Supreme Court Takes On “Another” in Upholding Hobbs Act Conviction
The Hobbs Act – a law promulgated in 1946 to deal with the infiltration of racketeering activity in labor unions – got a “W” in its column yesterday with the Supreme Court’s issuance of Ocasio v. United States. Justice Alito, writing for the 5-3 majority,… Read More
Landmark $1.375 Billion Settlement in S&P Case Highlights DOJ’s FIRREA Civil Enforcement
Just two years after the ink dried on the Department of Justice’s civil complaint against McGraw-Hill Financial, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Standard and Poor’s Financial Services LLC and almost a decade after S&P was alleged to have misled investors by promoting all-star grades… Read More
Criminal Plea, Civil Liability: Aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe
Perhaps the most infamous environmental litigation case in history, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe has resulted in approximately 3,000 lawsuits (both criminal and civil) and over 100,000 named claimants in federal and state courts nationwide. In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig “Deepwater Horizon”… Read More
Riley Ruling Continues to Protect Citizens from Police Scrutiny
Earlier this summer, we discussed the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Riley v. California, which held that police officers cannot review the contents of a cell phone incident to an arrest absent a search warrant or exigent circumstances. We opined that this bright-line… Read More
“Am I on speaker?” PA Supreme Court OKs eavesdropping using phones
This post was co-authored by Michael Hayes. Michael is a partner in Montgomery McCracken’s Litigation Department and co-chair of the firm’s Electronic Discovery practice. He can be reached at 215.772.7211 or at mhayes@mmwr.com. At least one good thing has already come from Donald Sterling’s very… Read More
Bharara’s Fire Dies Out: Cohen Remains Uncharged And Turns His Losses Into Gains
As the chapter closes on the decade-long insider trading investigation of SAC Capital Advisors, our question has finally been answered—at least for now: billionaire hedge fund guru Steven A. Cohen has dodged criminal charges for his role in managing the company now convicted of systemic… Read More
Bharara’s Infernal Region Expanded By One: Martoma Convicted
For those of us following the prosecutions of SAC Capital Advisors LP, today marked another milestone in U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s quest against insider-trading. Mathew Martoma, ex-SAC fund manager and pharmaceutical-industry analyst, was found guilty this afternoon of one count of conspiracy and two counts… Read More
Time to Log Off? Complications in Workplace Social Media Use
Are your employees allowed to use their work e-mail account to send and receive personal e-mails? Should staff be permitted to surf the net while at the workplace? What about Facebook and Twitter? Does your employee handbook have any limitations on how employees should (or… Read More
Gordon Gekko Redux: Jordan Belfort’s Hollywood Redemption?
We all remember the infamous Gordon Gekko scene from the original Wall Street movie when he empowered Teldar Paper shareholders with his “Greed is good” speech: Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and… Read More
The Blame Game: Who Should be Indicted – the Company or the Individual?
Just how wide is the net being cast upon SAC by federal authorities? Last week, I posted about the unprecedented plea agreement worked out between prosecutors and SAC Capital Advisors, L.P. in what could be described as the most rampant insider trading scheme ever charged.… Read More