White Collar Crime

Ex-Ropes & Gray associate disbarred after Rajaratnam insider trading verdict

By Legal Week | May 16, 2011

Former Ropes & Gray associate Arthur Cutillo has been disbarred in New York a day after a Manhattan federal jury convicted billionaire Raj Rajaratnam on all counts related to a wide-ranging insider trading probe, reports The Am Law Daily. A five-member panel of the New York State Appellate Division, First Department on Thursday (12 May) issued its ruling disbarring Cutillo, who was arrested in November 2009 and accused of passing along tips on confidential deals he worked on at the firm.

1 minute read

Hare Court silk appointed to lead World Cup bribery probe

By Suzi Ring | May 13, 2011

The Football Association (FA) has appointed James Dingemans QC of 3 Hare Court to investigate allegations of misconduct by FIFA officials surrounding England's 2018 failed World Cup bid. Dingemans was appointed on Thursday (12 May) to review claims made by former FA chairman Lord Triesman to a Parliamentary select committee this week relating to allegations that four FIFA officials had sought "bribes" to back England's bid.

1 minute read

Hedge fund chief Rajaratnam found guilty on all counts in insider trading case

By Legal Week | May 12, 2011

Hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam has been found guilty of 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy by a federal jury in Manhattan, writes The American Lawyer.The verdict against the founder of the Galleon Group was delivered yesterday (11 May) after six days of deliberations that followed a nine-week trial on insider trading charges

1 minute read

US firm seals hire of Serious Fraud Office GC for London office

By Friederike Heine | April 27, 2011

McGuireWoods has boosted its white collar crime practice in London with the hire of Serious Fraud Office (SFO) general counsel Vivian Robinson QC. Robinson will join the US firm's London office later this summer as a partner in the government, regulatory and criminal investigations practice, after serving a three-month notice period at the SFO.

1 minute read

War on Wimbledon – the much-derided Bribery Act is a resounding success

By Alex Novarese | April 21, 2011

You know you're on dodgy territory when journalists and lobbying groups start to claim a piece of legislation is badly drafted. Unless you're a trained lawyer - and one with a specialism in the area at that - it's pretty difficult to tell if statute is poorly written. Of course, as can been seen from this week's analysis, this didn't stop a storm of criticism hitting the Bribery Act, which must now surely rank as the most politically-charged piece of legislation to impact on corporates since the Human Rights Act of 1998. In part, the nature of these attacks was due to the content of the Act. Supporting bribery is a hard public position to adopt - which forced opponents of the Act to get into technical arguments regarding supposed deficiencies in drafting.

1 minute read

Kickbacks – does the Bribery Act deserve to be mired in controversy?

By Legal Week | April 21, 2011

"Talk of golf days being banned and arrests at Wimbledon – that was all hype," says Barry Vitou, Pinsent Masons partner and co-author of thebriberyact.com, discussing the much-touted anti-corruption legislation that will finally come into effect later this summer. And the implementation of the Bribery Act has certainly been noticed; arguably not since the Human Rights Act 1998 has a piece of primary legislation with wide implications for companies attracted such sustained political controversy. In the wake of a fierce lobbying campaign from business groups claiming, in one case, that the Act would be like equivalent US legislation "on acid" – leading to extreme claims that even basic corporate hospitality would be banned under the legislation – the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced in January that the Act's implementation would be delayed from its target of April 2011.

1 minute read

US associate faces charges for using law firm data for insider trading

By Legal Week | April 7, 2011

A former M&A lawyer has been charged by US prosecutors for an alleged insider trading scheme which involved obtaining information from three leading corporate law firms, writes The Am Law Daily. Matthew Kluger, a former associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, has been charged by federal prosecutors in connection with an alleged scheme to trade on inside information. The scheme is alleged to have netted Kluger and a fellow defendant $32m (£19.7m) over more than a decade.

1 minute read

Senior DLA partner duo quit firm to join Dechert's London arm

By Legal Week | April 1, 2011

DLA Piper is set to see its global co-head of litigation and regulation Neil Gerrard and its EMEA head of corporate crime and investigations Jonathan Pickworth leave the firm. Gerrard and Pickworth both handed in their notice yesterday (31 March) to join Dechert's City arm, with the firm also understood to be in talks with additional DLA partners.

