Securities Law

Wachtell Lipton Client Memo Urges SEC to Target Rumor-Mongers

New York’s Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz sent a call to arms this week to clients. In the memo, the M&A powerhouse urges U.S. securities regulators to be more aggressive in attacking rumor-mongers and in policing other industry abuses. The memo calls for a 45-day study by the Securities and…

Jul 15, 2008 9:12 PM CDT

Insider Trading Targeted in Europe, As Ex-Airbus CEO’s Case Shows

Historically, insider trading of securities hasn’t been enforced nearly as aggressively in Europe as it is in the U.S. But that is changing, as news that the former chief executive officer of Airbus has been charged today with insider trading in France demonstrates. Gustav Humbert, 58, was released on about…

Jul 2, 2008 8:01 PM CDT

Appeals Court Rules for Grasso in Compensation Case

The battle over the $187.5 million compensation package for Richard Grasso has ended in a win for the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. A New York appeals court ruled that the state attorney general did not have authority to prosecute two violations of the state’s nonprofit law…

Jul 2, 2008 1:35 PM CDT

Schulte Roth Opens in D.C. with Hires from Dickstein, Morgan Lewis

A New York law firm known for representing hedge fund clients is opening an office in Washington, D.C., that will be staffed partly with lawyers from Dickstein Shapiro and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Schulte Roth & Zabel decided to expand to D.C. to help its clients on matters involving Securities…

Jul 2, 2008 1:14 PM CDT

9th Circuit Reinstates Insider Trading Case Against Lawyer

A federal appeals court has reinstated a Securities and Exchange Commission case against a lawyer accused of trading in stock based on information he learned while sitting on a corporate board. J. Thomas Talbot is accused of profiting through trading in shares of LendingTree Inc. before it was acquired by…

Jul 1, 2008 12:51 PM CDT

Exec Not Served with Subpoenas Gets $3M Consumer Judgment

The Securities and Exchange Commission thought Donald Lines had been served with witness subpoenas, since a process server said he had. But Lines said he wasn’t, and the server, Boston-based Stokes & Levin, never showed up to testify at depositions last year in the Massachusetts state court consumer fraud case…

Jun 19, 2008 9:31 PM CDT

Will Prosecutors Get Help From ‘Toast’ E-Mail by Bear Stearns Manager?

Updated: Indictments of two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were announced today, and an e-mail warning of looming problems may play a role, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fund manager Matthew Tannin, a law school graduate, and his superior, Ralph Cioffi, were indicted (PDF provided by Wall Street Journal Law…

Jun 19, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

Cos. Want to Dose Activist Investors With Stronger Poison Pill

In an attempt to to reduce the influence of activist shareholders who may try to take over control of a company without actually purchasing traditional stock, some corporations are taking measures to strengthen the so-called “poison pill” many employ to make such takeovers difficult. “Louisiana-Pacific Corp. and Micrel Inc. have…

Jun 18, 2008 6:51 PM CDT

Editorial Urges Prosecutors to ‘Keep Digging Into Tort-Bar Practices’

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal asserts that Milberg’s agreement to pay a $75 million fine to settle kickback allegations highlights a need for prosecutors to pursue trial lawyers. “If there’s a moral in this week’s felony settlement by class-action lawsuit giant Milberg Weiss, it’s this: Prosecutors should keep…

Jun 18, 2008 5:50 PM CDT

Bear Stearns Ace Joins K&L Gates

The former managing director of the Bear Stearns legal arm in New York has joined Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis as a partner. Phillip Cedar, who was in private practice with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom before he joined the now-struggling investment bank, is expected to focus his…

Jun 16, 2008 9:34 PM CDT

Milberg Plea Deal Includes Admission of Stockbroker Payments

Under a plea deal expected to be announced this week, the securities class action law firm Milberg will acknowledge wrongdoing in at least three areas but won’t plead guilty to any offenses, enabling it to continue operating. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) quotes an anonymous person briefed on the…

Jun 16, 2008 10:48 AM CDT

$75M Milberg Plea Deal Could Conclude This Week

A plea deal reportedly in the works between Milberg and federal prosecutors in Los Angeles over an alleged scheme by the law firm to pay some $11.3 million in secret kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities class actions could be concluded this week. The firm is to pay a $75…

Jun 11, 2008 8:57 PM CDT

NYT Columnist Raps Lerach’s ‘Brazen’ Article Defending Kickbacks

A New York Times business columnist says an article by a former securities class action lawyer serving time for paying kickbacks is “a brazen, shameful piece of work.” “Some guys just don’t know when to shut up,” writes columnist Joe Nocera. “William S. Lerach is one of those guys.” Lerach…

Jun 9, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Worried About Class Action Damages, Banks Block Private Auction-Rate Sales

Among those who bought auction-rate securities based on widespread expectations that they could easily be sold is San Diego lawyer Chris Longman, 35. But now he and his wife reportedly have a problem. They want to use the $375,000 to buy a house, but they can’t liquidate, even at a…

Jun 6, 2008 4:23 PM CDT

Lerach Seeks Alcohol Treatment in Prison

Securities class action lawyer William Lerach, sentenced to two years in prison for paying kickbacks to lead plaintiffs, has asked the judge in his case to recommend him for an alcohol treatment program during his incarceration. Lerach’s lawyer, John Keker, made the request in a motion filed with the Los…

Jun 6, 2008 11:29 AM CDT