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☆ The Aggressive and Expensive Legal Team Defending Mayor Adams
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Not long after Eric Adams became the mayor of New York City, he quickly rewarded a cadre of loyalists with plum jobs in his administration. Now Mr. Adams is casting favor upon a new set of people looking out for his interests: defense lawyers. The firm has already been paid more than $730,000 by the mayor’s five-month-old legal defense fund. Mr. Adams intends to bring aboard Randy Mastro, a lawyer known for his aggressive tactics and roster of contentious clients and causes, to represent him as the city’s corporation counsel. Mr. Mastro would earn roughly $250,000 a year and would replace Sylvia Hinds-Radix, a former judge who has a more reserved style.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, WilmerHale, Randy Mastro, Mastro, Sylvia Hinds Organizations: of Locations: New York City, Southern, of New York, Turkish

☆ Navy Federal says external review finds ‘non-race factors’ explained mortgage approval disparities
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Casey Tolan | Rene Marsh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The nearly 29-percentage-point gap in Navy Federal’s approval rates was the widest of any of the 50 lenders that originated the most mortgage loans in 2022. In addition, an analysis by staff of the Senate Banking Committee, which 10 Democratic senators cited in a letter asking federal regulators to review Navy Federal’s mortgage lending earlier this year, also found racial disparities in Navy Federal’s mortgage approval rates based on the publicly available data. A spokesperson for Navy Federal did not respond to a request for additional details about the analysis. Navy Federal described Adegbile’s analysis as an “external review,” but his law firm, WilmerHale, is also defending Navy Federal in a class-action lawsuit from Black and Latino borrowers who allege the credit union discriminated against them in mortgage applications. “Navy Federal should immediately put out the full investigative report and data analysis so that Navy Federal’s members have an opportunity for themselves to review the findings,” the statement said.

Persons: hadn’t, “, ”, Debo Adegbile, ” Adegbile, WilmerHale, – Ben Crump, Adam Levitt, Hassan Zavareei –, Adegbile Organizations: CNN, Navy Federal Credit Union, Department of Defense, Federal, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Banking Committee, Navy Federal, U.S . Commission, Civil Rights Locations: Black, Navy

☆ The result of OpenAI's probe was released — and it's less than 500 words — offering very little insight
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The Open AI probe was launched in December, a few weeks after the board announced Altman's shocking departure and reinstatement. The company formed a special committee that hired WilmerHale to conduct a probe of the events surrounding Altman's sudden firing. AdvertisementDetails of Altman's strained relationship with OpenAI's former board members and employees were known days after the CEO was booted from the company. AdvertisementThe latest Times report from Thursday revealed that Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, was instrumental in Sam Altman's ousting.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, WilmerHale, Altman, ChatGPT, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, Mira Murati, Sam Altman's, Murati, Ilya Organizations: Service, Business, New York Times, Melinda Gates Foundation, Sony, Times, OpenAI

☆ OpenAI announces 'improvements' to its governance structure nearly 5 months after Sam Altman's ouster
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI announced Friday that it was adding three women to its board of directors. CEO Sam Altman is also rejoining the board nearly five months after he was abruptly forced out. The company has pledged to improve its governing structure in the aftermath of the ouster and reinstatement. A Thursday report from The New York Times suggested OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati raised concerns about Altman's leadership with board members prior to his removal. The three women join current OpenAI board members Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, and Bret Taylor, as well as Altman.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, —, Altman, Mira Murati, Murati, James, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidij Simo, Desmond, Seligman, Simo, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor Organizations: Service, The New York Times, OpenAI, University of California, Times, Melinda Gates Foundation, Global, Sony, Pfizer, Advisors, Science, Technology, Paramount Global, Meira, Inc Locations: Los Angeles, President's, Shopify

