Ex hedge-fund honcho who hid computer in ceiling of his lawyer’s office convicted of fraud

A former hedge fund manager, while defending himself against 22 felony charges in a federal case related to multiple fraud schemes, hid a tablet computer in the ceiling of his lawyer’s office, a San Francisco jury found Tuesday. It convicted James Michael Murray, 45, of contempt for hiding the computer,…

Oct 15, 2015 10:55 AM CDT

Milberg says it is ‘streamlining its infrastructure’; how many are being laid off?

Milberg is laying off staffers amid a slowdown in litigation tied to the 2008 financial downturn. The securities class action law firm notified the New York Department of Labor on Sept. 29 that it was planning to lay off 32 employees, the Am Law Daily reports. Tipsters told Above the…

Oct 9, 2015 8:26 AM CDT

Supreme Court refuses to review insider trading decision deemed a ‘roadmap for unscrupulous’

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a decision overturning the insider-trading convictions of two hedge fund portfolio managers. The U.S. Supreme Court denied review Monday, report Reuters, Bloomberg and NBC News. The December decision by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the convictions of…

Oct 5, 2015 9:26 AM CDT

Does the SEC pad annual enforcement statistics?

The way the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission counts enforcement actions and penalties for annual statistics is flawed and masks problems and trends, according to a study slated to be published in the Cornell Law Review. The study was conducted by Urska Velikonja, an Emory University School of Law professor,…

Sep 25, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Former Cuomo lawyer dies after being caught in NYC shooting crossfire

A 43-year-old lawyer for a New York state economic development agency who formerly worked for the governor and Jones Day has died from a gunshot wound to the head. An apparent unintended victim in what may have been a gang shootout in Brooklyn last week, Carey Gabay died Wednesday, after…

Sep 17, 2015 6:40 AM CDT

New Microsoft law office management platform offers group access to legal docs on any device

A new law office management platform developed by the in-house legal department of Microsoft for its own use was worth the wait, a law blogger says. With the formal announcement today that the company has begun to roll out its Matter Center for Office 365 for general law firm use,…

Aug 31, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

Former Dole general counsel and CEO found liable for $148M for undervalued buyout

A Delaware judge on Thursday found two Dole officials liable for $148 million for driving down the company’s stock price in a 2013 leveraged buyout. Found liable were chief executive David Murdock, who was able to buy the business at a lower price, and then-general counsel C. Michael Carter, who…

Aug 28, 2015 7:01 AM CDT

Texas attorney general’s lawyer is withdrawing from his defense, citing unspecified ‘issues’

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton renewed his not guilty plea to securities law violations on Thursday during a court hearing in which his lawyer objected to cameras in the courtroom and got permission to withdraw from the case. Paxton’s lawyer, Joe Kendall, said a new defense lawyer was joining Paxton’s…

Aug 27, 2015 1:17 PM CDT

Why not eliminate quarterly earnings reports, Wachtell co-founder suggests

A bedrock system underlying much of corporate regulatory law may not, in fact, be necessary, the co-founder of one of New York’s top business law firms is suggesting. In a Tuesday memo to clients, co-founder Martin Lipton of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz calls for the U.S. Securities & Exchange…

Aug 20, 2015 2:55 PM CDT

Lawyer gets home confinement for insider trading based on golfer’s tips

A federal judge in Boston has sentenced a Massachusetts lawyer to eight months of home confinement for trading on insider information gleaned form a golfing buddy. Lawyer Douglas Parigian, 56, was sentenced on Monday, Reuters reports. He pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and securities fraud. His guilty plea had…

Aug 18, 2015 9:29 AM CDT

Insider traders used hackers to steal press releases, indictments allege

Nine traders, money managers and hackers have been indicted in an alleged scheme that involved hacking into press releases before their distribution and using the information for stock purchases. The scheme involved hacking into the computers of companies that published press releases, including Marketwired, PR Newswire and Business Wire, report…

Aug 12, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Texas attorney general is charged with securities fraud

Updated: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was charged with securities law violations Monday. Paxton turned himself in at the Collin County Jail on Monday and was released on bond, report WFAA-TV, the Dallas Morning News, Bloomberg News and the Dallas Business Journal. The indictments were unsealed at about 11:30 a.m.…

Aug 3, 2015 9:47 AM CDT

Laws need to catch up to high-speed trading

Aug 1, 2015 12:45 AM CDT

Ex-Wilson Sonsini worker who ignored ‘wake-up call’ insider-trade case gets 2 years

A former computer system engineer at a powerhouse Silicon Valley law firm was sentenced Wednesday to two years in federal prison for insider trading. Dimitry Braverman, 42, used his position at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati to access confidential information about potential mergers and acquisitions from the firm’s computer system,…

Jul 30, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Partner who overheard lawyer discuss client merger is indicted for alleged insider trading

A real estate partner in the Philadelphia headquarters of a national law firm overheard a colleague talking with their shared legal assistant about an imminent client merger. Then he illegally used the insider information in purchasing stock in the client’s company for himself and his wife, federal regulators say. Herbert…

Jul 17, 2015 10:40 AM CDT