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☆ Civil suits against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs are mounting. This could be bad for his criminal case, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Elizabeth Wagmeister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Federal prosecutors have accused Combs of orchestrating a “criminal enterprise” through his business empire that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping and decades of physical abuse against women, among other allegations. In the month since Combs was arrested, eight additional civil lawsuits have been filed against him with allegations of sexual assault. A source familiar with parts of the federal investigation said that new accusers and witnesses have met with federal agents since Combs’ arrest. Video Ad Feedback Federal prosecutors discuss the arrest of Sean "Diddy" Combs. Combs’ attorneys did not respond to specific allegations in the latest lawsuits, but denied the accusations, telling CNN that Combs maintains his innocence.

Persons: Sean “ Diddy ” Combs, “, Combs, Arun Subramanian, ”, didn’t, Jennie Wang VonCannon, ” Wang VonCannon, Crowell, Damian Williams, Emily Johnson, Sean, Diddy, Tony Buzbee, Cassie Ventura, Ventura, Buzbee, San, Andrew Van Arsdale, Mr, Frazer Harrison, Wang VonCannon, CNN’s Kara Scannell Organizations: CNN, US, Southern, of, Department of Homeland Security, Hamptons, Getty Locations: Brooklyn, Houston, San Diego

☆ Elizabeth Holmes, Silicon Valley’s most famous convict, makes her long-shot appeal
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing company, Theranos. She is seeking a new trial, arguing that the judge in her case erred in several decisions during the 2022 proceedings. Since her conviction, her projected release date from prison has been moved up, shaving about two years off her sentence. Theranos’ unraveling, and Holmes herself, became the subject of a bestselling book, a Hulu scripted series and an award-winning documentary. Holmes knowingly concealed the technology’s problems, and still pushed to get the company’s Edison devices into pharmacies, prosecutors argued.

Persons: Elizabeth Holmes, Holmes, Stanford, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Rupert Murdoch, Ramesh “ Sunny ”, “ Holmes, Balwani, Holmes ’, Theranos, “, Edward Davila, Balwani “, laywers, ”, Agustin Orozco, Crowell, Orozco Organizations: New, New York CNN, California’s, Circuit, Wall Street, Prosecutors, Moring Locations: New York, California, Texas

☆ The market's version of a 'quickie' divorce is getting more complex and costly
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One time-honored corporate M&A prenup strategy, which could become more important going forward, is the use of break-up fees, also known as termination fees. In addition to reverse termination fees, companies are also allowing for longer timelines and more extensions than they were a few years ago, Thomas said. Not all deals include break-up fees for regulatory failures. Meanwhile, Visa's deal for Plaid was scuttled in 2021 due to regulatory snares, with neither of the companies owing break-up fees. A 2022 study by investment bank Houlihan Lokey shows that 57.1% of the 140 transactions reviewed had reverse breakup fees, with median fees of 4.2% as a percentage of transaction value.

Persons: Thomas, Houlihan Lokey, Pitchbook Organizations: Crowell, Moring, Discover Financial, Plaid, Regulators, Federal Trade Commission, Department

☆ Corner Offices Are Out; Collaboration Is In. Say Hello to the New Law Firm.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ellen Rosen | Maansi Srivastava | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In January, the law firm Crowell & Moring traded its New York offices in an early 1980s building in Midtown Manhattan for a newly built space on the West Side, with sweeping views of the Hudson River and New York Harbor. The law firm’s previous office layout was “essentially wasted space,” said Philip T. Inglima, the firm’s chairman. Crowell & Moring makes better use of the square footage in its new location, which includes features like sit-to-stand desks, video technology for hybrid meetings and double-pane glass for soundproofing, Mr. Inglima said. Larger law firms nationwide have been shedding space even as they have added lawyers. “We don’t have everybody in the office all the time, and that’s why we don’t necessarily need that larger footprint,” said Sharis A. Pozen, the law firm Clifford Chance’s regional managing partner, for the Americas.

Persons: Crowell, ”, Philip T, Moring, Inglima, Clifford Organizations: Moring, Crowell Locations: New York, Midtown Manhattan, Hudson, Americas

☆ One of Wall Street's favorite ways to control workers is under attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

One of Wall Street's favorite employee leverage tactics — non-compete agreements — is facing a major threat, and there could be far-reaching implications for how the financial industry does business. But it's also clear that Wall Street firms are under particular attention for the practice. With major Wall Street firms already having among the most unpopular back-to-work policies in the market, "Wall Street is already in a position where they are recognizing they don't have all the hands they had before," Chamberlin said. Shore recommends Wall Street firms undertake a thorough competitive analysis at every level in every department to ensure they are market competitive. Even if the FTC rule goes through, Wall Street firms still have options to protect their business.

