Securities Law

Spanish Bank Seeks Settlement With Its Customers in Madoff-Related Case

Sued by private banking clients who contend the Banco Santander SA was grossly negligent in investing their money in an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme of which Bernard Madoff is accused of being the architect, the Spanish bank is reportedly seeking to settle with its customers. The proposed deal, which…

Jan 29, 2009 12:03 AM CST

Disbarred Lawyer in $20M+ Fraud Case Turns Himself In

A 76-year-old disbarred lawyer who disappeared earlier this month after being accused of having grossly overstated the value of the hedge funds he offered to investors has now turned himself in at an FBI office in Florida. Arthur Nadel was accompanied by two lawyers, and is expected to be arraigned…

Jan 27, 2009 6:59 PM CST

Halliburton Agrees to Record $559M Bribery Settlement

Halliburton has agreed to pay $559 million to settle charges that its former KBR Inc. unit bribed Nigerian officials during the building of a gas plant. The settlement is the largest ever by a U.S. company in a bribery probe, report the Wall Street Journal and Reuters. Under terms of…

Jan 27, 2009 11:53 AM CST

FINRA Probes Brokerages That Sent Clients to Madoff

A national securities watchdog is calling for brokerages that sent clients to Bernard Madoff’s hedge fund to reveal the names of those referred and the fees obtained by doing so. In a Jan. 15 letter, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority also asks securities brokerages to provide due diligence and marketing…

Jan 26, 2009 10:51 PM CST

2 Fla. Lawyers Charged in Alleged $800M Ponzi Scheme; Colleagues Stunned

Local practitioners are still stunned over news earlier this month that two prominent Fort Lauderdale, Fla., lawyers, Michael McNerney and Anthony Livoti Jr., are now defendants in a federal criminal case. And not just any federal criminal case: The two were indicted in connection with their work for an alleged…

Jan 26, 2009 6:32 PM CST

Some Madoff Investors Made Money—and Are Now Lying Low

Not everyone who invested with Bernard Madoff lost money. Some longtime clients of the alleged architect of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme operated under the guise of a hedge fund actually did OK, by taking out money before the music stopped for expenses such as the purchase of a home…

Jan 24, 2009 12:54 AM CST

Miss. PI Firm Settles Suit Over Leaked Affidavit

A top personal injury firm in Mississippi has settled a $189 million lawsuit by a tire company that claimed a leaked affidavit disparaged the manufacturer and violated an employee agreement. The case settled as jurors were being selected for the trial in Oxford, Miss., according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily…

Jan 23, 2009 12:42 PM CST

Judge Sets $20M Bond for Marc Dreier

Agreeing to set bond for a lawyer accused of scamming hedge funds and other sophisticated investors out of $380 million, a federal court ruled today that attorney Marc Dreier will be released if he posts $20 million bond. “U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Eaton in New York modified an earlier ruling…

Jan 22, 2009 10:10 PM CST

Latest Missing Money Manager Was a Disbarred Lawyer

A Florida hedge fund manager who disappeared last week was a disbarred lawyer, but that fact was never disclosed in a memo for prospective investors in one of his companies. Sarasota money manager Arthur Nadel left a note threatening suicide, but he later made a call on his cell phone…

Jan 22, 2009 12:48 PM CST

It May Take SIPC 5 Years to Sort Out Madoff Mess & Pay Investors

Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme run under the guise of a hedge fund is the most complex financial web the Securities Investor Protection Corp. has ever had to untangle in its 40-year history. So figuring out what, exactly, has been going on at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities,…

Jan 21, 2009 6:39 PM CST

Mortgage Meltdown Results in ‘Tranche Warfare’

A default on debt tied to Boston’s John Hancock Tower highlights the kind of legal fights that will likely break out among investors who have varying rights to repayment after property foreclosures. When mortgages are pooled and securitized, the investors purchase bonds that are grouped by payment priority known as…

Jan 21, 2009 1:52 PM CST

Law Firm Insurer Will Pay $6.2M to Settle Document Prep Suit

An insurance company for a Nevada law firm has agreed to pay $6.2 million to settle litigation claiming that by preparing financial documents, attorney David Garcia and his law firm helped an Oregon-based real estate company bilk investors of some $18 million. Although a lawyer for Hale Lane Peek Dennison…

Jan 20, 2009 6:36 PM CST

For Many Law Firms, It’s ‘Eat or Be Eaten’

Law firm consolidation is beginning to resemble a game of Pac-Man. “For many high-end lawyers, as for the companies and banks they represent, these are times to eat or be eaten,” reports Business Week. Carrying the gastronomical comparison further, the magazine notes that Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal recently “gobbled up…

Jan 20, 2009 4:25 PM CST

Greenberg Traurig Adds 19 Seasoned NY Lawyers, Loses 2 to Pillsbury in D.C.

In one of the latest moves in an active lateral hiring market for seasoned attorneys in certain practice areas, Greenberg Traurig has added to its attorney roster three corporate and securities partners from K&L Gates. They are Stephan Mallenbaum, Conrad Everhard and Sean Hayes, the firm reports in a press…

Jan 15, 2009 12:54 AM CST

Madoff Debacle Makes Rain for Lucky Law Firms

As law firms, like other businesses, struggle to stay on track in a disastrous economy, a stunning financial storm for many wealthy investors has shown a platinum lining to legal practitioners. The $50 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff under the guise of a hedge fund has provided unprecedented…

Jan 14, 2009 6:48 PM CST