The white-collar defense bar was already buzzing about the indictment of a French researcher accused of tipping a hedge fund about test results on a new drug. Zornow's entrance should up the volume even more.

On Wednesday BP and the plaintiffs lawyers heading up the litigation over the Gulf oil spill finally sought approval for the estimated $7.8 billion settlement that they announced early last month. The plaintiffs' steering committee is asking for up to $600 million, on top of BP's ultimate payout to class members, and BP has agreed to foot the bill.

Rakoff's impassioned defense of shareholders could cost BofA's shareholders more than the $33 million they would have paid under the settlement. Here's how.

Perhaps Cleveland mayor Frank Jackson scored points with his base when he announced back in January 2008 that the city was suing 21 financial institutions. Likening the banks' activity to that of organized crime, the city claimed the banks had created a public nuisance by fueling subprime mortgages that left certain neighborhoods devastated by foreclosures. But the city's legal reasoning has not impressed Cleveland federal district court judge Sara Lioi, who dismissed the case with prejudice on Friday.