☆ Sam Altman returns to OpenAI’s board of directors, fully reversing the ChatGPT company’s wild shakeup
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( David Goldman | Poppy Harlow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Altman’s return comes after an independent investigation found the board did not need to fire him in the first place. Altman in November was fired as CEO and director by the OpenAI board in a shocking dismissal of an executive who had become the face of AI in Silicon Valley. “I am excited to welcome Sue, Nicole, and Fidji to the OpenAI Board of Directors,” Taylor said in a statement. But Altman, Brockman and Sutskever in 2019 formed OpenAI LP, a for-profit entity that exists within the larger company’s structure. Altman, in the press conference, praised the company’s employees for their determination to do good work throughout its turmoil.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman’s, Altman, OpenAI, – Altman, Larry Summers, Obama, Bret Taylor, Adam D’Angelo, Sue Desmond, Hellman, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, “, Sue, Nicole, ” Taylor, WilmerHale, –, Mira Murati, Ilya Sutskever, Murati, “ Mira …, ”, ” Murati, Greg Brockman, Sam, Greg, Taylor, Brockman, Elon Musk, shakeup, …, ” Altman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft, Clinton, Gates, Sony, OpenAI, New York Times Locations: New York, Silicon Valley, Sutskever

OpenAI is reinstating CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors and said it has “full confidence” in his leadership after the conclusion of an outside investigation into the company's turmoil. After months of investigation, it found that Altman's ouster was a “consequence of a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust” between him and the prior board, OpenAI said in a summary of the findings Friday. The investigation found the prior board acted within its discretion. “The review concluded there was a significant breakdown in trust between the prior board, and Sam and Greg,” Bret Taylor, the board’s chair, told reporters Friday. After it retained the law firm in December, OpenAI said WilmerHale conducted dozens of interviews with the company’s prior board, current executives, advisers and other witnesses.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, Sue Desmond, Hellman, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, “ I’m, ” Altman, he’s, ”, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, “, Greg Brockman, ” OpenAI, Brockman, Greg, ” Bret Taylor, Taylor, Microsoft —, Toner, McCauley, Ilya Sutskever, Sutskever, Ilya, Elon Musk, Larry Summers, Adam D’Angelo, WilmerHale, WilmerHale didn't, Musk, ” Taylor Organizations: Sony, San, OpenAI, Microsoft, Georgetown University, RAND Corporation, Facebook, Elon, U.S ., Associated Press Locations: San Francisco, U.S

☆ Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI board of directors as investigation into his ouster comes to a close
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. OpenAI on Friday announced its new board and the wrap-up of an internal investigation by U.S. law firm WilmerHale into the events leading up to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's ouster. Sam Altman will also rejoin OpenAI's board. "We have unanimously concluded that Sam and Greg are the right leaders for OpenAI," Bret Taylor, chair of OpenAI's board, said in a release. Since then, OpenAI has announced new board members, including former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, WilmerHale, Sam Altman's, OpenAI's, Sue Desmond, Hellmann, Melinda Gates, Nicole Seligman, Fidji Simo, Adam D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor, Greg, Sam, Taylor, Altman, Bret, Larry, Mira Murati, Mira, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Ilya Sutskever, Ilya, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Musk, –, Toner, McCauley, Altman's Organizations: Economic, Friday, Melinda Gates Foundation, Pfizer, Advisors, Science, Technology, Global, Sony, Sony Entertainment, Paramount Global, Meira, Inc, Shopify, OpenAI, Microsoft, Fortune, Lawyers, CNBC, SpaceX, Nvidia Locations: Davos, Switzerland, President's, OpenAI's San Francisco, U.S, Saudi Aramco

☆ House GOP threatens Harvard with subpoena, considers expanding antisemitism investigation to Cornell and Columbia
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A spokesperson for the committee provided CNN a list of the 24 documents Harvard turned over to Congress, noting that all of them were already available publicly. Asked if she has considered adding other schools including Cornell University and Columbia University to the investigation, Foxx said yes. We are quite well aware of Cornell and Columbia,” Foxx said, adding that Columbia President Minouche Shafik was invited to testify but was unable to attend. White-shoe law firm WilmerHale is aiding UPenn in the House investigation, a university spokesperson told CNN. But that had nothing to do with our investigation,” Foxx said.

