Securities Law

Skadden Accuses Broadcom Prosecutor of Grand-Jury and E-Mail Leaks

A motion filed by the law firm representing Broadcom’s former chief financial officer accuses a prosecutor who pursued backdating charges against company officials of leaking grand jury information and confidential e-mails. The motion by Richard Marmaro of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom accused lead prosecutor Andrew Stolper of misconduct,…

Oct 24, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Arthur Miller to Head Milberg’s Appellate Practice

Famous law professor Arthur Miller will head the appellate practice at the securities class action firm that survived allegations it participated in a scheme to pay kickbacks to lead plaintiffs. Miller will be of counsel at the Milberg firm while keeping his position as a law professor at New York…

Oct 23, 2008 12:15 PM CDT

Credit Default Swaps Grab Attention of Prosecutors and the SEC Chairman

State and federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether traders manipulated the market for credit default swaps, a kind of securitized insurance that protects against defaults on corporate bonds. The joint investigation by U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia of Manhattan and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo focuses on whether…

Oct 20, 2008 6:33 PM CDT

3 Fed’l Grand Juries Probe Lehman Bros.

Three grand jury investigations have been launched against Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in the wake of the investment bank’s bankruptcy last month. The probes, launched “by New York U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well as in Newark, New Jersey. They are focusing in part on Lehman’s role in…

Oct 17, 2008 5:51 PM CDT

US Prosecutors in NY and NJ Add Lawyers to Probe Financial Firms

Federal prosecutors in New York and New Jersey are adding more lawyers to investigate financial firms for possible fraud and misrepresentation. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia of Manhattan told Bloomberg he has added three prosecutors to his white-collar crime unit, for a total of 20 prosecutors, and assigned eight lawyers to…

Oct 17, 2008 3:10 PM CDT

WaMu is Being Investigated by FBI

Add Washington Mutual Bank to a list of major corporate failures that are being investigated by the FBI. The FBI had been secretly looking into the bank’s operations for months. However, it went public yesterday with the investigation because WaMu depositors, having already seen the institution become the biggest bank…

Oct 16, 2008 9:12 PM CDT

Heller Veterans Open 2 New Calif. Offices for Growing Hogan & Hartson

Hogan & Hartson is opening two new offices in Northern California with eight veterans from the dissolving Heller Ehrman law firm, including Heller’s former litigation practice chair and securities litigation co-chairs. The move by the 1,000-attorney Washington, D.C.-based international law firm to open new offices in San Francisco and Silicon…

Oct 15, 2008 12:00 AM CDT

Wall Street Crisis Creates Too Much Work for Weary Bank Lawyers

Amidst what one consultant describes as a horrible year for major corporate law firms, one practice area is red-hot: advising struggling financial institutions, for those considered expert in the practice area. One unnamed lawyer billed 450 hours last month—that’s 15 per day, every day, according to Bloomberg. Others, according to…

Oct 9, 2008 9:00 PM CDT

Ex-General Counsel of UBS Settles Insider Trading Probe by NY AG

The former general counsel of investment bank UBS AG has agreed to pay $6.5 million to resolve an insider trading investigation by the New York attorney general. The settlement calls for lawyer David Aufhauser to give up a $6 million bonus he received and pay a $500,000 civil penalty, the…

Oct 7, 2008 6:05 PM CDT

U.S. Lawmaker Suggests Special Counsel Probe of Wall Street Operations

At least one congressional lawmaker is calling for the appointment of a special counsel to probe Wall Street’s operations, as a global financial crisis apparently sparked by the U.S. mortgage meltdown continued today. As stock prices plummeted again worldwide today and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee began hearings…

Oct 6, 2008 7:25 PM CDT

SEC Extends Temporary Short-Selling Ban Until Oct. 17

The Securities and Exchange Commission has extended until Oct. 17 a temporary ban on short-selling the stock of some 800 financial companies. However, the ban could terminate sooner if Congress enacts planned bailout legislation at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $700 billion or more in the meantime. If so,…

Oct 2, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

Lehman Brothers and a UBS Executive Investigated in Auction-Rate Probes

Investigators probing criminal wrongdoing in the auction-rate securities market are looking at Lehman Brothers and a former executive at UBS AG, the Wall Street Journal reports. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating whether Lehman dumped auction rate securities into customer accounts despite knowledge that the market could fail, the story…

Oct 2, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Sullivan & Cromwell Chair Gets Top Billing Among Wall Street Legal Stars

When Hollywood makes a movie about the record-breaking wild ride on Wall Street in recent weeks, there’s one lawyer who’s sure to be among the main men played by the likes of Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford. H. Rodgin Cohen, the chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, has been ubiquitous amidst…

Oct 1, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Revealed: Terms of AIG Bailout; US to Vote New Shares to OK Deal

Unusual circumstances call for unusual transactions, as documents newly filed with the SEC concerning the government’s planned $85 billion bailout of insurance giant American International Group demonstrate. Among the terms they reveal are that the U.S. government—which is to purchase not quite 80 percent of AIG via 100,000 shares of…

Sep 30, 2008 9:07 PM CDT

Silver Lining to US Financial Storm: New Law Practice Arena

Continuing economic turmoil in the U.S. and internationally is prompting a number of major law firms to form special multidisciplinary practice groups to help clients deal with financial crises. In the process, some are creating new Internet resources that also may be of interest to other practitioners. In addition to…

Sep 30, 2008 4:16 PM CDT