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Using the Privilege: Fifth Amendment Fundamentals for Corporations

Most in-house lawyers, if they're fortunate, haven't bumped up against the Fifth Amendment and its related issues since the bar exam. After all, the so-called "nickel" typically arises solely in the criminal context, and...more

Credit Crunch Digest -- February 2013

This issue of the Credit Crunch Digest focuses on fines against Royal Bank of Scotland for alleged Libor rate rigging; the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Standard & Poors; developments in a mortgage-backed securities...more

White Collar Watch - February 2013

In This Issue: - New HIPAA “Megarule” Broadens Enforcement - Government Declines to Seek Rehearing of Landmark Off-Label Speech Decision - Seizure of Rothstein Ponzi Assets Highlights Tension Between...more

Fourth Circuit Affirms Finding of No Fifth Amendment Violation in Connection with 45-Year Conviction for $100 Million Investment...

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a defendant’s conviction and 45-year sentence, holding that the defendant’s Fifth Amendment rights had not been violated where the government simply had limited...more

AMENDMENT IN BYE LAWS TO EXTEND LIMITATION PERIOD TO INVOKE ARBITRATION – RETROSPECTIVE OR PROSPECTIVE

In the matter of disputes between the member and clients arising from transactions executed between the parties, the law of limitation provides a time limit of three years to file the claims as per procedure. However, the...more

Use A Form S-8, Go To Jail! (Really)

One might not expect that filing a registration statement on Form S-8 could result in a criminal conviction. However, that is what happened to the CEO and CFO of a small public company. They were both convicted of selling...more

Jurors Behaving Badly

A closely watched white-collar criminal case poses an interesting question in a challenging context: just how egregious do a juror’s lies during jury selection have to be in order to warrant a new trial? United States v....more

Court Slaps Down Section 25400 Market Manipulation Claim Against Convicted Felon

Corporations Code Section 25400 is California’s anti-market manipulation statute. The statute copied clauses (1) through (5) of Section 9(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and declares unlawful specified actions...more

Honest Services Fraud: Skilling, Black, and Weyhrauch

Skilling v. United States, Docket No. 08-1394 (U.S. June 24, 2010); Black v. United States, Docket No. 08-876 (U.S. June 24, 2010); Weyhrauch v. United States, Docket No. 08-1196 (U.S. June 24, 2010). In a set of opinions...more

Supreme Court Curtails Reach of Honest Services Fraud and Affirms Juror Bias Metric

On June 24, 2010, the Supreme Court released its much anticipated decision in the prosecution of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, sharply curtailing the scope of the federal “honest services” fraud statute. The statute,...more

Skilling v. USA

Brief Amicus Curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation and CATO Institute In Suppor of Neither Party

Following Enron's downfall, the federal government charged company CEO Jeffrey Skilling with "honest services fraud" connected to the alleged manipulation of Enron's market value (and other securities irregularities). This...more

Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White-Collar Criminal Defense Newsletter, Summer 2008

In This Issue This edition of the Securities Litigation, Enforcement, and White-Collar Criminal Defense Newsletter opens with an overview of recent trends in enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an area in...more