Persons: Virginia Foxx, Harvard, ” Foxx, Foxx, Jason Newton, “, ” Newton, ” Cornell, Minouche Shafik, WilmerHale, UPenn, Liz Magill, Anna Rose Layden, Derek Penslar, Larry Summers, ”, “ We’re, Penslar “, Gay, Claudine Gay Organizations: New, New York CNN — Rep, House Education, Workforce Committee, Harvard University, CNN, Harvard, Columbia, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Columbia University, Cornell, Department of Education, House, Rep, U.S, Capitol, American Academy for Jewish Research, National, Gay Locations: New York, Washington , DC, Israel, Penslar

Mayor Eric Adams raised $732,000 in less than two months to pay for legal expenses related to a federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising, according to a filing submitted Tuesday. The contributors to Mr. Adams’s defense fund include an array of wealthy players in business and politics, among them at least four who have been described as billionaires: the former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Ukrainian-British oligarch Leonard Blavatnik, the real estate and fertilizer tycoon Alexander Rovt and the cryptocurrency investor Brock Pierce. The fund has so far spent $440,000, most of it on WilmerHale, the law firm Mr. Adams hired to represent him in the investigation, the filing shows. City law permits elected officials to set up defense funds to pay for expenses related to criminal or civil investigations that are unrelated to their government duties and cannot be paid for with public money. The funds can collect up to $5,000 per donor but are not permitted to solicit or receive contributions from anyone with city contracts or business before the city.

Persons: Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg, Leonard Blavatnik, Alexander Rovt, Brock Pierce, Adams Organizations: New, New York City Locations: New York, Ukrainian, British

☆ Where are they now: The many fascinating Bridgewater employees from the book on Ray Dalio 'The Fund'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

The new book, "The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend" — which Dalio and his lawyers have pushed back against — describes everything from Bridgewater's investment process to internal grudges and backstabbing to allegations of sexual harassment. Here are the places where the dozens of Bridgewater employees and consultants named in the book ended up. Dalio, the book said, wrote into the firm's bylaws that he could never hold that title again. Before that, she was the head of investment research and a co-chief investment officer for sustainability. He's worked at different funds since leaving in 2006, including Larch Lane Advisors and Bonaccord Capital as an investor and business-development professional.

Persons: Rob Copeland's, Ray Dalio, Dalio, —, Bridgewater, Greg Jensen, YouTube Dalio, nixed, Copeland, He's, Jensen, Eileen Murray, Morgan Stanley, David McCormick, Dina Powell, McCormick, Dave McCormick, Michael M, Nir Bar Dea, Stefanova, Dalio's, Paul McDowell, Bob Eichinger, McDowell, Eichinger, Jen Healy, Osman Nalbantoglu, Matthew Granade, Steve Cohen, Steve Cohen's Point72, Bob Prince, politicking, Karen Karniol, Bridgewater Associates Karen Karniol, Vladimir Putin, Bob Elliott, Elliott, James Comey, Winn McNamee, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary, Britt Harris, Bridgewater's, Julian Mack, L, Michael Partington, Spencer Stuart, Niko Canner, Jon Rubinstein, Beck Diefenbach Jon Rubinstein, Steve Jobs, Tom Adams, Rosetta Stone, J, Michael Cline, Cline, Kevin Campbell, Campbell, Craig Mundie, Bill Gates, Gates, Mundie, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush, David Ferrucci, IBM's Watson, Ferrucci, Keith Alexander, Alexander, Larry Culp, Culp, Jamie Gorelick, conscientiously, Clinton, Jared Kushner, Jesse Horwitz, Comey, Horwitz, Samantha Holland, Perry Poulos, Murray, Joe Sweet, Tara Arnold, Arnold —, Leah Guggenheimer, She's, Charles Korchinski, Harris, Kent Kuran Organizations: New York Times, Bridgewater Associates, Business, Bridgewater, YouTube, HSBC, Broadridge, Life Insurance, Wells, Treasury Department, Republican, Getty, GOP, Israel Defense Forces, Marto, Princeton University, McKinsey, Point72, Bridgewater didn't, Domino Data, CircleUp, FBI, Trump, of, University of Texas Investment Management Co, Apple, Dalio, Health, Cognition, Mundie, National Security Agency, Amazon, General Electric, Boston Globe, Electric, Trump White House, Harvard Law School, —, Hubble, Stefanova's Marto, HBR Consulting, MIO Partners, Burford, Larch Lane Advisors, Bonaccord, Eaton Partners, Stanford, NextEra Energy Resources Locations: Bridgewater, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, China, San Francisco, of Texas, Atlanta, WilmerHale, Asia, India, Shanghai, Singapore, Israel, Africa

