Securities Law

UBS to Pay $1.5B to Settle Probe into Interest Rate Manipulation

Swiss bank UBS AG has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle accusations it tried to manipulate interest rates. Bank employees were accused of scheming to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, as well as other benchmark rates, report the New York Times DealBook blog and the…

Dec 19, 2012 12:55 PM CST

Insurer Sues Ex-Dewey Lawyers over Bond Investment Loss

Three former leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf are facing a new lawsuit over the law firm’s demise. The Aviva Life and Annuity Company claims in a federal lawsuit that Dewey leaders made false and misleading statements implying the law firm was in good financial health, leading the insurer to lose…

Dec 18, 2012 1:08 PM CST

SEC Sues Fla. Lawyer, Says He Used Atty Niece’s ID to Issue Opinion Letters, Faked Her Signature

Banned in 2010 from issuing opinion letters concerning so-called Pink Sheets stocks, a Florida lawyer has been accused of assuming another attorney’s identity in order to continue doing so. In a civil suit (PDF) filed yesterday in federal court in New York City, the Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Guy…

Dec 7, 2012 7:53 PM CST

SEC General Counsel Mark Cahn to Leave Job; Three Other Top Regulators Are Also Exiting

The general counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission will leave his job there at the end of the year to return to the private sector, the federal agency announced Wednesday in a press release. It doesn’t say what exactly Mark D. Cahn plans to do after leaving the SEC.…

Dec 5, 2012 6:32 PM CST

Lawyer and His Former Law School Classmate Are Charged with Insider Trading

A Colorado lawyer and his former law school classmate have been charged with insider trading after allegedly acting on a tip that IBM was preparing to buy software maker SPSS Inc. Denver lawyer Thomas Conradt and former classmate David Weishaus of Baltimore are charged based on trades made in 2009…

Nov 30, 2012 1:09 PM CST

Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Accused in Possibly ‘Most Lucrative Inside Tip of All Time’

A former hedge fund manager has been accused of trading on insider information about an Alzheimer’s drug that led to $83 million in profits and $194 million in avoided losses. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara alleges in a press release that defendant Mathew Martoma and his hedge fund benefited in…

Nov 21, 2012 2:42 PM CST

Ex-Mayer Brown Partner Joseph Collins Guilty on 7 Counts in Case re Fraud By Former Refco Execs

An ex-partner of Mayer Brown was found guilty Friday by a federal jury in Manhattan of seven of the 10 counts he faced for allegedly helping then-executives of the Refco Inc. commodities brokerage perpetrate a $2.4 billion fraud on investors. Joseph Collins was convicted of conspiracy, securities and wire fraud…

Nov 16, 2012 9:33 PM CST

BP Says It Will Pay $4.5B to Resolve Federal Criminal and Securities Allegations

Updated and corrected: BP has announced it will pay $4.5 billion to resolve federal criminal and securities allegations in connection with the Gulf oil spill. The company will pay $4 billion over five years in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and $525 million over three years to resolve…

Nov 15, 2012 4:38 PM CST

BP Said to Be Near Federal Plea Deal with Record Criminal Penalty

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly set to announce a plea deal with BP that will include a record criminal penalty for its actions in the Gulf oil spill. A source tells Reuters the penalty will top the record amount of $1.3 billion paid in 2009 by Pfizer Inc.…

Nov 15, 2012 12:43 PM CST

Ex-Nixon Peabody Partner Is Convicted of Altering Documents to Protect Ponzi-Scheme Client

A former Nixon Peabody partner has been convicted of altering documents and obstructing justice to help a client accused in a Ponzi scheme. Los Angeles lawyer David Tamman was convicted on Tuesday in a federal bench trial, report Reuters and the Am Law Daily. He was accused of altering documents…

Nov 14, 2012 1:19 PM CST

Supreme Court Considers Class Action Hurdles; Is Materiality a Requirement in Stock Case?

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in a pair of cases in which companies are trying to fend off class action lawsuits by fighting certification. A comment by Justice Antonin Scalia illustrated why corporate defendants want evidence issues resolved at the certification stage, report the New York…

Nov 6, 2012 3:13 PM CST

A Possibly Big Payday Awaits Two Law Firms Suing on Behalf of US Regulator

Two law firms could collect hundreds of millions of dollars in contingency fees as result of lawsuits filed on behalf of a U.S. regulator. The two law firms are Kellogg Huber Hansen Todd Evans & Figel and Korein Tillery, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. They represent the National…

Oct 25, 2012 4:09 PM CDT

ACLU Suit Accuses Morgan Stanley of Encouraging Predatory Loans

The American Civil Liberties Union claims in a lawsuit that Morgan Stanley encouraged predatory loans when it lent money to the New Century Financial Corp. The would-be class action suit claims Morgan Stanley encouraged New Century to make risky loans with high costs that disproportionately targeted African American borrowers, report…

Oct 15, 2012 3:19 PM CDT

Civil Suit Accuses Ex-Partner of Chinese BigLaw Firm of Conspiracy to Bilk US Clients of $10M

In a civil securities fraud suit filed in federal court in New York, a group of investors has accused a former partner in a Beijing-based BigLaw firm of conspiring with her husband to bilk them of $10 million. Helen Lv and her former 1,200-attorney law firm, DeHeng Law Offices, are…

Oct 9, 2012 8:22 PM CDT

Scalia’s Son Is a Go-To Lawyer in Challenges to Financial Regulations

Eugene Scalia has a famous father, but he’s gaining a reputation in his own right for an impressive 5-0 winning record in recent challenges to financial regulations. A partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, the younger Scalia won his latest victory last Friday when a Washington, D.C., federal judge struck…

Oct 3, 2012 1:25 PM CDT