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White Collar

  • July 24, 2025

    Alina Habba Says She Is Now Acting US Atty In NJ

    Alina Habba posted on social media Thursday that she is now the acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, two days after the federal district court declined to extend her tenure in the interim position.

  • July 24, 2025

    UnitedHealth Discloses DOJ Medicare Civil, Criminal Probes

    UnitedHealth Group Inc. has disclosed that it is complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the U.S. Department of Justice, following media reports about investigations into aspects of the insurance giant's participation in Medicare.

  • July 24, 2025

    SEC Escapes Atty Fee Bid After Rare In-House Loss

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will not have to reimburse a Michigan-based company that spent four years fighting to have a trading suspension lifted, an administrative law judge has ruled, though he said the case raised "serious questions" about the agency's process for obtaining such suspensions.

  • July 24, 2025

    Equitrans Charged Over 2-Week Gas Leak In Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Thursday charged energy company Equitrans LP with failing to properly maintain a facility where natural gas leaked for 14 days into the air, ground and water, contaminating the nearby area and several neighboring states.

  • July 24, 2025

    Madigan Confidant Gets 2 Years For Role In ComEd Bribery

    An Illinois federal judge sentenced a lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison to two years in prison Thursday for his role in forging a "crucial connection" between the utility and his longtime friend, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, and acting as Madigan's mouthpiece in a scheme to illegally influence the powerful politician to support ComEd's legislative agenda.

  • July 24, 2025

    Florida Man Gets 14 Years For $78M Drug Diversion Scheme

    The purported leader of a Florida-based operation that diverted $78 million in pharmaceutical drugs was sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy-related charges in connection with illegally purchasing medications meant for HIV or cancer and reselling them as legitimately obtained products.

  • July 24, 2025

    NJ Attys Warn RICO Case Revival Would 'Chill' Lawyering

    The New Jersey State Bar Association told a Garden State appellate court that lawyers across the state will be chilled from zealously advocating for their clients if it revives the state's racketeering indictment against two politically connected attorneys, making it the second attorney advocacy group to file a proposed amicus curiae brief in the case.

  • July 24, 2025

    Atty To Give Up License After Giving Contraband To Detainee

    A Connecticut criminal defense attorney will give up his law license for 10 years as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities who allege he passed paperwork that had been treated with a controlled substance to a Rhode Island detainee during a visit in May 2023.

  • July 24, 2025

    Construction Co. Owner Arrested In $2.9M Payroll Tax Scheme

    A New York City construction company owner was arrested on charges of failing to pay over $2.9 million in employment taxes and falsely claiming that his wife worked as one of his laborers, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • July 24, 2025

    Rising Star: Selendy Gay's Temidayo Aganga-Williams

    Temidayo Aganga-Williams served as senior investigative counsel to the U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, where he was responsible for investigating the facts and causes of the riot and shaping what would become the historical record of it, earning him a spot among the white collar attorneys under age 40 honored by À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ as Rising Stars.

  • July 24, 2025

    Bets On Atty's Lien Biz Lost Millions, Investor Tells Jury

    A seasoned investor told a Manhattan federal jury Thursday that he heavily backed a tax-lien fund controlled by a lawyer now accused of fraud, ultimately losing $2.9 million in supposedly low-risk bets where such losses were "not supposed to be possible."

  • July 24, 2025

    Ex-UMich Coach Must Answer Hacking Claims By Sept. 2

    A former University of Michigan football coach told a federal judge Thursday that he wasn't trying to delay civil cases alleging he hacked thousands of female student-athletes' personal information, as the judge rejected his request to give him more time than other defendants to respond to the allegations.

  • July 24, 2025

    German Court Convicts 4th In €195M VAT Fraud Scheme

    A fourth person has been convicted in connection with a €195 million ($229.3 million) value-added tax fraud scheme, this time in a German regional court, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said.

  • July 23, 2025

    Epstein Grand Jury Files To Remain Sealed In Fla.

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's request to unseal grand jury transcripts from an investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as President Donald Trump faces a growing number of Republicans asking for more transparency about the case.

  • July 23, 2025

    MIT Grads Can't Escape $25M Crypto Heist Charges

    Two Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated brothers accused of executing a $25 million cryptocurrency theft remain on the hook for fraud after a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday that prosecutors have shown that the pair's novel methods intended to deceive certain traders and meddled with transactions.

  • July 23, 2025

    Fla. Man Gets 5 Years In Jail For Hiding Swiss Bank Accounts

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Miami man to five years in prison on a conspiracy-related count in connection with evading taxes on approximately $20 million he held in Swiss bank accounts and setting up trusts in an attempt to hide assets.

  • July 23, 2025

    Ex-Copyright Chief Suggests Trump Fired Her Over AI Report

    An attorney for the fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office suggested Wednesday that President Donald Trump "sought to sideline her" to stop her from advising Congress on issues related to the use of copyrighted material for training artificial intelligence models, noting her dismissal occurred shortly after she released a pivotal report on the subject.

  • July 23, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Off 2nd Look At Class Action Fraud Sanction

    The Third Circuit has reissued an opinion upholding the conviction of a man accused of defrauding shareholder settlement funds, but saying it should not have previously ordered the lower court to potentially increase the $31 million judgment against the man.

  • July 23, 2025

    Ex-Cannabis Co. CFO OK'd To Argue Good Faith In SEC Case

    A former executive of cannabis company Acreage Holdings Inc., accused of falsifying the company's financials, will be permitted to argue that he was acting in good faith, a Manhattan federal judge said Wednesday, finding it was too early to know whether attorney-client privilege would block his defense.