“It would really shock me if someone that was hired by my campaign did something that’s inappropriate,” Adams said, flanked by eight of his top deputies in City Hall. Lisa Zornberg, chief counsel at City Hall, confirmed the Adams administration was also in touch with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about the matter, though she declined to go into detail about their communications. A spokesperson for Adams’ campaign previously said they had not been contacted about the raid. Brendan McGuire, the attorney hired to represent Adams, also not respond to an inquiry. I just strongly believe you have to follow the law.”Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the federal prosecutor’s office in Manhattan, declined to comment.

Persons: Eric Adams, ” Adams, “, ”, WilmerHale, Lisa Zornberg, Adams, Brianna Suggs, Suggs, I’m, ” Suggs, Brendan McGuire, ‘, ’ ”, ” Nicholas Biase Organizations: City Hall, New York Times, FBI, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Borough Hall, “ Locations: City Hall, Manhattan

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried trial: scenes from Caroline Ellison's time on the stand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ellison wore a gray blazer and carried a Poland Spring water bottle to and from the witness stand. She did not look at Bankman-Fried in any of the instances when she passed him at the defense table. Bankman-Fried spent much of Ellison's testimony typing on a laptop or whispering to his defense lawyers. Three of the jurors appeared to close their eyes at times as Sassoon quizzed Ellison about spreadsheets showing Alameda's assets and liabilities. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman, Ellison, District Judge Lewis Kaplan's, Fried, Kaplan, Joseph Bankman, Barbara Fried, Danielle Sassoon, Sassoon quizzed Ellison, We'll, " Sassoon, Luc Cohen, Noeleen Walder, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Alameda, Federal Court, Reuters, Alameda Research, District, The Stanford University, Stanford Law, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Alameda, New York

☆ Movie theater giant AMC's boss Adam Aron revealed as the mystery CEO who fell victim to a catfish blackmail scheme he called an 'elaborate criminal extortion'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman was last year indicted after catfishing an anonymous CEO and threatening to release sexually explicit photos. Semafor reported Thursday that the CEO was Adam Aron, boss of movie theater giant AMC. Aron confirmed the report in a post on X, saying he was "the victim of an elaborate criminal extortion." Soon after Semafor reported that Aron was the victim in the case, he confirmed the news in a post on X. The following day, Blackwood then asked him to send sexually explicit photos, and he complied — including sending one of him with another woman — prosecutors said.

Persons: Semafor, Adam Aron, Aron, —, Blackwood, Mia Organizations: AMC, Service, Prosecutors, of New York Locations: Southern

☆ McDonald's to start focus groups with owners as part of civil rights audit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Kate Rogers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

McDonald's will begin virtual focus groups with some owners and operators as a part of an ongoing civil rights audit, according to a message to franchisees viewed by CNBC. Last year, shareholders approved of a proposal by SOC Investment group to conduct a civil rights audit in a close vote. The note also assured owners that neither McDonald's nor anyone employed by the company would participate in the groups or the selection process. The audit comes as McDonald's has made changes to its franchising structure and restaurant grading system in recent years. Other major companies including Citi, Starbucks and Airbnb have undertaken civil rights audits in recent years, and last year Apple and Amazon shareholders approved proposals for similar assessments.

