Good morning. Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager got the OK to move ahead with its restructuring plan, which is focused on a deal with Binance.US and could see customers recouping 73% of their deposits. Plus, Shearman & Sterling names a new leader after merger plans change, and antitrust cases yield $187 million in legal fees. Hope this week is going well for you – but if not, it’s half over. Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe here. |
Crypto lender Voyager got a bankruptcy judge’s OK for a restructuring plan centered on selling its assets and transferring its customers to Binance.US, giving a peek into what life after bankruptcy could be like for one of the first crypto companies to face insolvency, reports Dietrich Knauth.
Voyager’s arrangement with Binance.US, valued at $1.3 billion, isn’t a done deal. Voyager’s financial advisers said that the company needs up to four weeks to review new questions about Binance.US's commitment to the acquisition, Binance.US's regulatory compliance, and the security of Binance.US customer deposits.
But if the deal closes and Voyager's customers have Binance.US accounts in place, they will be able to make withdrawals for the first time since Voyager froze their accounts last summer. Voyager estimates the sale will allow customers to recover 73% of the value of their deposits at the time of Voyager's bankruptcy filing. |
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Shearman & Sterling is transitioning its top leadership, a move that comes shortly after the firm and Hogan Lovells called off merger talks and as some partners are leaving for rivals. Adam Hakki, now global managing partner and head of disputes and litigation, will take over the top leadership role subject to an election later this year. Haaki will succeed David Beveridge, now in the last year of his six-year term. (Reuters)
Gibson Dunn partner Zainab Ahmad denied she had a conflict of interest in defending a man accused by a former Donald Trump fundraiser of hacking his emails on behalf of Qatar. The firm last year withdrew from the defense of former CIA officer Kevin Chalker and his company Global Risk Advisors in a 2019 lawsuit brought in Manhattan federal court by Elliott Broidy, who raised money for Trump and pleaded guilty in October 2020 to an unrelated illegal lobbying charge. Broidy had accused Ahmad of having a conflict because she investigated the alleged hacking while working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller. (Reuters)
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The U.S. Senate signed off on three more of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees – including Susman Godfrey’s Arun Subramanian, who will be the first South Asian judge to serve on Manhattan's federal court. The Democrats' push to reshape the federal judiciary has shown signs of slowing following the confirmation of more than 100 judges. (Reuters)
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Law firm Gordon Rees said it is bringing on a team of 30 people — including 19 lawyers — from midsize law firm Marks, O'Neill, O'Brien, Doherty & Kelly. The newly arriving eight partners, nine associates and two of counsel will work in Gordon & Rees's offices in New York, New Jersey and Westchester, New York. (Reuters)
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That’s the average amount paid as reimbursements to more than 600 Amazon.com workers out of 7,000 proposed class members who claimed the company should have reimbursed employees who worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic for home office expenses. U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria in San Francisco denied certifying the case as a class action, after finding the named plaintiff failed to show Amazon had a company-wide policy of not reimbursing employees for internet, cell phone and other costs. Other companies have faced claims over remote worker reimbursement in the virus-era.
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In the epic $1.6 billion defamation fight between Dominion Voting Systems and Fox Corp, each side insists that it is battling for good journalism and the First Amendment. But each side has widely divergent ideas about what serves those goals. Alison Frankel’s latest column examines a Fox legal theory that, according to the company, should spell the end of Dominion’s defamation claims as a matter of law. Fox argues that under a well-established “neutral reportage” doctrine, the First Amendment broadly shields news organizations from liability when they report on newsworthy allegations about matters of public interest. Dominion counters that First Amendment precedent offers no such blanket immunity (and that Fox’s election fraud reporting doesn’t qualify as “neutral reportage” even under Fox’s own theory). So far, Frankel writes, Fox hasn’t gotten much traction for its theory, but the Dominion case will be its most consequential test.
