The plaintiffs--including state, local and municipal government entities--claim that Wall Street banks and other investment firms conspired to rig bids and fix the price of municipal derivatives.

Inside The American Lawyer newsroom, there's a running bet about how many Am Law 200 firms will get a piece of the Bernie Madoff pie. The over-under is 75. Any takers? Before you put your money down, check out Brian Baxter's latest installment of Who's Repping Whom in Madoff.

A court in D.C. has cleared the way for SEC regulation of conflict minerals in the Congo.

It's been three months since a group of investors won class certification in their suit against seven trading specialist firms. But you wouldn't have known it until now, because the order in the six-year-old case was under seal. On June 5, Manhattan federal district judge Robert Sweet agreed to unseal the order, and the plaintiffs, led by the California Public Employees Retirement System, are pleased it's seeing the light of day.

The FDIC, represented by DLA Piper, asserted a claim against the holding company of a failed bank that would have wiped out all other creditors.