Securities Law

More Backdating Scrutiny for Wilson Sonsini

A federal judge in San Jose, Calif., has refused to approve settlements in two backdating cases without more information about the role of corporate lawyers, including Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. In one derivative suit involving Integrated Silicon Solution Inc., U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte said he wanted to know…

Aug 14, 2008 12:42 PM CDT

10 Stock Exchanges Plan Joint Enforcement of Insider Trading Rules

Ten stock exchanges plan to coordinate their efforts to enforce rules against insider trading, once their agreement to do so is OK’d by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Public comments are now being sought by the SEC concerning the plan. It would make the regulatory arm of the New…

Aug 13, 2008 7:56 PM CDT

Lawyers Could Be Targeted in SEC Subprime Cases

In the 1990s, a reference to Kaye Scholer became shorthand for the power of federal regulators to punish law firms for misleading tactics in their representation of a client, in this case a failed lender. The law firm—its full name was Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler—agreed to pay the…

Aug 9, 2008 10:17 PM CDT

National Century Execs Jailed, Ordered to Repay $2,384,147,105.09

Down to the penny, a federal judge in Ohio wanted former executives of one of the nation’s largest private fraud cases to know how much damage they caused. U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley on Wednesday sentenced Donald Ayers, the former chief operating officer of National Century Financial Enterprises, to 15…

Aug 7, 2008 1:38 PM CDT

Wilson Sonsini Paid Client $9.5M to Defray Backdating Costs

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has paid its client, Brocade Communications Systems, $9.5 million in hopes of releasing itself and firm chairman Larry Sonsini from backdating claims. The payment was revealed in a footnote in a court filing, report the Recorder and the Daily Journal (sub. req.). On Friday, a…

Aug 5, 2008 11:35 AM CDT

Top Lawyer at UBS Resigns

A top lawyer has resigned from UBS AG, a Swiss bank under fire concerning its auction-rate securities practices. David Aufhauser’s resignation has been accepted, the bank announced in a statement posted on an internal website today, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). He was general counsel of the U.S.…

Aug 4, 2008 7:58 PM CDT

SEC Eases Disclosure Rules Under Reg FD

Corporations may now sometimes fulfill their public disclosure requirements under Regulation FD by posting information on their websites and blogs rather than having news releases distributed by third-party companies, according to new guidance issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move is expected to cut compliance costs. However,…

Aug 1, 2008 9:19 PM CDT

Lawyer Named in UBS Case; Auction-Rate Probe of Citigroup, Too

A high-level lawyer at UBS AG is reportedly at the center of the New York attorney general’s civil investigation of the Swiss bank’s sale of auction-rate securities. Although David Aufhauser, general counsel for the UBS investment banking unit, isn’t named, he is “Executive A” in a lawsuit filed by Attorney…

Aug 1, 2008 8:36 PM CDT

Job Hunt Could be Tough for Laid-Off Cadwalader Lawyers

Legal recruiters have some advice for the 96 lawyers laid off yesterday from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Be ready to change your practice area or be ready to relocate. Ninety of the lawyers who lost their jobs were in Cadwalader’s real estate and securitization practices, areas that are hard hit…

Jul 31, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Class Action Filings Climb Again, With Push from Subprime Suits

Subprime litigation is fueling a rebound in securities class action lawsuits, a new report concludes. In the first half of 2008, 110 class actions were filed and 63 of them were in the financial sector, according to a report by Cornerstone Research and Stanford Law School’s Securities Class Action Clearinghouse.…

Jul 30, 2008 11:30 AM CDT

Frank Quattrone’s Comeback

Corrected: After a five-year legal saga – in which he lost his job as one of Silicon Valley’s top investment bankers, was convicted of obstruction of justice on charges that he hindered an investigation into whether hedge funds were paying excess commissions to Credit Suisse First Boston, and then won…

Jul 29, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

N.Y. Suit Claims UBS Defrauded Investors in Auction-Rate Securities

The New York attorney general has filed a securities fraud suit against UBS AG that claims the bank sold auction-rate securities to investors based on false claims that they were as liquid as cash. The suit filed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo claims the bank misled more than 50,000 customers,…

Jul 25, 2008 2:35 PM CDT

Brocade Backdating Suit Not Expected to Name Wilson Sonsini

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is not expected to be named in a civil lawsuit filed by a committee for Brocade Communications Systems Inc. that seeks damages against those responsible for improper backdating. Sources told the Daily Journal (sub. req.) that neither the firm nor its name partner Larry Sonsini…

Jul 24, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Class Action Firm Hit for ‘Calculated Attempt at Judge Shopping’

A federal judge has criticized class action law firm Labaton Sucharow for seeking to add new and unrelated claims to a lawsuit against American International Group. U.S. District Judge John Sprizzo of Manhattan refused to allow Labaton to add claims related to AIG’s recent write-downs to its older class-action suit…

Jul 22, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Judge Rejects Lead Plaintiff as ‘Willing Pawn’ in Backdating Suit

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected a pension fund as the lead plaintiff in a securities class action because it appeared to be “simply the willing pawn of counsel.” U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said representatives of the Steamship Trade Association International Longshoremen’s Pension Fund had no genuine knowledge…

Jul 17, 2008 12:56 PM CDT