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"While Missouri cannot be compelled to assist in the enforcement of federal regulations within the state, it may not regulate federal law enforcement." |
Louisiana and a group of other Republican state attorneys general will urge the 5th Circuit appeals court in New Orleans to overturn rules issued by the Biden administration's Energy Department last year that rolled back a Trump-era regulation rule from 2020 exempting washers, dryers and dishwashers from efficiency regulations. Circuit Judges Edith Clement, Andrew Oldham and Cory Wilson will hear the case.
The U.S. House Judiciary’s subcommittee on courts and intellectual property will hold a hearing focused on competition with China. King & Spalding international trade partner Jamieson Greer is among those panelists scheduled to testify at the hearing. Berkeley Law’s Mark Cohen, the school’s Asia IP Project director, also is set to testify.
Former Rochester Drug Co-operative CEO Laurence Doud is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan for illegally distributing opioid drugs. Doud’s case was the first criminal prosecution of a drug distributor and its executives over opioids. Prosecutors are asking for a 15-year prison sentence. Derrelle Janey, a lawyer for Doud, has argued for no prison time, telling the court that Doud was not directly involved with prescribing or dispensing opioids and that similar conduct has been punished with civil fines.
Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
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A D.C. Circuit panel questioned whether the SEC was correct to reject Grayscale Investment's application for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, since the agency had previously approved bitcoin futures products. Munger Tolles’ Donald Verrilli argued for the crypto asset manager against the SEC’s Emily Parise. (Reuters)
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The 9th Circuit asked Washington state’s top court to decide whether private prison operator GEO Group was required to pay the minimum wage to immigrant detainees who participated in a work program while awaiting deportation proceedings, saying it was unclear whether the detainees counted as GEO's employees under Washington wage law. GEO is appealing a jury verdict that resulted in a $17.3 million award for hundreds of people who were paid $1 a day to clean, do laundry, wash dishes and staff a barber shop and library at a Tacoma detention center. (Reuters)
Shearman & Sterling’s Jessica Delbaum is lead counsel to JetBlue in the DOJ’s new antitrust lawsuit in Boston federal court seeking to stop the airline from its $3.8 billion merger with rival Spirit. For Spirit, Andrew Finch of Paul Weiss, a former Trump-era DOJ antitrust leader, is primary counsel. The DOJ is represented by Edward Duffy, who joined the department’s antitrust team last year from Reed Smith.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers who led price-fixing litigation against makers of a key tech component have won more than $187 million in legal fees in the nearly decade-long court fight. U.S. District Judge James Donato’s latest award was $66 million to class counsel, led by the Joseph Saveri Law Firm in San Francisco. Nippon Chemi-Con and other defendants in the case settled civil cases in recent years but did not admit the plaintiffs’ allegations. (Reuters)
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Sanford Heisler Sharp said Janette Wipper returned to the firm as head of litigation. She previously served for four years as chief counsel of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing. (Sanford Heisler)
Fried Frank added Chris Barron as a finance practice partner in London. He was previously head of the banking and finance group at Dickson Minto. (Fried Frank)
Blank Rome brought on Basileios “Bill” Katris as a Chicago-based litigation partner from HMB Legal Counsel, where was chairman of the litigation team. (Blank Rome)
Dentons hired Dan Schnapp in New York as an intellectual property and technology practice partner. He was previously at Nixon Peabody. (Dentons)
Dykema added Megan Knell in the firm’s Dallas office as a partner focused on corporate finance and energy. She was previously at Harris, Finley & Bogle. (Dykema)
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Simmons Hanly Conroy brought on Moshe Horn in New York as a litigation partner. Horn was previously at Seeger Weiss. (Simmons Hanly)
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Kory Ann Ferro of Greenspoon Marder surveys the landscape of attorney-client privilege, looking at how courts have addressed the crucial “primary purposes” test to determine whether communication can remain shielded. Plus, some practical tips and best practices. |
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