Jurisdictional Issues” provides definitions relevant to digital currency, domestic regulatory issues, and what international bodies and other countries are doing when confronted…

Mar 15, 2019 4:45 PM CDT

Building blockchain expertise into a practice that pays

Blockchain's a buzzword, but what does it mean? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, our guests James A. Cox and Mark W. Rasmussen give a breakdown of what blockchain is, the emerging legal issues the technology is prompting, and why Jones Day thinks that it's an important emerging practice area.

Feb 11, 2019 8:10 AM CST

Michael Cohen says he’s free from ‘personal and mental incarceration’ before getting 3-year sentence

President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, told a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday that he has been “living in a personal and mental incarceration” since the day he began working for Trump. Cohen, 52, said his weakness was “a blind loyalty to Donald Trump,” but he had moved forward.…

Dec 12, 2018 1:00 PM CST

$480M settlement with Wells Fargo shareholders OK’d by judge

A San Francisco federal judge late Tuesday granted preliminary approval to a $480 million class action settlement between Wells Fargo and shareholders who alleged they were harmed by the bank’s unauthorized accounts scandal.

Sep 5, 2018 1:23 PM CDT

Michael Cohen pleads guilty to campaign finance violations, tax and bank fraud

Updated: Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer and so-called fixer for President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to eight counts of campaign finance violations and bank and tax fraud after surrendering to the FBI on Tuesday.

Aug 21, 2018 4:36 PM CDT

Michael Cohen reportedly being investigated over more than $20M in loans to his taxi business

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are considering filing criminal charges by the end of August against Michael Cohen, the former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump. Investigators are reportedly examining whether Cohen obtained more than $20 million in loans in December 2014 for his taxi business by misrepresenting the value of…

Aug 20, 2018 9:51 AM CDT

Jurors in Paul Manafort trial ask for new definition of reasonable doubt

Judge T.S. Ellis III told jurors that reasonable doubt is a doubt based on reason, and the government is not required to prove guilt beyond “all possible doubt.”

Aug 17, 2018 8:03 AM CDT

Amended suit by NRA says New York crackdown has led to financial hardship

The National Rifle Association has filed an amended lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that contends the state has caused financial hardship by discouraging banks and insurers from doing business with the organization.

Aug 1, 2018 1:50 PM CDT

Supreme Court: AmEx ban on merchant incentives for competitor cards doesn’t violate antitrust law

A provision in American Express contracts that banned merchants from steering customers to competitor credit cards with lower merchant fees did not violate antitrust law, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided.

Jun 25, 2018 3:27 PM CDT

White House says Trump will sign bill rolling back Dodd-Frank banking regulations

Thirty-three Democrats joined all but one Republican in the House on Tuesday to pass a bill rolling back banking regulations passed in 2010 to prevent bank practices that could lead to their collapse.

May 23, 2018 9:52 AM CDT

Cohen seeks to ban Stormy Daniels’ lawyer from court appearance; were bank records illegally leaked?

The lawyer for Stormy Daniels, Michael Avenatti, should not be given permission to appear pro hac vice in court proceedings involving Michael Cohen because of Avenatti’s public release of banking records, Cohen’s lawyers argued in a letter submitted to a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday.

May 10, 2018 9:15 AM CDT