WASHINGTON, D.C. - International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP has announced a significant addition to its firmwide Trial Group. Renowned trial lawyer William ("Billy") Martin has joined Dorsey as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office... Read More

Speculation about SAC Capital and Steve Cohen, insider trading and Facebook dominated securities enforcement litigation this week. Although SAC Capital has tentatively resolved matters for the moment with enforcement officials, a ruling in private litigation... Read More

The number federal securities class action suits filed in the first half of 2011 decreased compared to the second half of 2010. At the same time however the number of cases filed increased compared to the first half of 2010, according to a new report... Read More

The SEC took three unusual steps this week. First, in a high stakes move, the agency appealed the refusal of Judge Rakoff to approve its proposed settlement in a market crisis case with Citigroup. A loss in the Second Circuit could substantially injure... Read More

George Canellos and Andrew Ceresney, two former colleagues in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, became the first Co-Directors of the SEC's Enforcement Division. The Division also secured a ruling this week which will permit its subpoena... Read More

The SEC is heading for a record year in terms of the number of settled enforcement actions according to a new report by NERA. The Commission also lost its bid to compel SIPIC to provide coverage for those who purchased CDs from the off-shore bank operated... Read More

Trends in the filing of securities class actions are chronicled in reports issued by Cornerstone Research and NERA Economic Consulting for the first half of 2012. The two reports agree on a number of items but differ on the overall trend regarding the... Read More

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a securities class action tied to the market crisis and brought against three mutual funds issued by Morgan Keegan Select Fund, Inc., an open-ended investment company. Atkinson v. Morgan Asset... Read More

Lehman Brothers' auditor Ernst & Young was named as a defendant in a Martin Act securities fraud suit by the New York Attorney General. The complaint claims that for years the giant accounting firm issued clean audit opinions on Lehman's financial... Read More

This week the Commission announced three victories in court and filed four new civil injunctive actions. At the same time long simmering matters moved forward. Reuters reports that the new DOJ task force, created in the wake of the President's state... Read More

There were news reports this week that Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's brother, Peter, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges that will land him in jail for ten years. At the same time the NY AG settled a case against a the operator of Madoff... Read More

The first Monday in October is the opening day of the new Supreme Court term. In recent years the Court has heard a number of securities cases, considering issues regarding class certification in Erica P. John Fund v. Halliburton, 131 S. Ct. 2179 (2011... Read More

The SEC brought an action against eight fund directors, six of whom were independent and members of the audit committee, alleging that they caused material misstatements in the valuation of fund assets by failing to implement proper standards. The agency... Read More

After resolving insider trading charges against Diamondback Capital in the Dell insider trading cases, the Commission filed two more settled insider trading actions. SEC v. Shafer, Civ. Action No. 1:12-CV-00062 (S.D. Ohio Filed Jan. 24, 2012); SEC v.... Read More

Mary Jo White became the thirty-first chairman of the SEC this week. Ms. White take the helm of an agency at a cross-roads. While it has made great strides since the beginning of the financial crisis and a series of scandals many have questioned the vigor... Read More