The Biden Justice Department’s interest in imposing more corporate monitorships has white-collar attorneys jockeying for position to secure the lucrative posts supervising lawbreaking companies post-settlement. Some question, though, whether businesses game the selection process and who benefits from its opaque nature. Work on the Upswing: The DOJ appoints monitors to oversee and report on a company’s adherence to agreement terms and correction of compliance systems to prevent recurring misconduct. The work can bring billings in the tens of millions of dollars or more for Big Law attorneys. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in October that use of monitorships will increase after a sharp decline during the Trump administration. A pair of corporate plea deals were announced late last year. Luck & Connections: DOJ chooses its monitors from short lists provided by the companies themselves. The selection process often starts when the company negotiating a deal discreetly reaches out to potential candidates in their defense attorneys’ network of contacts, say lawyers with firsthand knowledge. Well-known former federal prosecutors tend to have an edge. “It oftentimes does come down to being at the right place at the right time,” said Fry Wernick, a Vinson & Elkins partner who formerly oversaw monitors as a DOJ Fraud Section manager. |
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Nike will receive significantly less pay for helping the U.S. prosecute attorney Michael Avenatti for extortion than requested, in part because its outside counsel, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, used “block billing,” a federal court said Monday. Read More |
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Freddie Mac announced Monday that Heidi Mason, a longtime former in-house lawyer at Wells Fargo & Co., will become its new general counsel starting March 7. Read More |
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Arent Fox said it bought property in the metaverse, making it the first Big Law firm to establish a significant presence in the virtual world. (American Lawyer) Chief Judge Janet DiFiore of the New York Court of Appeals said the state’s court system has halved social distancing requirements for criminal jury trials. (New York Law Journal) Marco Santori, chief legal officer of San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, said he aims to hire 30 lawyers in three months. (Business Insider) Read these and other legal industry stories in today’s Wake Up Call |
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Boies Schiller Flexner, following the departure of several lawyers, said Monday it hired Kenya Davis, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, as a partner in the global investigations white collar group. Read More |
Kelly Gibson, who has held both national and regional leadership roles with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, joined Morgan Lewis as a partner and co-leader of the firm’s securities enforcement practice in New York and Philadelphia, according to a firm statement Monday. Read More |
Scott Pinarchick has joined Ropes & Gray in Boston as a partner in the firm’s tax practice, the firm announced Monday. Read More |
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is advising private equity firm Motive Partners on its participation in a $1.4 billion investment, with the Canadian Pension Fund Investment Board, into digital wealth platform FNZ. Read More |
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General Electric Co. said Monday that Frank Jimenez will become general counsel for its health care business Feb. 21, succeeding its recently departed legal chief. Read More |
A judge is set to decide whether a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard Inc. over alleged sexual harassment and discrimination can include temporary workers who were not hired directly by the game maker, a ruling that will determine the scope of the suit and the potential financial fallout for the company. Read More |
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The top judge for Delaware’s Chancery Court is calling for a greater focus on the scope of board documents that shareholder plaintiffs can seek in pursuing fiduciary duty breach suits. Read More |
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They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 | Call for 2022 Nominations |
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At Bloomberg Law, we’re proud of our continuing efforts to highlight the next generation of leaders in the legal profession. We’re thrilled to announce our call for 2022 nominations for “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40,” Bloomberg Law’s special report recognizing the accomplishments of sterling young lawyers nationwide. Here are the nomination criteria and submission instructions.
 Nnaemeke Offodile, Bloomberg Law |
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A Texas lawyer who works for public entities at a private firm will create conflicts of interest for other attorneys if he moves to another firm that is routinely in opposition to those public entities, the State Bar of Texas said. Read More |
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A Texas police captain’s right to be free from firing at the behest of a new state judge, a local sheriff, and a local district attorney who allegedly believed an affidavit he provided in a criminal case disparaged them was clearly established, a divided Fifth Circuit ruled. Read More |
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An attorney in West Virginia will be suspended for six months after he failed to file timely post-conviction motions in a criminal case, the state Supreme Court of Appeals ruled. Read More |
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A federal judge said he would throw out a defamation suit filed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin against the New York Times -- even as jurors continue to deliberate it. Read More |
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Perspectives from Legal Practitioners, Law Professors and Other Thought Leaders
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Law schools must do more to encourage, mentor, and engage first-generation law students to not only improve graduation rates, but also to improve law firm diversity, say William & Mary Law School Dean A. Benjamin Spencer and second-year law student Charleigh Kondas. They explain the work of the school’s First Generation Student Alliance, created as a place where students can freely discuss any struggles and questions. Read More |
Morgan Lewis banking and financial industry attorneys Eamonn Moran and Robin Nunn look at the regulatory spotlight on point-of-sale buy now, pay later financing. Among items to watch, they say, are how and whether the CFPB decides to address BNPL consumer disclosure and dispute, data privacy, and fee accumulation issues. Read More |
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