As widely reported in the financial press, Credit Suisse AG (“Credit Suisse”), a large Swiss bank that maintains a branch and other offices in the United States pleaded guilty to the felony of conspiracy to aid tax evasion by U.S. taxpayers and agreed to pay an aggregate penalty of approximately $2.6 billion. Credit Suisse’s plea […]
CFPB Cites Problems Among Debt Collectors, Payday Lenders
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report highlighting abusive and unlawful practices in the payday loan, debt collection, and consumer reporting markets. The released Supervisory Highlights report, the fourth report of its kind by the CFPB, examines findings such as regulatory violations or unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs), in […]
White House Mortgage Policy Advances Housing Finance Reform
While the economy has been improving since the financial crisis, the housing market has been slow to recover. The White House has proposed a plan to help homeowners refinance their mortgages while Congress has proposed the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2014 (introduced in 2013) as part of the greater system of […]
Flash Boys–Concerns Over High Frequency Trading
High frequency trading is gaining significant media attention recently as Michael Lewis published his book, Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, on the subject. While high frequency trading (HFT) was introduced into the markets in 1999, this platform for conducting rapid electronic trades of securities has been gaining significant attention by federal regulators including the […]
Inside the Courts: An Update From Skadden Securities Litigators
This quarter’s issue of Inside the Courts, Skadden’s securities litigation newsletter, includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between late January and early May 2014. The cases address developing state and federal court trends in bylaws, class certification, fiduciary duties, insider trading, interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision, PSLRA matters and applications of […]
Apple Takes a Big Bite and Buys Beats for $3 Billion
Apple, Inc. announced on Wednesday that it would purchase Beats Electronics (“Beats”) for $3 billion, $2.6 billion of which will be cash and $400 million in stock. Beats founders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple and help transform the company’s current offering of products and music services.
FTC Advises Congress to Regulate Data Brokers
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report which advises Congress to require the data broker industry to be more transparent about how they accumulate and market consumer information. The FTC advocates for regulation which would help consumers control the significant amount of personal information collected by data brokers. The FTC’s 110-page report, […]
Corporate Litigation: Delaware Supreme Court’s Decision in ATP Tour, Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund
A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision has a potentially chilling effect on corporate litigation.
The Latest Law Firm Merger: Squire Patton Boggs
Yesterday, Patton Boggs LLP and Squire Sanders announced that the two firms would merge to form Squire Patton Boggs, a firm that will employ 1,600 attorneys in “45 offices in 21 countries around the world.” This merger will place Squire Patton Boggs as one of the 25 largest firms in the world.
Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Company: Two Giants Go Head to Head in the Courtroom
After a four-week-long trial accusing Samsung Electronics Company (“Samsung”) of infringing on Apple, Inc.’s (“Apple”) patents for its smartphones, Apple is seeking an order to ban various models of Samsung smartphones from being sold in the U.S.