White Collar

  • October 22, 2024

    Ex-Abercrombie CEO Charged With Sex Trafficking

    Former Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Mike Jeffries was indicted Tuesday on charges he ran an international sex trafficking and prostitution ring that abused male models who were led to believe their participation in sex parties would benefit their careers.

  • October 22, 2024

    Real Estate Exec Guilty Of $77M WeWork Stock Fraud

    A Manhattan federal jury on Tuesday convicted the former CEO of real estate investment firm Arciterra for trying to manipulate the price of WeWork stock via a $77 million tender offer on the cusp of the office-sharing company's bankruptcy filing in late 2023.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ga. Justices Toss Young Thug Atty's Contempt Conviction

    The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the contempt conviction of the attorney representing the rapper Young Thug over the lawyer's refusal to disclose how he learned about a judge's closed-door meeting with prosecutors and a witness, saying that judge was "involved in the controversy" and thus should not have handled the contempt hearing.

  • October 21, 2024

    $77M WeWork Bid Was Fraud 'From Beginning To End,' Jury Told

    New York federal prosecutors made their final pitch on Monday to jurors weighing the fate of the former CEO of real estate investment firm Arciterra accused of manipulating the market through a bogus $77 million tender offer to take control of WeWork, saying it was a sophisticated fraud and not a real play for control of the company.

  • October 21, 2024

    Wade Says Trump Probe Plans Began Before Willis Took Office

    Former Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade told Georgia House Judiciary Committee staff last week that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis planned to pursue charges against former president Donald Trump before she officially took the job and admitted to meeting with White House officials at least twice during the Georgia investigation.

  • October 21, 2024

    2nd Circ. Axes Claims Victoria's Secret Mogul Aided Epstein

    The Second Circuit on Monday refused to revive a suit accusing billionaire developer and Victoria's Secret tycoon Leslie Wexner, his wife and four of their organizations of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual assault of a minor, finding the appeal improperly raised new arguments.

  • October 21, 2024

    Madigan Part Of 'Corruption At The Highest Levels,' Jury Told

    Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his loyal right hand Michael McClain engaged in an eight-year "campaign of bribery," leveraging his public office and leadership roles to steer business to Madigan's property tax law firm, enrich his allies with do-nothing jobs and maintain his considerable political power, prosecutors told an Illinois federal jury Monday.

  • October 21, 2024

    SEC, CFTC Chairs Talk Crypto, AI & Wall Street Texting Sweep

    The leaders of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission appeared before an audience of top financial professionals Monday to discuss the future of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence regulations and to defend against accusations that ongoing probes of brokers' use of off-channel communications were too harsh.

  • October 21, 2024

    Colo. Justices Ask City To Explain How Theft Law Is Valid

    The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered a Denver suburb and its municipal court to elucidate why a city ordinance, that imposes harsher petty theft penalties than those under state law, should not have been found unconstitutional or preempted by state statute.

  • October 21, 2024

    Combs Seeks Gag Order As Rape Claims Flood Courts

    Attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs asked a Manhattan federal judge to order all prospective witnesses and their lawyers not to "assassinate" his character in the media, as seven new sexual assault lawsuits against him hit dockets in New York.

  • October 21, 2024

    BIA Officer's Psychological Eval Off-Limits In Liability Row

    A Northern Cheyenne woman who has accused a former Bureau of Indian Affairs officer of sexually assaulting her can reopen his deposition but won't be allowed access to his psychological evaluation in the ongoing dispute over the federal agency's liability in the incident, a federal judge said.

  • October 21, 2024

    Central Park 5 Say Trump Defamed Them During Debate

    The Central Park Five — New Yorkers who were wrongfully convicted as young teens of assaulting and raping a woman in Central Park — have hit former President Donald Trump with a defamation suit, saying he falsely claimed at a recent debate that they pled guilty, decades after calling for the boys to be executed.

  • October 21, 2024

    Ex-CFO Almost Pleads Guilty Before Snafu Snags Hearing

    The former chief financial officer of a Detroit nonprofit admitted in Michigan federal court on Monday that he is guilty of siphoning more than $40 million from the organization, but the plea hearing was derailed and adjourned after his attorney flagged an issue with the plea agreement to the court.

  • October 21, 2024

    Belgium Joins French Courts In Telegram CEO Criminal Probe

    Belgian investigators have joined French law enforcement in the criminal investigation of Pavel Durov, the CEO of encrypted messaging-platform Telegram, who is charged in France with aiding illegal child pornography, fraud and other crimes, the Paris prosecutor's office announced.

  • October 21, 2024

    French Co. Sues Woman Accused Of Stealing €100M

    A French fashion company sued a former financial consultant Friday in Florida seeking to recover the €100 million it says the consultant — a self-proclaimed "visionary entrepreneur redefining luxury living" — embezzled before absconding to Miami and laundering the proceeds through real estate.

  • October 21, 2024

    Ontrak Jury Lacked Key Compliance Instruction, Judge Told

    Counsel for convicted Ontrak founder Terren Peizer urged a California federal judge Monday to grant a new trial in the healthcare executive's novel insider trading case, saying jurors weren't properly instructed that they should acquit if Peizer's $20 million share sale was blessed by a compliance officer.