  • July 23, 2025

    Adviser Drops FINRA 5th Amendment Challenge

    A financial adviser has dropped his Fifth Amendment challenge against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, following the regulator's arguments that it is not subject to constitutional requirements when carrying out its self-regulatory responsibilities.

  • July 23, 2025

    Lansing-Area Prosecutor Joins Mich. AG Race As Republican

    A Lansing-area county prosecutor has announced he is running for Michigan attorney general next year, the second Republican and fifth candidate to enter the field. 

  • July 23, 2025

    Feds Seek 15 Months For Lobbyist Over Madigan Scheme

    Federal prosecutors have urged an Illinois federal judge to sentence ex-ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty to one year and three months in prison for his "critical role" in a scheme to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose associates were paid as "subcontractors" under Doherty's lobbying contract with the utility even though they did little to no work.

  • July 23, 2025

    Operators Of Streaming Site Jetflicks Sentenced Up To 7 Years

    Five people convicted last year of running an illegal streaming website called Jetflicks have been sentenced by a Nevada federal judge, with one receiving seven years in prison and three others receiving shorter terms.

  • July 23, 2025

    Indiana CPA Gets 3 Years In Royalty Payment Tax Scheme

    An Indiana accountant received a three-year prison sentence for willfully preparing tax returns for clients who inappropriately claimed millions of dollars worth of business deductions based on false royalty payments made for using intellectual property, according to federal prosecutors.

  • July 23, 2025

    Unlicensed $1M Crypto Exchange Operator Pleads Guilty

    A 56-year-old Connecticut man has pled guilty to charging fees for swapping more than $1 million in cash, checks and money orders for cryptocurrency at a West Haven business that didn't obtain a license from the state banking commissioner.

Expert Analysis

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

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    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

  • Tracking Changes To AI Evidence Under Federal Rules

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    As the first quarter of 2025 draws to a close, important changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the courtroom are on the horizon, including how to handle evidence that is a product of machine learning, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Nev. Fraud Ruling Raises Stakes For Proxy Battles

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    Though a Nevada federal court’s recent U.S. v. Boruchowitz decision involved unusual facts, the court's ruling that board members can be defrauded of their seat through misrepresentations increases fraud risks in more typical circumstances involving board elections, especially proxy fights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Law Firm Executive Orders Create A Legal Ethics Minefield

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    Recent executive orders targeting BigLaw firms create ethical dilemmas — and raise the specter of civil or criminal liability — for the government attorneys tasked with implementing them and for the law firms that choose to make agreements with the administration, say attorneys at Buchalter.

  • Firms Must Embrace Alternative Billing Models Or Fall Behind

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    As artificial intelligence tools eliminate inefficiencies and the Big Four accounting firms enter the legal market, law firms that pivot from the entrenched billable hour model to outcomes-based pricing will see a distinct competitive advantage, says attorney William Brewer.

  • Opinion

    7 Ways CFTC Should Nix Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens

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    Several U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations do not work efficiently in practice, all of which can be abolished or improved in order to comply with a recent executive order requiring the elimination of 10 regulations for every new one implemented, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Risks Of Today's Proffer Agreements May Outweigh Benefits

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    Modern-day proffer agreements offer fewer protections to individuals as U.S. attorney's offices take different approaches to information-sharing, so counsel must consider pushing for provisions in such agreements that bar the prosecuting office from sharing information with nonparty government agencies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • SDNY Sentencing Ruling Is Boon For White Collar Defendants

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    Defense attorneys should consider how to maximize the impact of a New York federal court’s recent groundbreaking ruling in U.S. v. Tavberidze, which held that a sentencing guidelines provision unconstitutionally penalizes the right to a jury trial, says Sarah Sulkowski at Gelber & Santillo.

  • How Attorneys Can Master The Art Of On-Camera Presence

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    As attorneys are increasingly presented with on-camera opportunities, they can adapt their traditional legal skills for video contexts — such as virtual client meetings, marketing content or media interviews — by understanding the medium and making intentional adjustments, says Kerry Barrett.

  • Border Cash Transaction Rule Heralds Wider AML Crackdown

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    The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s new order for money services providers near the Mexican border to report cash transactions over $200 should warn financial institutions to prepare for the new administration's heightened scrutiny of cross-border transactions and anti-money laundering compliance, says Daniel Silva at Buchalter.

  • Series

    Baseball Fantasy Camp Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    With six baseball fantasy experiences under my belt, I've learned time and again that I didn't make the wrong career choice, but I've also learned that baseball lessons are life lessons, and I'm a better lawyer for my time at St. Louis Cardinals fantasy camp, says Scott Felder at Wiley.

  • DOJ Immigration Playbook May Take Cues From A 2017 Case

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    A record criminal resolution with a tree trimming company accused of knowingly employing unauthorized workers in 2017 may provide clues as to how the U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration crackdown will touch American companies, which should prepare now for potential enforcement actions, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

  • Paul Atkins' Past Speeches Offer A Glimpse Into SEC's Future

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    Following Paul Atkins' Thursday Senate confirmation hearing, a look at his public remarks while serving as a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission between 2002 and 2008 reveals eight possible structural and procedural changes the SEC may see once he likely takes over as chair, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Include State And Local Enforcers In Cartel Risk Evaluations

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    Any reassessment of enforcement risk following the federal designation of drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations should include applicable state and local enforcement authorities, which have powerful tools, such as grand jury subpoenas and search warrants, that businesses would be wise to consider, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From Fed. Prosecutor To BigLaw

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    Making the jump from government to private practice is no small feat, but, based on my experience transitioning to a business-driven environment after 15 years as an assistant U.S. attorney, it can be incredibly rewarding and help you become a more versatile lawyer, says Michael Beckwith at Dickinson Wright.

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