Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the last name of the man accused of insider trading. The Lawbook regrets the error.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed federal insider trading charges Thursday accusing a Houston man with using information he obtained from his wife, who worked in the M&A division at BP, to illegally profit from the British-based oil conglomerate’s $1.3 billion acquisition of TravelCenters of America one year ago.
On Jan. 10, two practice management software company founders and two physicians were indicted to the tune of $70 million for allegedly submitting false claims to private insurers. For in-house counsel and business leaders looking to understand the larger implications of this indictment, there is a clear takeaway. If your company provides any kind of business management software, you might have a shared responsibility for how that software is used once it leaves your four walls.
Baker Botts announced Monday the addition of David Applebaum, a former head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, from Jones Day. It is the firm’s fourth lateral partner hire in Texas this year.
In the first year of her law practice, Dallas associate Grace Caputo handled a significant asylum pro bono case. Her work on this matter resulted in a favorable outcome for her client and an internal pro bono award. In this sponsored Q&A, Caputo and Katten Dallas managing partner Mark Solomon tell us more.
Christopher Novinger, of Mansfield, was before the Fifth Circuit for the second time on Thursday morning seeking relief from a “no admit, no deny” provision in a 2016 settlement agreement he entered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In July 2022 a different panel of that court rejected his attempt to free himself from the gag order provision via a Rule 60(b) motion that argued the “no deny” portion of the policy violated his First Amendment and due process rights.
The proposed regulations address many gating questions, including providing rules for determining lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rates resulting from hydrogen production processes and the introduction of qualified “energy attribute certificates” to ensure feedstock electricity source eligibility.
As people head back to the gym to meet their New Year resolutions, more wearable devices are used, but what are their privacy concerns?
After 17 years with the U.S. Department of Justice and 20 years as a trial lawyer and white-collar criminal defense lawyer with some of the largest corporate law firms in the world, Matt Orwig officially retires from the law practice Monday. From federal judges to corporate general counsel, lawyers tell The Texas Lawbook the impact Orwig had on their career.
“In addition to being a skilled advocate, he was a wonderful teacher, mentor, and colleague who always made time to answer my questions and to strategize about cases,” Judge Irma Ramirez, who was recently confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, said. “Matt is a genuinely kind person who cares about everyone around him, and he is the kind of friend on whom you can always count.”
In the past year, tools and programs such as ChatGPT, OpenAI, and GitHub Copilot, among others, have surged into mainstream popularity. While they have proven to be immensely valuable tools, there has been an equal concern towards their “independent” actions that has largely stoked immense fear in the eyes of many consumers. This contrasting dilemma has struck a rift between companies hoping to effectively utilize these tools of the future for economic growth, and their consumers uneasy worry of the potential consequences.
Kokesh. Lucia. Lorenzo. Cochran. The echoes of these recent Supreme Court cases continue to reverberate through the halls of the Securities and Exchange Commission, with their holdings impacting the forum of their cases and the relief they can obtain. On Nov. 29, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in SEC v. Jarkesy, a matter that could have an even greater impact than its predecessors depending on how the Court rules. With the Supreme Court considering the scope and application of the Seventh Amendment to agency administrative proceedings, the parameters of Congressional delegation of authority to administrative agencies, and whether removal restrictions for SEC administrative law judges violate the Constitution, Jarkesy threatens not only SEC enforcement efforts but also those for several administrative agencies.
While all will need to wait until 2024 for the Court’s opinion and its true implications to the “administrative state,” a review of the oral argument provides some insights into the potential impacts.
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