Securities Law

Securities allegations against Texas attorney general will be presented to grand jury

A special prosecutor says he will present evidence to a grand jury of possible state securities law violations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The special prosecutor, Kent Schaffer, says one of the possible charges is felony securities fraud, report the Houston Chronicle, Reuters and the Dallas Morning News. Securities…

Jul 2, 2015 1:11 PM CDT

Delaware bans bylaws imposing legal fees on plaintiffs in losing shareholder litigation

A law banning corporate bylaws that impose a hefty price on investors who file unsuccessful shareholder derivative suits has been signed by Delaware’s governor. It prohibits companies from requiring plaintiffs in such cases to pay the company’s attorney fees. However, in a nod to disappointed companies, the new law does…

Jun 25, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Victory but zero damages in ex-AIG chief’s $40B bailout suit against the feds

There was good news and bad news Monday for former American International Group chief executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg. First the good news: He won his federal lawsuit against the U.S. government over its handling of a 2008 bailout of the insurance giant as the entire American economy teetered, the New…

Jun 16, 2015 9:05 AM CDT

Laws and regulators need get up to speed with high-frequency trading technology, panelists say

The world of insider trading and the laws needed to prosecute those illegal trades continues to evolve as new issues and technologies used for trading emerge, attorneys said at an ABA panel discussion Friday. The fast-changing landscape is best illustrated by the recent case of Navinder Singh Sarao, the British…

Jun 12, 2015 2:50 PM CDT

UK law firm goes public, raises nearly $46M; how much will partners get?

The first U.K. law firm to go public raised nearly $46 million in an initial public offering Monday. Shares in the Gateley law firm opened at 95 pence and rose 4 percent before closing. Legal Business, the Birmingham Post and Reuters have stories; a press release is here. About 81…

Jun 8, 2015 12:26 PM CDT

$72M payday for 2 small law firms OK’d by judge

Citing “true contingency risk,” a Delaware Court of Chancery judge on Wednesday OK’d a $72.5 million attorney’s fees payment to two small law firms that represented the plaintiffs in a shareholder suit against a videogame maker. The settlement approved by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster also included a $275 million…

May 21, 2015 12:15 PM CDT

Lawyer pleads guilty to insider trading based on tip from golfing buddy

A Massachusetts lawyer has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud charges for trading on inside information learned from a golfing buddy. Lawyer Douglas Parigian, 56, pleaded guilty Tuesday but reserved the right to appeal based on a recent appellate ruling that made it more difficult for the government to…

May 13, 2015 2:07 PM CDT

2nd Circuit appears sympathetic to Litvak’s argument that Wall Street traders often lie

Counsel for a former Wall Street trader convicted of lying to customers about how much he paid for securities argued in federal appeals court Wednesday that he was simply following common industry practice, as was well understood by the sophisticated investors with whom he was dealing. And the New York-based…

May 13, 2015 1:55 PM CDT

Dewey trial expected to be ‘long legal slog’; what type of jurors will defense seek?

Defense lawyers for three former leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf probably won’t want school teachers and administrators on the jury in the trial that is set to begin today. Those professionals are “punishers” used to handing out discipline, and will be inclined to side with prosecutors, according to Roland Riopelle,…

Apr 27, 2015 7:56 AM CDT

Cartoon-style posters portray SEC chief as superhero who can slay ‘dark money menace’

Public interest groups have cast Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White as a superhero with special powers in a series of comic-book style posters backing disclosure of corporate political expenditures. The National Law Journal describes the series of cartoon panels, beginning with an illustration of monsters throwing slime…

Apr 27, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Hedge fund manager aims to profit by contesting patents and shorting stock in targeted company

A process created in 2011 to help companies fight patent trolls is being used by a hedge fund manager who contests patents and bets against the targeted company’s stock through short sales. The hedge fund manager is Kyle Bass, head of Hayman Capital Management, who made money through short sales…

Apr 9, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Amid battle over bill banning fee-shifting bylaws in Delaware, legal experts point to loophole

Among a number of proposed changes in Delaware corporate law, a bill that would ban companies from enacting fee-shifting bylaws is the most controversial. Authorized by a state supreme court decision last year, such bylaws, if they are widely adopted, potentially could significantly curtail shareholder derivative litigation in the state…

Apr 8, 2015 1:15 PM CDT

Major US contractor settles first SEC case over confidentiality pacts that silence whistleblowers

In what is being hailed as a landmark federal enforcement action protecting the rights of whistleblowers, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday announced a settlement with a major federal contractor over provisions in its confidentiality agreements for workers. Overly broad language in the Kellogg Brown & Root confidentiality pacts…

Apr 1, 2015 2:40 PM CDT

Misleading corporate statements of opinion can be basis for investor suits, Supreme Court says

Companies that make misleading statements of opinion in federal registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission may be liable in investor suits, even if the beliefs are sincerely held, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. In an opinion (PDF) by Justice Elena Kagan, the U.S. Supreme Court held companies…

Mar 24, 2015 10:37 AM CDT

Stoel Rives lawyer blasts ‘misguided effort’ after Oregon supremes toss ethics complaint

The Oregon Supreme Court has found two Stoel Rives lawyers did not violate ethics rules when they represented a company and some of its employees in a securities fraud investigation. The court said the lawyers, Barnes Ellis and Lois Rosenbaum, did not violate the ethical ban on representing multiple clients…

Feb 23, 2015 11:40 AM CST