  • October 21, 2024

    Last-Minute Letter Delays Mich. Atty's Voting Machine Trial

    A Michigan state judge delayed a jury trial Monday for a lawyer accused of unlawfully accessing 2020 voting machines, after the attorney accused prosecutors overnight of hiding a letter outlining county clerks' "prerogative" to release the machines to some parties.

  • October 21, 2024

    Feds Say Doctor Used Pandemic Funds For Cars, Real Estate

    A Washington state dermatologist used $1.5 million from a loan intended for small business COVID-19 relief on two luxury Porsches, a second home and a storage unit, prosecutors said Monday.

  • October 21, 2024

    PAC Exec To Admit Pilfering From $28M Charitable Donor Haul

    A political action committee founder from Wisconsin accused of pilfering most of $28 million he raised through four PACs that were supposed to support veterans and firefighters is set to plead guilty to fraud charges, according to a Monday filing.

  • October 21, 2024

    Ga. Atty Admits To Role In $1.3B Tax Shelter Scheme

    A Georgia attorney has pled guilty in federal court related to helping orchestrate a $1.3 billion tax scheme involving fraudulent conservation easements, making him the 12th person convicted over the plot, including another attorney who was handed a 23-year prison sentence.

  • October 21, 2024

    MVP: Steptoe's Brian Heberlig

    Steptoe LLP's Brian Heberlig got a British tech billionaire and former CEO acquitted of federal securities fraud charges involving billions of dollars, and pushed through profound personal tragedy to serve his clients' needs, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 White Collar MVPs.

  • October 21, 2024

    20-Year FBI Vet Joins Motion Picture Association In California

    A former supervisory special agent with the FBI has joined the Motion Picture Association in Los Angeles to work as vice president of the group's content protection enforcement for the Americas region, and for its Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, according to a Monday announcement.

  • October 21, 2024

    Justices Pass On Cohen Suit Blaming Trump For Prison Stint

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case brought against Donald Trump by his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who claimed that he was vindictively put in prison for writing a memoir that painted the former president in a negative light.

  • October 21, 2024

    High Court Takes Case On Sentencing For Release Infractions

    The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to address a circuit split over what factors judges can consider when sentencing a person for violating conditions of supervised release, an issue estimated to affect thousands of defendants each year.

  • October 21, 2024

    Ex-Morgan Lewis Atty Seeks Moderation In LA County DA Bid

    Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and onetime partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, is running on a "hard middle" platform as he looks to unseat progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, the candidate told Law360 in an interview delving into his experience on both sides of the bar.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.

  • 3 Ways To Lower Insider Trading Risk After First 10b5-1 Case

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice's insider trading prosecution against the former CEO of Ontrack based on alleged abuse of a Rule 10b5-1 safe harbor plan — designed to allow executives to sell their companies' securities without liability — companies and individuals should take steps to avoid enacting similar plans in bad faith, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act

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    As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.

  • New Russia Sanctions Law: Bank Compliance Insights

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    Financial institutions must familiarize themselves with the new reporting obligations imposed by the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, a recent law that authorizes seizures of Russian sovereign assets under U.S. jurisdiction, say attorneys at Seward & Kissel.

  • 3 Healthcare FCA Deals Provide Self-Disclosure Takeaways

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    Several civil False Claims Act settlements of alleged healthcare fraud violations over the past year demonstrate that healthcare providers may benefit substantially from voluntarily disclosing potential misconduct to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, say Brian Albritton and Raquel Ramirez Jefferson at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Menendez Corruption Ruling Highlights Attorney Proffer Risks

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    The recent admission of slides used in a preindictment presentation as evidence during U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial highlights the potential pitfalls of using visual aids in attorney proffers, and the increasing importance of making disclaimers regarding information presented at the outset of proffers, say Carrie Cohen and Savanna Leak at MoFo.

  • Opinion

    Expert Witness Standards Must Consider Peer Review Crisis

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    For nearly two decades, the so-called replication crisis has upended how the scientific community views the reliability of peer-reviewed studies, and it’s time for courts to reevaluate whether peer review is a trustworthy proxy for expert witness reliability, say Jeffrey Gross and Robert LaCroix at Reid Collins.

  • Heading Off Officials' Errors When Awarded A Gov't Contract

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    Government contractors awarded state or local projects funded through federal programs should seek clarification of their compliance obligations, documenting everything, or risk having to defend themselves when they seek reimbursement months later, with only their word for support, says George Petel at Wiley.

  • Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar

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    At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • High Court's Expert Ruling May Help Health Fraud Defendants

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Diaz v. U.S. appears to give the government a powerful new tool in calling its own agents as expert witnesses, but it could also benefit defense counsel in criminal healthcare fraud and other white collar criminal cases that arise in complex legal or regulatory environments, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Jarkesy's Impact On SEC Enforcement Will Be Modest

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    Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy decision found that fraud defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial, the ruling will have muted impact on the agency’s enforcement because it’s already bringing most of its cases in federal court, say Jeremiah Williams and Alyssa Fixsen at Ropes & Gray.

  • New FARA Letters Offer Insight Into DOJ's Approach

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recently released batch of 15 advisory opinions from the Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit provides important guidance on FARA registration triggers and exemptions, underscoring the breadth of FARA's scope, says Tessa Capeloto at Wiley.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

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