Securities Law

Milbank Corporate & Securities Leader Takes Team to Dewey, Where He Will Head Latin America Practice

The head of the Latin America practice group at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy is taking a team of lawyers to Dewey & LeBoeuf, where he will serve in a similar leadership role. Michael Fitzgerald, who also chaired the global securities and global corporate groups at his now-former firm, is…

Jun 14, 2011 7:32 PM CDT

Disbarred Ex-BigLaw Associate Wins Pro Se Appeal of $600K Fine in Insider-Trading Case

After pleading guilty in 2007 to an insider-trading conspiracy, a former associate at Thacher Proffitt & Wood lost a parallel civil case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on summary judgment. However, Amir Rosenthal apparently spent at least some of his 33-month sentence to good purpose in the…

Jun 13, 2011 8:07 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Took Plea Delivers on Stand, Helps Convict Goffer, 2 Others in Insider-Trading Case

An attorney who admittedly participated in an insider-trading scheme by providing confidential information about clients of a well-known law firm to a former trader with the Galleon Group hedge fund has helped convict Zvi Goffer and two other individuals in a securities-fraud conspiracy case. A federal jury in Manhattan today…

Jun 13, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court Considers the Word ‘Make,’ Shields Mutual Fund Company from Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court has held in a 5-4 decision that a mutual fund advisory company can’t be held liable in an investor suit for false statements in prospectuses prepared by its client funds. SCOTUSblog calls the decision shielding Janus Capital Management from liability “an important limitation on the scope…

Jun 13, 2011 3:33 PM CDT

Former Brobeck Chairman Tower Snow Joins Cooley as Securities Litigation Partner

A lawyer known for his stint at the helm of a high-flying San Francisco law firm that subsequently went bankrupt and his leadership role in an unsuccessful effort to establish a West Coast presence for London-based Clifford Chance is now joining Cooley as a partner. Once the chairman of Brobeck…

Jun 9, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

PI Lawyer Settles Charges He Traded on Deal Info Gleaned from Unwitting BigLaw Daughter

A San Diego-area personal injury lawyer has settled charges that he traded on deal information he misappropriated from his unwitting daughter, an associate at a large law firm. Dean Goetz allegedly learned about the pending $1.36 billion acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics while his daughter was working on the transaction…

Jun 8, 2011 12:04 PM CDT

SEC Enforcement Chief Hits Defense Lawyer Toe-Tapping, Scapegoating in Internal Probes

White-collar defense lawyers beware: The enforcement chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission is aware of your tactics. Speaking last week to the criminal law group of the UJA-Federation of New York, Robert Khuzami said he’s sure that no audience members are engaging in conduct that frustrates his agency’s investigations.…

Jun 8, 2011 11:37 AM CDT

Insider Trading Defendant Dresses in Banana Republic Pantsuits, Contravening Expert Advice

How do you dress an insider trading defendant for trial who is said to prefer the Cheesecake Factory to a clothing boutique? The answer, according to Reuters, is in two dark-colored pantsuits from the Banana Republic. Winifred Jiau is accused of passing along insider trading tips while working at Primary…

Jun 7, 2011 3:36 PM CDT

Supreme Court Rules for Shareholders Seeking Class Action Status Against Halliburton

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that shareholders suing a company for securities fraud don’t have to prove the defendant’s deceptive conduct caused their losses before obtaining certification of their class action. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the unanimous opinion (PDF) in a shareholder suit against the Halliburton…

Jun 6, 2011 2:54 PM CDT

NYT Learns of Goldman Trader’s Legal Defense from Discarded Laptop

The New York Times has learned about the legal defenses for a Goldman Sachs trader from a discarded laptop discovered in a garbage area of a New York apartment building. An artist and filmmaker gave legal materials from the laptop to the newspaper, saying a friend had discovered the computer…

Jun 1, 2011 5:44 PM CDT

IPOs Bring Big Fees to BigLaw, Make One GC a Multimillionaire

Initial public offerings are keeping many large law firms busy. Two law firms profiting from the IPO boom are Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Cooley, the Am Law Daily reports. Wilson Sonsini advised LinkedIn when it went public while Cooley represented the underwriters. LinkedIn has estimated its legal fees…

May 31, 2011 1:25 PM CDT

Legal Hiring Continues to Improve in Some Areas; One Dallas Firm Seeks Up to 30 Lawyers

Updated: Are more signs emerging of a thaw in legal hiring? Earlier this week there was news that the Securities and Exchange Commission has so many lawyer openings that it has hired a headhunter. Now the Am Law Daily reports of increased hiring in a couple legal markets, but only…

May 26, 2011 11:26 AM CDT

SEC Nixes Rule Requiring Whistle-Blowers Seeking Big Bucks to Start with Internal Corp. Complaint

Updated: In a 3-2 vote today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nixed an effort to require whistle-blowers to complain directly to corporations before initiating enforcement action. Rejecting an appeal seeking to require whistle-blowers to go first to internal compliance entities, the SEC said incentives to report wrongdoing directly to…

May 25, 2011 7:15 PM CDT

Now Hiring: SEC Has Glut of Attorney Jobs, Turns to Recruiter for Help

With a glut of attorney jobs to fill before its fiscal year comes to an end in September, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has turned to a recruiter for help. Futurestep will help the federal enforcement agency find applicants for positions ranging from entry-level attorney advisers, earning an annual…

May 25, 2011 12:25 AM CDT

Ex-Ropes & Gray Lawyer Explains How He Snooped for Merger Information

One sign of a pending merger was attorney workload, according to a former Ropes & Gray lawyer who pleaded guilty in an insider trading case. Documents also provided a treasure trove of information. “Merger agreements, loan documents, signature pages—those sort of documents are the sort of things we would pass…

May 24, 2011 12:17 PM CDT