Banking Law

Criminal Defense Lawyer Gets 6 Years, Real Estate Attorney Gets 9 in Federal Mortgage Fraud Case

Updated: On Tuesday, longtime criminal defense attorney Charles Murphy gave up his Illinois law license. Before the end of the week he was sitting stone-faced in a federal courtroom in Chicago full of his supporters, awaiting sentence in a $9.2 million mortgage-fraud case. U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman gave the…

Jul 12, 2012 6:19 PM CDT

Wells Fargo to Pay at Least $175M to Settle Lending Bias Claims

The U.S. Justice Department has announced that Wells Fargo will pay at least $175 million to resolve claims of bias against minority mortgage borrowers in the second largest fair-lending settlement in DOJ history. According to the Justice Department’s complaint (PDF), Wells Fargo discriminated against 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers in…

Jul 12, 2012 4:47 PM CDT

Baltimore Leads Federal Court Battle over Borrowing Benchmark Known as Libor

The city of Baltimore is at the forefront of a federal court battle alleging banks artificially depressed a benchmark rate for borrowing, leading to large losses for cities that entered into interest rate swaps. The banks are accused of improperly lowering the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, the…

Jul 11, 2012 2:20 PM CDT

Local California Officials Consider Using Eminent Domain to Restructure Underwater Mortgages

Three jurisdictions in California are considering a plan to use eminent domain to acquire underwater mortgages and keep people in their homes. The unusual idea is being considered by California’s San Bernardino County and two of its largest cities, Ontario and Fontana, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. A…

Jul 5, 2012 12:10 PM CDT

Fed’l Judge Nixes SEC Suit, Says SIPC Not Liable for Bank CDs Bought by Victims of Stanford Swindle

A federal judge district court judge in Washington, D.C., has sided with the Securities Investor Protection Corp. in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to provide some reimbursement to the victims of the $6 billion to $7 billion Ponzi scheme overseen by R.…

Jul 3, 2012 5:12 PM CDT

Law Prof Sees Securities Issues in Proposal to Finance Education Through Stake in Grads’ Future Pay

A University of Chicago law professor is pointing out some securities problems in a proposal to finance education with a venture capital model. The proposal by University of Chicago professor Luigi Zingales is for investors to finance college education in exchange for a fraction of students’ future incomes—or perhaps a…

Jun 25, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Federal Judge Refuses Request to Serve Party by Facebook, Orders Newspaper Publication Instead

A Manhattan federal judge has refused a bank’s request to serve an elusive party by Facebook. U.S. District Judge John Keenan instead opted for traditional methods to serve a woman with a history of providing fake or old addresses, the New York Law Journal reports. He told Chase Bank to…

Jun 12, 2012 11:59 AM CDT

Ousted Bank of America Lawyer Gets Top Job at Fannie Mae

A lawyer ousted as general counsel at Bank of America is getting a new job: He has been appointed president and CEO of Fannie Mae, where he currently serves as general counsel. The appointment of Timothy Mayopoulos, 53, was announced yesterday, report the New York Times and Bloomberg. His company…

Jun 6, 2012 2:36 PM CDT

Top Greenberg Traurig Lawyer Apologizes to Fed’l Judge, Calls Doc Errors in $67M Case Unintentional

A top partner of Greenberg Traurig has apologized to a federal judge concerning his law firm’s handling of the discovery in a civil case brought by investors in a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by the then-leader of another well-known Florida law firm, Scott Rothstein. But although “very saddened” by the situation,…

May 30, 2012 5:22 PM CDT

Dewey Lawyer Says Firm Is Negotiating Deal with Ex-Partners; Judge Rejects Funding Motion

A lawyer representing Dewey & LeBoeuf told a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday that the firm is negotiating a settlement to recover money from former partners. Speaking in a packed Manhattan courtroom, lawyer Albert Togut didn’t reveal details, report Reuters, the Am Law Daily and the New York Times DealBook blog.…

May 30, 2012 11:46 AM CDT

Toronto Law Grad Pays Off $114K in Student Loans with Cash

A 2009 University of Toronto law graduate apparently made enough money at a venture capitalist firm to pay off his remaining $114,000 law school debt with just one payment—and he did it with cash. Alex Kenjeev tells the Business Insider he was trying to be funny rather than make a…

May 29, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Philippine Chief Justice Facing Impeachment Admits He Didn’t Disclose $2.4M, But Says That’s OK

The Philippine Supreme Court chief justice, accused of stealing money from the country and in the middle of an impeachment trial, yesterday stated that he did nothing wrong by not declaring $2.4 million in his bank accounts. Last week, a prosecutor testified that Renato Corona failed to disclose between $10…

May 25, 2012 3:22 PM CDT

Three Dewey Lenders Have Sold Part of the Debt; About 200 Employees Remain

As Dewey & LeBoeuf’s top partners move on to other firms, its debt is also changing hands. Three out of four banks owed a reported $75 million by the crumbling law firm have sold part of the debt, a source tells the Am Law Daily. The lenders are Citi Private…

May 25, 2012 11:32 AM CDT

Suit Claims Facebook and Underwriters Failed to Disclose Slow-Revenue Forecasts

An investor lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court today alleges Facebook and its underwriters failed to disclose negative forecasts in advance of the company’s initial public offering. The would-be class action suit alleges Mark Zuckerberg and other defendants concealed forecasts of weakened revenue growth, according to Reuters, the Wall Street…

May 23, 2012 6:32 PM CDT

Bank Blames Greenberg Traurig in High-Profile Contempt Case, Says Firm Had Access to All Documents

In the first day of a contempt hearing concerning evidence that wasn’t produced in a federal civil case that resulted in a $67 million judgment against Toronto-Dominion Bank, the institution’s new counsel, McGuireWoods, pointed the finger at its former counsel. Greenberg Traurig, the bank contended Thursday, had access to all…

May 18, 2012 6:07 PM CDT