Regulation

Who really won in Goldman's settlement with the SEC?

By Legal Week | July 19, 2010

Legal experts will argue over who got the best deal - Goldman Sachs or the regulators - in the record fraud settlement announced last Thursday (15 July). But one thing seems certain - the investing public didn't. The lawyers at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) went into negotiations seeking a record penalty, perhaps as high as $1bn (£654m), according to Wall Street reports. It also wanted Goldman to plead guilty to at least one count of failure to disclose material information to investors in one of its subprime mortgage deals, sources said.

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Goldman reaches record $550m settlement with SEC

By Legal Week | July 16, 2010

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550m (£366m) to settle fraud charges brought against the bank by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), writes The American Lawyer. The SEC on Thursday (15 July) confirmed the terms of its agreement with Goldman with the bank to pay $300m (£200m) in fines to the Treasury Department and another $250m (£166m) in restitution to investors.

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Fried Frank partner tapped by Obama to head up oil industry regulation overhaul

By Legal Week | June 16, 2010

Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson partner Michael Bromwich has been appointed by US President Barack Obama to lead an overhaul of oil industry regulation in the wake of the BP disaster, reports The Am Law Daily. The appointment comes after Obama called on BP to "pay for the damage their company has caused" in his first national address from the Oval Office.

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International firms in London: Business without borders

By Legal Week | June 16, 2010

The ever-increasing volume of cross-border business activity by clients, the evolving regulatory landscape and London's pre-eminence as a centre for dispute resolution has meant that many law firms have had to tailor the nature of the legal expertise they offer clients correspondingly. Law firms find themselves increasingly needing to ensure they can serve their clients not just in the home jurisdiction where the client relationship first originated, but in those jurisdictions where they establish a presence or where their business extends. Notwithstanding the recent economic woes felt in all corners of the globe, this trend for globalisation shows no signs of abating and international law firms have responded to clients' needs accordingly.

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Comment: Bribery Act 2010 paves the way for tougher action

By Legal Week | June 9, 2010

Radical anti-bribery legislation passed in the dying days of the last administration gives the UK one of the toughest legislative frameworks in the world for tackling corrupt payments made here and abroad. The Bribery Act 2010 targets corporate behaviour in particular by introducing a new offence of failing to prevent bribery. The Act also creates new general offences of bribing and receiving bribes linked to 'improper performance' and a new specific offence of bribing a foreign public official. Until recently no company had been successfully prosecuted in the UK for corruption-related offences. Stung by a barrage of international criticism, the UK authorities responded by reaching agreements under which companies pleaded guilty either to bribery or related offences in return for lighter penalties. Recent high-profile prosecutions in Germany and the US of blue-chip companies including Siemens, Daimler and BAE have also placed bribery firmly on board agendas. The stakes are high - fines that can reach astronomical proportions, the threat of permanent exclusion from public sector contracts and prison for individuals directly involved.

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CC takes lead role as FSA hands out record £33m fine to JP Morgan

By Claire Ruckin | June 3, 2010

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has handed out a record £33.32m fine to JP Morgan in the latest sign of a tougher regulatory stance from the City watchdog. The penalty, which was announced today (3 June), was handed out after JP Morgan failed to protect client money by keeping it with its own money for almost seven years between 2002 and 2009 following the merger of JP Morgan and Chase Manhattan.

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OFT set to keep on keeping on after collapse of BA trial

By Claire Ruckin | May 19, 2010

"Those responsible for conducting criminal prosecutions within the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) have in this instance been guilty of incompetence on a monumental scale." The words expressed by defence counsel Ben Emmerson QC, albeit quickly retracted, give some indication of the sentiments in the legal community in reaction to the OFT's decision to drop its much-touted criminal trial against four present and past British Airways (BA) executives last week.

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Goldman lines up big-name legal team to fight SEC fraud charge

By Legal Week | April 27, 2010

Goldman Sachs has put together a high-profile legal team to defend itself against the fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports The Am Law Daily. The global financial services firm has recruited a number of big-name lawyers to work alongside its current legal team, which consists of litigation specialists Richard Klapper and Gregory Craig of Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom respectively.

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Is there anything Goldman GC Gregory Palm isn't telling us?

