SEC’s Policy Shift on No-Admit, No-Deny Settlements Could Impact You
The new policy hopes to increase accountability of certain securities fraud defendants, but could have negative collateral consequences.
Fifth Amendment Privilege: Shield or Sword in White-Collar Cases?
A shotgun, a getaway car and a double homicide—how could a case with these facts affect general counsels and business lawyers across Texas? Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a little noticed decision that could impact scores of SEC and Department of Justice prosecutions. Every GC needs to be aware.
Facebook, You and the Government: The SEC is Following Your Tweets
The SEC now allows public companies, within certain parameters, to use social media to disclose material, nonpublic information. This new rule is already changing how companies talk to the marketplace. This article explains what every GC and corporate compliance officer needs to know.
Special Prosecutor: Contempt Proceedings against Watkins Threaten all Texas DA's
Permitting criminal defendants to pierce prosecutorial privilege in advance of their trials would undermine justice. DA's, like all attorneys, must be free to form opinions, evaluate cases, and communicate freely with colleagues without fearing that their mental thought processes will be revealed to the other side.
EDTX Takes Over Fed Inquiry into Dallas DA Watkins
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas and the FBI have officially opened an active federal criminal investigation into Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins regarding his decision to seek mortgage fraud charges against oil heir Al Hill III in 2010. Lawyers with knowledge of the inquiry describe the federal investigation as “extremely serious.” Legal experts provide their insight.
Texas Recovers $1 Billion by Joining Whistleblowers in Medicaid Fraud Litigation – Update
Long known for its business-friendly litigation climate, Texas has quietly become the national leader in using the courthouse to punish one set of corporations, pharmaceutical companies that cheat government health programs. Teaming up with company insiders and others who claim to know of wrongdoing by suppliers to the Texas Medicaid program, the state over the last decade has recovered more than $1 billion from suits accusing drug manufacturers and health care providers of overpricing and fraud.
Texas Supreme Court Weighs Protections for Whistleblowers who Report Internally
A demoted Parkland Memorial surgeon urged the justices to protect government employees who report wrongdoing through internal channels.
Fifth Circuit: SEC Case Against Microtune Execs Too Little, Too Late
A former CEO and a former General Counsel at Plano-based Microtune Inc. won a major legal victory Wednesday that is likely to end the SEC's five-year-long effort to prosecute them for allegedly being involved in a $22.5 million options backdating scheme. The federal appeals court ruled that the SEC waited too long to bring charges against Douglas Bartek and Nancy Richardson. The three-judge panel also rejected the SEC’s efforts to have the executives banned from serving as an officer or board member of a publicly traded corporation because such efforts are punishment, not merely an equitable remedy.
Government Employees Can File Whistleblower Lawsuits, 5th Circuit Rules
Court rejects argument by government and Shell that case should be barred because whistleblowers were federal auditors.
Texas Recovers $1 Billion by Joining Whistleblowers in Medicaid Fraud Litigation
Republican AGs have teamed up with plaintiffs’ lawyers in aggressively pursuing whistleblower cases against drug companies and other health care providers, making Texas a model for other states. Recoveries have taken off since 2007 when additional lawyers were hired to investigate Medicaid fraud claims.
Michael King: SEC Lawyer “Calling the Shots” in Wal-Mart and Chesapeake Investigations
Very few corporate executives or general counsels have ever heard of Michael King. That is about to change. King is the SEC's lead lawyer in two of the biggest corporate financial investigations the federal government is conducting: Wal-Mart and Chesapeake Energy. The two cases are likely to thrust King into the global spotlight, as fines could easily reach hundreds of millions of dollars. The investigations also could provide public redemption for the SEC’s much maligned Fort Worth Regional Office. “The pressure on Michael and the Fort Worth office right now is enormous,” says Kit Addleman, a partner at Haynes and Boone.
SEC’s Fort Worth Office Leads Inquiry Against Wal-Mart
The investigation into whether retail giant violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could lead to record fines and penalties.