Securities Law

Class-Action King Pleads Guilty

William Lerach will give up a wealthy lifestyle and a profitable legal niche when he heads to prison as a result of his guilty plea to conspiracy. Yesterday the securities class action lawyer acknowledged that he paid secret kickbacks to a lead plaintiff in a case brought by his former…

Sep 19, 2007 1:23 PM CDT

Biovail Suit Turns Into Big-Firm Fight

Biovail Corp.’s “well-lawyered strategy” in a case that contends short sellers drove down the price of its stock went awry when a federal judge inquired into violation of a protective order. U.S. District Judge Richard Owen of Manhattan held nine days of hearings this spring and summer to learn more,…

Sep 13, 2007 2:49 PM CDT

Heelys a Bad Dealys, Suits Say

Several lawsuits filed on behalf of investors who bought stock in Heelys Inc. claim the company hid injuries that had been caused by the shoes with wheels. The Tex Parte blog reports on one of the suits filed in the Northern District of Texas. It claims the company’s registration statement…

Sep 13, 2007 1:12 PM CDT

Suits Follow Mortgage Meltdown

More than a dozen mortgage lenders are facing lawsuits over the subprime mortgage meltdown, and more suits are likely. The Washington Post reports there is no shortage of potential defendants. Possible targets include home buyers who lied about their income, lenders that made bad loans, securities firms that packaged the…

Sep 11, 2007 5:23 PM CDT

Ex-Enron CEO Files Appeal

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling has filed an appeal of his conviction and 24-year prison sentence for his role in the collapse of the former energy giant. Defense lawyers are attacking jury instructions and the legal theory used to convict Skilling for conspiracy, the Washington Post reports. The appeal claims…

Sep 7, 2007 3:47 PM CDT

Rigases Oppose Deloitte Settlement

Litigation over accounting firm Deloitte & Touche’s role in failing to detect accounting problems at Adelphia Communications is likely to continue, despite a $167.5 million settlement agreement. Adelphia has filed a motion in a Philadelphia court to discontinue its malpractice suit accusing Deloitte of failure to detect accounting problems at…

Sep 6, 2007 11:58 AM CDT

Saks Settles With SEC

Saks Fifth Avenue has agreed to settle a civil suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that alleges the luxury retailer violated financial reporting requirements. Saks agreed to an injunction against future violations without admitting or denying liability, according to an SEC press release. The suit contends store employees…

Sep 5, 2007 5:59 PM CDT

CNET Avoids Backdating Charges

The Securities and Exchange Commission has closed an investigation into stock options backdating at CNET Networks without charges. The news came as a surprise, since the SEC has been aggressively pursuing companies for backdating stock options, the Recorder reports. The SEC did not comment on the reason for its decision…

Sep 5, 2007 11:43 AM CDT

Nixon Goodbye Inspired Lerach

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach is fessing up: The announcement of his retirement borrowed partly from Richard Nixon’s farewell speech to his staff. Lerach said in an e-mail that he is retiring from law practice to resolve an investigation into alleged kickbacks paid to lead plaintiffs while at securities…

Aug 29, 2007 5:55 PM CDT

Guilty Plea in Extensive Insider Trading Scheme

A former analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in a wide-ranging scheme to get advance corporate information from a Merrill Lynch employee, printing plant workers and a grand juror. Prosecutors say the plot generated $6.7 million in profits. Investigators told the Wall Street…

Aug 29, 2007 2:26 PM CDT

Quick Mistrial Bars Retrial

A federal appeals court has ruled that two executives cannot be retried for alleged securities law violations because a judge declared a mistrial too quickly. The New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that retrying the defendants would violate the ban on double jeopardy, the New…

Aug 29, 2007 12:21 PM CDT

Ex-Milberg Lawyer Lerach Retires

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach is retiring amid rumors he is close to a plea deal related to kickbacks made to lead plaintiffs while he was a lawyer at Milberg Weiss. Lerach is a name partner at California-based Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins, the firm he created…

Aug 29, 2007 10:47 AM CDT

Ex-GC Accused of Serial Backdating

Updated: The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a former general counsel of backdating stock options while employed at two Silicon Valley companies. Lisa Berry of Los Gatos, Calif., is accused of civil fraud for her legal work at KLA-Tencor Corp. and Juniper Networks Inc. from 1997 to 2003, the…

Aug 29, 2007 10:15 AM CDT

Law Firms: Layoffs a Possibility

Although the legal market is still strong and many major firms reportedly are competing hard for desired associates, some see a potential storm cloud on the horizon. The stock market gyrations following the subprime mortgage meltdown are creating a credit crunch that makes it more difficult to finance corporate transactions.…

Aug 27, 2007 11:32 PM CDT

Subprime Crisis Spotlights #1 Lender

Borrowers with bank accounts obviously are better mortgage risks than those with no assets. Yet, until last year, the nation’s biggest lender reportedly set up its computers to exclude applicants’ cash reserves. This was intended to encourage Countrywide Financial Corp. representatives to pitch applicants on pricier mortgages that reaped a…

Aug 27, 2007 6:26 PM CDT