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3234 ABA Journal Corporate Law articles.

Securities Class Actions Up Thanks to Subprime Mess

After a two-year decrease in filings, federal securities class actions were up in 2007 thanks in large part to subprime-related lawsuits and those against foreign securities issuers. There were 37 subprime cases filed last year, for a total of 23 percent of new securities cases filed. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers…

Apr 9, 2008 2:05 PM CDT

Does Deferring Prosecution Foster Risky Corporate Behavior?

The Justice Department has put off prosecuting more than 50 companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years, sparing those companies the cost and stigma of going to trial. This is a major policy shift and spotlights a favorite tool of the Bush administration, deferred prosecutions, the New York…

Apr 9, 2008 10:36 AM CDT

Despite Slowdown, Dealmakers of Year Still in Business

Despite a significant work slowdown that began almost exactly halfway through 2007, the nation’s best dealmakers found a way to continue doing business last year when others might have been stymied. Among them: Paul Bird of Debevoise & Plimpton closed a HD Supply buyout in late August without funding, as…

Apr 8, 2008 6:17 PM CDT

New Cash Register Receipts Law Rings Up Class Action Bonanza

A new federal law that requires merchants to remove from cash register receipts private information such as more than five digits of a credit card number apparently may have caught some major companies napping. Some 300 class actions have been filed during the 16 months since since the Fair and…

Apr 7, 2008 10:07 PM CDT

Court Hears Appeal Today by Ex-Enron CEO

Lawyers for former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling are asking a federal appeals court to overturn his conviction in oral arguments today. Experts told the Associated Press that Skilling has a good chance of winning his attack on the prosecution theory that he deprived the company of honest services. The New…

Apr 2, 2008 5:02 PM CDT

Colorado Ballot Measure Targets Execs Who Fail to Stop Corporate Fraud

A former employee at Qwest Communications is backing a ballot measure in Colorado that would create the nation’s toughest corporate fraud law. Lew Ellingson, who had a job splicing phone cables, told the New York Times he became angry when Qwest colleagues lost their life savings after insider trading allegations…

Apr 1, 2008 3:32 PM CDT

Failed Corporate Deals Fuel Malpractice Suits Against Firms

Failed corporate deals are fueling malpractice and other deal-related claims that large law firms are finding increasingly difficult to fend off. The National Law Journal reports that during the past few years, law firms including Mayer Brown, Clifford Chance and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld have faced some of…

Mar 31, 2008 9:04 PM CDT

Bad News for KPMG: ‘Scathing’ Report Blames Accountant for Lender’s Failure

A critical report by a lawyer and former SEC official breaks new ground by blaming a Big Four accountant for a failed subprime mortgage lender’s “improper and imprudent practices,” and is viewed as a likely signpost pointing toward potential mortgage-related litigation in a new arena. Investigating on behalf of a…

Mar 26, 2008 8:38 PM CDT

6 Private Equity Lawyers Sadly Leave Schiff for Sidley

Six private equity lawyers who are leaving a smaller Chicago firm for a Chicago-based giant say they are doing so regretfully, in order to practice from the bigger platform that Sidley Austin offers. “We have terrible, mixed emotions about this,” S. Michael Peck, 60, who is leading the group from…

Mar 20, 2008 8:06 PM CDT

Bear Stearns Rescue Shows Legislators Have Work to Do

In the short run, the story of the successfully averted almost-collapse of the nation’s fifth-largest investment bank is a tale of triumph over near-disaster. But, in the long run, it is likely to be seen as a rallying cry for increased regulation of the reckless mortgage lending that caused the…

Mar 18, 2008 9:42 PM CDT

Lawyers’ Phones Ringing After 90% Plummet in Bear Stearns Value

After a stunning loss in the value of Bear Stearns stock that cost employees and investors big bucks over the weekend and led to widespread turmoil in stock markets today, the financial outlook is at least a bit brighter for two groups: elite corporate counsel and, in all likelihood, plaintiffs…

Mar 17, 2008 6:13 PM CDT

Clinton’s Corporate Lawyer Past Shapes Her Persona Today

Hillary Clinton spent most of her career in a corporate law firm, a fact that could account for the difficulties some people have warming up to her, according to a column in the American Lawyer. “The female corporate lawyer is a special breed,” all buttoned-up and trained to do business,…

Mar 13, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Spitzer’s Wife Gave Up Lawyer Job for Family

Eliot Spitzer’s wife gave up a career as a corporate lawyer at a big law firm for her family. Silda Wall Spitzer met her ambitious husband at Harvard Law School, and the couple married in 1987, the New York Post reports. The couple seemed like the perfect pair, Eliot Spitzer’s…

Mar 11, 2008 2:39 PM CDT

Digital Crime Fight Moves Beyond Terrorism With Linked Data Warehouses

Law enforcement agencies across the country are spending millions of dollars to build data warehouses of domestic intelligence that can be used to fight crime and spot terrorist plots. The Washington Post reports that the warehouses will hold criminal and investigative information from several thousand police agencies. They will be…

Mar 6, 2008 5:30 PM CST

Discovery Debacle: How Not to Duplicate Qualcomm’s E-Mail Issues

After some $10 million in court-ordered penalties, attorney sanctions and a switch of both in-house and outside counsel, it is clear that Qualcomm Inc. didn’t handle its discovery obligations in a patent dispute with Broadcom Corp. in an optimal manner. But despite these severe sanctions over 46,000 e-mails that Qualcomm…

Mar 6, 2008 1:32 AM CST

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