Latham-Led Online Ticket Giant StubHub Files IPO

By Tom Zanki

Private equity- and venture-backed online ticket reseller StubHub Holdings Inc. on Friday filed its long-awaited initial public offering plans, represented by Latham & Waktins LLP and underwriters counsel Cooley LLP.

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Analysis

SEC Guidance Moves Needle In Favor Of Private Fundraising

By Tom Zanki

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent guidance on how accredited investors can self-certify when participating in broadly publicized private placements simplifies legal compliance for issuers, according to attorneys, though the jury is still out on whether market participants will embrace the new framework.

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Barclays Beats Investor Suits Over Unregistered Securities

By Dorothy Atkins

A New York federal judge tossed Friday a pair of proposed securities class actions alleging Barclays misled investors about its internal controls and its unregistered securities sales, which eventually triggered so-called short squeezes, finding that the statements aren't actionable and the investors haven't sufficiently pled scienter, among other pleading failures.

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Chancery Nixes Mid-Case Appeal In Sears Appraisal Suit Fix

By Jeff Montgomery

A Delaware vice chancellor refused on Friday to certify a mid-case appeal sought by bankrupt Sears Hometown Stores and its billionaire controller after a Court of Chancery ruling that an investor should get a full $4.06 per share post-squeeze-out merger award despite pursuing an alternative stock appraisal that was dead-ended by bankruptcy.

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Treasury Lifts Sanctions Against Crypto Mixer Tornado Cash

By Jon Hill

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Friday that it has removed U.S. government sanctions against cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, ending the Biden-era blacklisting after the Fifth Circuit said last year that key code underpinning the service wasn't sanctionable.

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US-Swiss Agreement Exempts Retirees' Dividends, IRS Says

By Kevin Pinner

U.S. retirement accounts, including trusts, qualified annuity plans and other schemes, are exempt from Swiss taxes on dividends from Swiss companies in which they don't own a controlling interest, according to a U.S.-Switzerland competent authority agreement released Friday by the IRS.

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Israel-Focused SPAC Raises $125M To Pursue Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Shares of Gesher Acquisition Corp. II began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday after the blank-check company detailed plans to raise $125 million in its initial public offering with the goal of merging with an Israeli company.

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Only FDIC Can Sue Over Signature Bank Collapse, Judge Says

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge on Friday tossed a shareholder lawsuit over alleged misstatements about Signature Bank's health ahead of its 2023 collapse, saying shareholders lacked standing to sue in light of the FDIC being a receiver of both the failed bank's assets and rights of the bank's stockholders.

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Texas Regulator Says Scammers Recruited Game Developers

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas State Securities Board entered an emergency cease-and-desist order to stop offers of an allegedly fraudulent blockchain token called Apertum, saying its creators successfully recruited developers behind "Grand Theft Auto V" to launch a new game requiring the purchase of the token.

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SEC Crypto Roundtable Puts 'Howey' To The Test

By Aislinn Keely

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought a dozen cryptocurrency legal experts together on Friday to wrestle with how to define security status for digital assets, and their in-depth discussion left the regulator with more questions or suggestions than agreed-upon definitions.

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4 Actions For Cos. As SEC Rebrands Cyber Enforcement Units

As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission signals its changing enforcement priorities by retooling a Biden-era crypto-asset and cybersecurity enforcement unit into a task force against artificial-intelligence-powered hacks and online investing fraud, financial institutions and technology companies should adapt by considering four key points, say attorneys at Troutman.

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Opinion

We Must Allow Judges To Use Their Independent Judgment

As two recent cases show, the ability of judges to access their independent judgment crucially enables courts to exercise the discretion needed to reach the right outcome based on the unique facts within the law, says John Siffert at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Lawyers Slam Trump Memo On 'Vexatious' Attys

By Jack Karp

BigLaw attorneys, immigration lawyers and legal advocacy organizations have been quick to blast President Donald Trump for what some of them call an "inexcusable and despicable" memo that is meant to intimidate attorneys out of challenging the administration.

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Paul Weiss Chair Defends Trump Deal Amid Outcry

By Aebra Coe

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP Chairman Brad Karp explained to the law firm's personnel on Sunday his decision to strike a deal with the Trump administration to avoid retribution related to the firm's selection of clients and DEI practices, a decision that has prompted public outcry among legal industry pundits and firm alumni.

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Ex-Girardi Lawyer Faces Ethics Charges For $53M Settlement

By Brandon Lowrey

The State Bar of California has filed disciplinary charges against a former Girardi Keese attorney alleging he settled a family's claims for $53 million without permission and hid the firm's misappropriation of millions of dollars from the resulting settlement funds, among other ethical violations.

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Trump Asks High Court To Halt Fed. Workers' Reinstatement

By Katie Buehler

The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to pause a California federal court order reinstating tens of thousands of probationary federal workers who were fired from six agencies, arguing the band of nonprofit groups that obtained the order have no standing to challenge the firings.

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Paul Hastings Plans UAE Launch With White & Case Attys

By Andrea Keckley

Paul Hastings is planning to launch its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi after hiring a cross-border infrastructure team from White & Case LLP, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

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Trump Names His Counselor Interim US Atty For NJ

By Carla Baranauckas

President Donald Trump on Monday named his counselor and former personal attorney, Alina Habba, as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a surprise move in which she'll replace a prosecutor who was sworn into the role on March 3.

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Justices Decline To Revisit Landmark Press Freedom Ruling

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied casino mogul and Trump donor Steve Wynn's bid to overturn a landmark ruling on press freedom that established a high evidentiary standard for public figures to pursue defamation claims.

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Foley & Lardner Expands State AG Practice With Cozen Trio

By Jack Rodgers

Three former state attorneys general who have been practicing from Cozen O'Connor's Washington, D.C., and Denver offices have moved to Foley & Lardner LLP to continue working on a range of matters related to state attorneys general investigations, the latter firm announced Monday. 

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Trump Taps Morgan Lewis Atty To Lead OFCCP

By Grace Elletson

The Trump administration has selected a former Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP attorney to lead the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, with the lawyer promising Monday to uphold the president's mandate of stripping the agency's legal authority to investigate bias complaints against federal contractors.

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Gorsuch, Alito Say Confrontation Clause Issue Merits A Look

By Cara Salvatore

Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito called Monday for the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine what accusations can be introduced at trial without cross-examination, saying a conviction resting on a pre-arraignment form shows that current legal frameworks have strayed from the traditional intent surrounding the confrontation clause.

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Retired 1st Circ. Judge Boudin Dies At 85

By Julie Manganis

Retired First Circuit Judge Michael Boudin, whose notable opinions during nearly three decades on the appeals court included a finding that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional, died Monday at 85 following a long struggle with Parkinson's disease, his nephew confirmed.

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