Persons: McDonald's, WilmerHale, Herb Washington, Byron Allen, Allen Organizations: CNBC, Investment, U.S, Owner, Black, MLB, Allen, Citi, Starbucks, Apple, Amazon Locations: McDonald's

☆ Analysis-Grayscale victory big boost for decade-long spot bitcoin ETF push
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Hannah Lang | Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are placed on a PC motherboard, in this illustration taken June 16, 2023. A spot bitcoin ETF would give investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization without having to own it. The SEC has denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications, saying applicants have not shown they can protect investors from market manipulation. Grayscale argued the same setup should be satisfactory for its spot ETF, since both products rely on bitcoin’s underlying price. Other firms have spot bitcoin ETF applications with the SEC, including asset management giant BlackRock, Fidelity and WisdomTree.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Grayscale’s, It’s, ”, Christopher LaVigne, Withers, “, Michael Sonnenshein, Bitcoin, Sui Chung, Joseph Toner, Seth Hertlein, Ryan Louvar, Paul Grewal, ” Coinbase, Withers ’ LaVigne Organizations: WASHINGTON, REUTERS, District of Columbia, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Fidelity, Coinbase, BlackRock, Supreme Locations: Washington, New York, WilmerHale, BlackRock

Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are placed on a PC motherboard, in this illustration taken June 16, 2023. A spot bitcoin ETF would give investors exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization without having to own it. The SEC has denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications, saying applicants have not shown they can protect investors from market manipulation. Grayscale argued the same setup should be satisfactory for its spot ETF, since both products rely on bitcoin's underlying price. Other firms have spot bitcoin ETF applications with the SEC, including asset management giant BlackRock (BLK.N), Fidelity and WisdomTree (WT.N).

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Grayscale's, It's, Christopher LaVigne, Withers, Michael Sonnenshein, Bitcoin, Sui Chung, Joseph Toner, Seth Hertlein, Ryan Louvar, Paul Grewal, Coinbase, LaVigne, Carolina Mandl, Tom Wilson, Michelle Price, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, District of Columbia, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Fidelity, Coinbase, CME, BlackRock, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Washington, New York, WilmerHale, London

House Republicans have also brought forth two I.R.S. agents who worked on Mr. Weiss’s investigation and claimed there had been political interference. The order appointing Mr. Weiss to special counsel authorizes him to bring charges in any jurisdiction. Alyssa DaCunha, a co-chair of the congressional investigations practice at the law firm WilmerHale, said she believed House Republicans’ investigations and their criticisms of the proposed plea deal had “caught the attention” of the Justice Department. For Mr. Trump, in particular, it provided him with the investigation he has long desired to be able to depict the Biden family as corrupt, even as Hunter Biden’s alleged crimes are significantly less severe than the charges Mr. Trump is facing.

Persons: Weiss, Biden, Hunter Biden, Alyssa DaCunha, WilmerHale, “, ” Ms, DaCunha, Trump, Hunter Biden’s Organizations: Mr, Republicans, Congress, Justice Department Locations: Washington and California

A New York federal judge warned JPMorgan Chase that he might find the bank in contempt of court if it does not speed up in producing evidence related to late sexual offender and money manager Jeffrey Epstein for lawsuits by an Epstein accuser and the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, CNBC has learned. Judge Jed Rakoff suggested in a notice that JPMorgan and two law firms representing the bank have been slow-walking in turning over documents and other evidence to plaintiffs in the case, under a process known as discovery, according to a source familiar with the notice. "The Court also wishes to note that it is concerned that JPMorgan is not moving more expeditiously to produce responsive documents," Rakoff wrote in the notice, which has yet to appear on the public docket in the case in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. "So JPMorgan is put on notice that further expedition will be needed on pain of being put in contempt of Court," Rakoff wrote. A JPMorgan spokesperson had no comment on the notice.

WilmerHale said in Monday's filing that it did not represent Wild and that its work with ECPAT was limited to filing the Supreme Court brief on a legal issue unrelated to the JPMorgan case. The firm argued that EPCAT as an outside organization was not directly involved in Wild’s case. WilmerHale attorneys accused the plaintiff of “gamesmanship” in attempting to disqualify JPMorgan’s preferred law firm. A lawyer for the plaintiff, Bradley Edwards, who previously also represented Wild, said in a court filing that WilmerHale lawyers had communicated with Wild’s attorneys about legal strategy. Wild is not a party in the New York case, but Edwards said that as a victim of Epstein, she is a potential member of the plaintiff class.