Persons: Charles Scharf, Wells, Brian Thomas Moynihan, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, Jane Fraser, Ronald O’Hanley, Robin Vince, BNY Mellon, David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, James Gorman, Morgan Stanley, General Mills, —, Wall, it's, Kathy Hochul, that's, Covid, Laurie Chamberlin, Chamberlin, Lina Khan's, Khan, It's, David Fisher, Gilbert, Fisher, Juan A, Crowell, Arteaga, Paul Webster, Matt Shore, Kareem Bakr, Webster, Leslie John, Ballard Spahr, John Organizations: Company, Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup, BNY, Google, Apple, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Procter, Gamble, Nike, Economic, Institute, Federal Trade Commission, North America, American College of Emergency Physicians, Davis, FTC, Supreme, Industry, Moring, Wall, Phaidon International, Wall Street Locations: Wells Fargo, Hart, Washington ,, New York, . California, U.S, Gilbert . Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts

[1/2] A sign indicates the direction to the offices of Progress Software in Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S., July 26, 2023. But more than two months after the breach was first disclosed by Massachusetts-based Progress Software, the parade of victims has scarcely slowed. The tallies show that nearly 40 million people have been affected so far by the hack of Progress' MOVEit Transfer file management program. Now the digital extortionists involved, a group named "cl0p", have become increasingly aggressive about thrusting their data into the public domain. MOVEit is used by organizations to ship large amounts of often sensitive data: pension information, social security numbers, medical records, billing data and the like.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Marc Bleicher, cl0p, Huntress Security's John Hammond, Christopher Budd, Sophos, Eric Goldstein, Nathan Little, Emsisoft, Bert Kondruss, Rowe Price, Maximus, Alexander Urbelis, Crowell, Goldstein, didn't, Surefire's, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Chris Sanders, Grant McCool Organizations: Progress Software, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Reuters, Software, Insurance, of America, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, Tetra Defense, WHO, Pension, California Public Employees, Moring, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Burlington , Massachusetts, U.S, WASHINGTON, American, Massachusetts, York, New York, Louisiana, California, New York City, Oregon

☆ Vodafone and Three merger faces scrutiny from competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets. "The government's desire to make the UK a 5G powerhouse requires a lot of investment," he said. One London-based investment banker, who declined to be named, said he put the chance of the deal receiving the green light from regulators at 50%. A major telecoms investor said the deal could be approved, but only with strong remedies, and that could risk undermining its rationale.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Activision Blizzard, Hutchison, Paolo Pescatore, Peter Broadhurst, Moring, James Gray, Sarah Cardell, Robert Finnegan, Gray, Paul Sandle, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Hutchison, O2, Vodafone, CK, HK, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, Ofcom, European Commission, Foresight, Hutchison's, UK plc, Victoria, Crowell, CMA, Reuters, National Security and Investment, Britain's, Tesco Mobile, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Britain, Europe, China, London, Germany

The landlord's filing was posted to the District of Columbia Superior Court docket on Monday. Crowell's lawsuit, filed in March, marked a fresh clash between a law firm and its landlord over pandemic-era rent. TREA said in its motion to dismiss the lawsuit that the lease's rent abatement provision is "expressly tied to specific events resulting from the loss of certain utilities." The case is Crowell & Moring v. The TREA 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue Trust, District of Columbia Superior Court, No. Read more:Law firm Crowell sues to recoup $30 mln in COVID-era rentLaw firm office leasing drops again after reboundJenner, Chicago landlord end lawsuits over unpaid rentOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Launches ‘Strike Force’ to Keep Disruptive Tech Away From Adversaries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Export controls are a set of regulations that restrict the sale of technologies with both commercial and military uses. They are administered by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which can bring civil penalties against companies that allow such “dual use” items to fall into the wrong hands. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security last year said it was making several changes to give its rules sharper teeth. “Our goal is simple but essential: to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon our best technology,” Ms. Monaco said. The committee is also turning its gaze from inbound investment in physical assets to sensitive data and digital innovations that could be used to pose data and cybersecurity risks, she said.

☆ Justice Department to Increase Scrutiny of Technology Exports, Investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

A senior Justice Department official on Thursday said the agency would intensify its efforts to block foreign adversaries such as China and Russia from obtaining sensitive data and technologies, including by launching a new partnership with the U.S. Commerce Department. Export controls are a set of regulations that restrict the sale of technologies with both commercial and military uses. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security last year said it was making several changes to give its rules sharper teeth. “Our goal is simple but essential: to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon our best technology,” Ms. Monaco said. Although many of the Justice Department’s export controls cases in recent years have focused on individuals, prosecutors in 2021 fined German software company SAP SE for violating export regulations by providing millions of dollars in software to Iran.

☆ Insurers Avoid Picking Up Businesses’ Covid-19 Pandemic Costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

“If they assumed incorrectly, the mom-and-pop restaurants shouldn’t be penalized.”Federal appeals courts so far have rejected cases like Consolidated Restaurant’s. In January, the federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled against a range of businesses. With that decision, businesses had seen losses in 11 federal appeals courts, whose jurisdictions span nearly the entire country. Business interruption insurance policies are typically written to address harm to property: For instance, if a water-main break floods a sales floor, or a fire forces a business to close. In June, a Boston federal appeals court rejected a Covid insurance claim by a group of restaurants.

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