1 minute read

Govt announces July implementation date for new UK anti-bribery laws

By Suzi Ring | March 30, 2011

Businesses have just three months to ensure they comply with the Bribery Act, after Justice Secretary Ken Clarke today (30 March) announced that the UK's updated anti-corruption laws will come into force on 1 July. The new guidelines issued earlier today confirm that a business can be held liable if a senior person within the organisation commits a bribery offence. Organisations may also be liable for failing to prevent bribery conducted on their behalf, but only if the person committing the crime performs services connected with the business - this means companies are unlikely to face action because of the actions of suppliers.

1 minute read

Louise Delahunty: Caught in the laundering cross fire

By Legal Week | March 28, 2007

Banks, lawyers and accountants are experiencing a feeling of deja vu. Another raft of European legislation descends, new domestic implementing law is published and the UK is once again at the forefront of increased anti-money laundering regulation.

1 minute read

New York Law Journal

Former SDNY Securities Fraud Prosecutor Joins Cadwalader as Partner in White Collar Group

By Jane Wester | February 21, 2023

At the SDNY, Gina Castellano served on the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, led six criminal trials and supervised dozens of other cases.

3 minute read

The American Lawyer

Loyal Clients Helped Gibson Dunn Continue Record Revenue, Profit Streak in 2022

By Dan Roe | February 16, 2023

The law firm posted 10% gains in gross revenue and profits per equity partner as M&A and private equity complemented strong litigation demand.

5 minute read

Law.com

Second Circuit Narrows Reach of Wire Fraud and Insider Trading Prohibitions

By Harry Sandick, Anna Blum and Abigail Marion | February 15, 2023

The Second Circuit's long-anticipated decision in United States v. Blaszczak limits the government's ability to bring fraud or insider trading prosecutions where the information used to achieve an advantage is regulatory information held by the government. It also brings the Second Circuit in greater alignment with the Supreme Court's wire fraud jurisprudence.

12 minute read

New York Law Journal

Internal Investigations Remain Crucial Before Self-Reporting Corporate Malfeasance Under Revised DOJ Policy

By Mitra Hormozi, Deanna Paul and Marc Armas | February 15, 2023

The Justice Department recently released a revised Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP) to expound upon the potential benefits bestowed on companies that self-report white-collar crime. The Department's announcement appears to be framed as an olive branch to further encourage corporations to voluntarily disclose potential malfeasance to the government, but at what risk?

5 minute read

Supreme Court Brief

Supreme Court Brief: Who's at the Podium | Cert Petition Spotlight | Title 42

By Avalon Zoppo | Brad Kutner | February 14, 2023

This week's briefing includes look at newly filed cert petition that seeks to bring questions about materiality in federal fraud statutes to the justices.

9 minute read

National Law Journal

Willkie Picks Up Two Investigators From Jan. 6 Committee

By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys | February 13, 2023

Set to join Willkie Farr & Gallagher on Wednesday are Timothy Heaphy, who served as chief investigative counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives' Jan. 6 Committee, and Soumya Dayananda, who was senior investigative counsel for the committee.

4 minute read

The American Lawyer

Jordan Belfort Prosecutor's Move to White & Case Latest in Recent Gibson Dunn Practice Leadership Moves

By Dan Roe | February 8, 2023

Joel Cohen had been a leader of Gibson Dunn's white-collar practice. His exit follows the hiring of two co-chairs this year and the departure of two global litigation leaders last fall.

2 minute read

New York Law Journal

The Muddy Waters of Insider Trading Law Just Got Muddier

By Robert J. Anello and Richard F. Albert | February 8, 2023

The procedural posture of 'Blaszczak' adds new cracks to the already unstable foundation of insider trading precedent.

11 minute read

The American Lawyer

Cadwalader Hires Willkie Compliance Chair in Two-Partner Move

By Patrick Smith | February 3, 2023

Martin Weinstein left Willkie partly because of its retirement policy, he said. "I believe I can still practice at a high level."

3 minute read

Litigation Daily

A Bazooka Is Better Than a Shotgun Blast: The Power of a Rare United Front in a Multidefendant White Collar Case

By Ross Todd | February 2, 2023

Six defendants saw their indictments dismissed just a month before a scheduled trial in the Central District of California.

4 minute read