[1/3] Signage is seen outside of the law firm WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoCompaniesCompanies Law Firms JPMorgan Chase & Co FollowMay 4 (Reuters) - A Jeffrey Epstein accuser suing JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) for allegedly aiding the late financier's sex trafficking of girls and women asked a judge to disqualify the bank’s law firm on Thursday, arguing it has a conflict of interest. Lawyers for the woman, who claims she was a victim of Epstein and is not named in court papers, said the judge should bar law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr from representing JPMorgan because it previously represented an anti-sex trafficking organization that supported a different Epstein accuser. Wild’s attorneys also consulted with WilmerHale attorneys on legal strategy, Thursday's filing said. Earlier on Thursday, the judge in that case allowed the U.S. Virgin Islands to serve legal papers on Google co-founder Larry Page, who has been linked to Epstein.

☆ Jane Roberts, who is married to Chief Justice John Roberts, made $10.3 million in commissions from elite law firms, whistleblower documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Jane Roberts was paid more than $10 million by a host of elite law firms, a whistleblower alleges. At least one of those firms argued a case before Chief Justice Roberts after paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. Mark Jungers, another one of Jane Roberts' former colleagues, said that Jane was smart, talented, and good at her job. But whether that committee has the authority to discipline Thomas or any other Supreme Court Justice remains a matter of murky constitutional interpretation, to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court itself.

☆ Civil rights audit at Google proposes better tackling of hate speech, misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) on Friday released an audit that examined how its policies and services impacted civil rights, and recommended the tech giant take steps to tackle misinformation and hate speech, following pressure by advocates to hold such a review. The disclosure by the company came after the Washington Post reported earlier on Friday that Google tapped an outside law firm to conduct a civil rights review. "We are committed to constantly improving, and that includes efforts to strengthen our approaches to civil and human rights. To help guide us, we conducted and released a voluntary civil rights audit of our policies, practices, and products," Chanelle Hardy, head of civil rights at Google, said in an emailed statement on Friday. In recent years, human rights groups like Amnesty International have accused big tech firms such as Google of not prioritizing rights issues.

☆ Google taps law firm to conduct civil rights review - Washington Post
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) has tapped an outside law firm to review how its services and policies impact civil rights and racial equity, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The civil rights audit has been months in the making and is set to examine how the company's diversity and inclusion policies and approach to content moderation may affect marginalized communities, including at its subsidiary YouTube, the newspaper said. The company has hired WilmerHale, a prominent law firm, to carry out the assessment, the report added. Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ismail ShakilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried is in jail, but legal watchers are wondering: Where's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison isn't named in prosecutors' charges against Sam Bankman-FriedBut the SEC's civil suit references her statements on the relationship between FTX and Alameda. Conspiracy charges and civil claims against SBF show others in the crosshairs, legal experts said. But her rise as CEO at Alameda, Bankman-Fried's other crypto company separate from FTX, may certainly put her in investigators' sights. The SEC's complaint on Tuesday claimed that Bankman-Fried "remained the ultimate decision-maker" at Alameda, even after Ellison took over the reins. Since Bankman-Fried's crypto empire began unraveling in November however, Ellison has stayed away from the public eye.

☆ Alameda ex-CEO Caroline Ellison taps SEC's former top crypto regulator as lawyer in FTX investigation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Caroline Ellison hired Stephanie Avakian and law firm WilmerHale to represent her in the FTX investigation, per Bloomberg. Sources close to the matter told Bloomberg that Avakian, as well as fellow WilmerHale lawyers, will represent Ellison. Avakian and WilmerHale will represent Ellison during the federal probe into her former company, Alameda Research, the trading firm and corporate sibling of fallen cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. Ellison has remained an elusive figure in the collapse of FTX, staying mum and largely unreachable during its downfall. As noted by Bloomberg, while Bankman-Fried has publicly placed blame on Alameda in numerous interviews, Ellison has stayed silent.

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