The Tousa ruling created a tsunami of backlash last year, after a bankruptcy court judge ruled the homebuilder's $450 million loan repayment was a fraudulent transfer. Now a federal district court judge says the bankruptcy judge was dead wrong. And he's not pulling any punches.

Remember when banks were squeamish about suing one another? The credit default swap implosion put an end to all that, to the benefit of firms like Quinn Emanuel and lawyers like Greg Joseph.

Quinn Emanuel's Jonathan Pickhardt, who took the lead at trial for the BankAtlantic investors hoping to scuttle the deal, hailed the decision as a "terrific victory" and a confirmation of the sanctity of contracts, even during times of financial distress.

Kasowitz Benson has had mixed luck lately pressing claims that the hedge fund Magnetar Capital colluded with various banks to to place short bets on complex securities backed by subprime mortgages. The firm's luck was all bad this week in its case against UBS AG.