By Legal Week | April 22, 2010

Now that keeping secrets about an investor has landed Goldman Sachs in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a new disclosure issue has arisen. The question, in a nutshell, is: why didn't Goldman tell its investors that it was being investigated? In a conference call on Tuesday, Goldman general counsel Gregory Palm first defended the company against the SEC's fraud suit. He said Goldman was not legally required to disclose that an investor that helped choose a portfolio of subprime mortgage debt was taking a short position - meaning that the investor was betting the portfolio would lose money.

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DLA Piper appoints new managing partner in Paris office

By Suzi Ring | April 21, 2010

DLA Piper has appointed Jean- Philippe Sorba to manage its Paris office, replacing Steven De Keyser, who has been acting as interim managing partner since 2009. Sorba has headed up DLA Piper's local litigation and regulatory group since joining the firm from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe in 2008. He will continue to act as group head until a replacement is found. His new role is effective as of 1 May.

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Law.com

Law.com Compliance Briefing: Big Law Firms Nab Top Government Lawyers | Has the SPAC Spigot Run Dry? | White-Collar Compensation Spotlight | Headlines: Alex Oh, ESG Lobbying, Brady Claims and Much More

By Mike Scarcella | May 4, 2021

Welcome to Compliance Hot Spots, our weekly snapshot on white-collar, regulatory and compliance news and trends.

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National Law Journal

Zealous Advocacy Meets Corporate Criticism: What Happened With Paul Weiss' Alex Oh and the SEC?

By Jacqueline Thomsen | May 4, 2021

"From afar, it appears that this is Twitter mob purity butting up against the time-honored tradition of zealous advocacy, that is in fact required by ethical obligations," said one former chair of a Big Law firm.

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Daily Business Review

Buchanan Adds Former FDA Director Amid Increasing Agency Regulation

By Dan Roe | May 4, 2021

Prior to joining DLA Piper in 2017, George Karavetsos directed the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations. After four years of lacking FDA regulation, Karavetsos said the Biden administration is ramping up inspections in the industries it regulates.

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Legaltech News

A New Florida Privacy Law Could Be Coming—And It's Strict

By Jasmine Floyd | April 29, 2021

House Bill 969 creates a private right of action for consumers against any company that neglects to comply with a consumer's request that the company remove, amend or stop selling the consumer's personal information.

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National Law Journal

Alex Oh Abruptly Exits SEC After Judge Floats Sanctions in Past Paul Weiss Work

By Jacqueline Thomsen | April 28, 2021

Oh resigned days into the job after a judge questioned Paul Weiss' attorneys' conduct for describing opposing counsel as acting "agitated, disrespectful, and unhinged" during a deposition.

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Legaltech News

Apple Faces German Antitrust Backlash Amid iOS Privacy Changes

By Krishnan Nair | April 28, 2021

The tech giant's latest iOS update will bolster its own market power while curbing others' ad revenues, a collective of major companies asserts.

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Law.com

Law.com Compliance Briefing: Two In-House Counsel Picked for DOJ, DoD Posts | What's Driving Lateral Moves | Inside Cass Sunstein's Financial Disclosure | Steptoe Lobbies for Coinbase | Investment Firm Hires Ajit Pai

By Mike Scarcella | April 27, 2021

Welcome to Compliance Hot Spots, our weekly snapshot on white-collar, regulatory and compliance news and trends.

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The Recorder

Rob Bonta's Already Facing Attorney General Challengers Days Into His New Post

By Cheryl Miller | April 26, 2021

Southern California tax and defense counsel Nathan Hochman, a Republican and a Big Law alum, said last week he will run for Bonta's job in 2022. Now, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert has launched a campaign.

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The Recorder

Water Board Issues PFAS Investigative Orders to Refineries and Bulk Fuel Storage Terminals

By Jeffrey Dintzer and Gregory Berlin | April 26, 2021

A recent wave of PFAS investigation orders will have broad implications not only for refineries and bulk fuel storage terminals, but also for the larger regulated community as California continues to aggressively investigate PFAS contamination across the state and identify responsible parties, says Jeffrey Dintzer and Gregory Berlin of Alston & Bird in Los Angeles.

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Legaltech News

As States Offer Data Breach 'Safe Harbors,' Not All Companies Are Receptive

By Victoria Hudgins | April 23, 2021

Utah recently became the second state to enact an affirmative defense for data breaches. But complicated compliance and added responsibilities might scare some companies off from leveraging the legal mechanism.

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