Corporate Law

NYSE Insider Trading Cases at Record High in 2008 as ‘Pillow Talk’ Increases

The New York Stock Exchange referred a record 146 suspected cases of insider trading to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last year, topping the previous year’s record by five cases. However, hedge funds played much less of a role in the overall number of cases than they did in…

Feb 9, 2009 10:03 PM CST

Are Banks Liable for Madoff Losses? Plaintiffs Say Yes, Argue Multiple Theories

It’s a bad time to be a bank with any connection to the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme that Bernard Madoff is accused of running, or any other such claimed investment swindle. Seeking to recover from banks assets that may not be recoverable from those alleged to be directly responsible…

Feb 7, 2009 1:50 AM CST

Recipients of TARP Bailout Funds Could Be Targeted in Criminal Cases

The Troubled Asset Relief Program has only been in effect a few months. But already it is the subject of potential criminal probes, as a special inspector general also announced what amounts to a rewrite of TARP rules requiring recipients of bailout funds to certify, under penalty of law, that…

Feb 6, 2009 1:32 AM CST

Bankruptcy Boom Boost: US Asks Cadwalder to Advise On Automaker Restructuring

An already-hot practice area apparently is being expanded with the help of a deep-pockets noncorporate client: The feds reportedly are paying top partners at a New York law firm for bankruptcy advice, as the government ponders how best to deal with struggling automakers. “The U.S. Treasury Department hired Cadwalader Wickersham…

Feb 5, 2009 10:54 PM CST

Fired Over Personal Website, Ex-Associate of Major UK Firm Mulls Options

Fired on Friday from her plum position as an associate in the Moscow office of a major London-based law firm, Deidre Dare spent the weekend recuperating. But now the 40-something former Allen & Overy associate is already exploring other options, including but not limited to writing a “Sexpat” column for…

Feb 4, 2009 4:23 AM CST

Madoff Whistle-blower to Blast SEC in Congressional Testimony Tomorrow

Trying to warn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about an apparent fraud being perpetrated by Bernard Madoff was not only frustrating but potentially dangerous, a whistle-blower reportedly plans to say in testimony tomorrow before a congressional subcommittee. Despite his repeated warnings to the SEC, starting in 1999 or 2000,…

Feb 4, 2009 1:02 AM CST

Federal Judge Sides With ‘Dorm Dudes’ in Miami Porn House Case

An attempt by the city of Miami to close down a house in which “dorm dudes” are paid by a gay porn website to live there and have sex on schedule has failed. The operation isn’t covered by a city’s zoning restriction banning adult businesses in a residential area, a…

Feb 3, 2009 10:26 PM CST

Did Lowenstein Role in 14-Lawyer Leap Unfairly Ruin Former Firm? Trial Nears

More than nine years after 14 lawyers leaped from a well-known New Jersey partnership to Lowenstein Sandler, a trial is nearing over claims that the 260-attorney firm went too far in soliciting the swift departure that soon destroyed the defectors’ former firm Although Lowenstein denies that it did anything wrong,…

Feb 3, 2009 9:59 PM CST

Alleged $50B Madoff Fraud is Keeping a Lot of Law Firms Busy

More than 30 law firms around the world are representing an estimated 3 million alleged victims of the claimed $50 billion Ponzi scheme that Bernard Madoff is accused of running as a purported hedge fund. “Our calculations are that at least 3 million people were affected by the Madoff affair,…

Feb 3, 2009 8:39 PM CST

Horrified By $20B Bonus Bonanza, Sen. Dodd Calls for Wall Street to Repay

Did U.S. taxpayers help fund nearly $20 billion in Wall Street bonuses at the end of last year while Congress raced to the rescue of embattled companies in the midst of a financial crisis that some consider the worst since the 1930s? If taxpayer money was used, directly or indirectly,…

Jan 30, 2009 12:21 AM CST

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

Accounting Firm Can Be Liable for Foreign Affiliate’s Work, Federal Judge Rules

In a U.S. District Court decision trumpeted by a press release (PDF) for the winning law firm as “a seismic ruling for the accounting profession,” a federal judge has held the Deloitte financial firm potentially liable for alleged malfeasance by an Italian affiliate concerning the collapse of Parmalat Finanziaria SpA…

Jan 28, 2009 8:40 PM CST

Pioneering Franchise Lawyer Lewis Rudnick Dies

Franchising pioneer Lewis Rudnick has died at the age of 73. Rudnick, a name partner at the law firm once known as Rudnick & Wolfe, helped shape franchise law and helped train many of today’s leading franchise lawyers, according to the blogs Trade Regulation Talk and Blue MauMau. Rudnick’s firm…

Jan 28, 2009 1:55 PM CST

Lawyer Who Sued Company CEO is Target of Claimed Cyber-Attack Campaign

In nearly 20 years as a trial lawyer, Keith Fink has encountered plenty of hardball litigation tactics. But the cyber attacks he has suffered since he began representing former employees of American Apparel in litigation against the company are unique. “I’ve never experienced it, I don’t know any lawyer that’s…

Jan 28, 2009 1:55 AM CST

Taco Bell Loses Chihuahua Dispute as it Fights 50 Cent Ad Suit

A federal appeals court has ruled that Taco Bell—and not its ad agency—is responsible for paying $42 million in damages and interest to two cartoonists who claimed the fast-food giant stole their Chihuahua idea. Two Michigan men claimed they were talking to Taco Bell advertising agents about use of their…

Jan 27, 2009 3:42 PM CST