Compliance

This is certainly good news for the industry overall.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is the best friend of unemployed attorneys right now.

What’s German for “Whisper, dummies!”?

Compliance issues are a serious problem for hedge fund investors even if the investor can be guaranteed that no activities at the fund will ever rise to the level of fraud.

* It looks like SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein was onto something, because Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is reportedly being vetted to fill Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court. The D.D.C. judge once clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer, and may wind up working alongside him on the high court as an associate justice (which could be a first). [National Law Journal]

* Justice Scalia’s death quickly affected some SCOTUS litigants: Dow Chemical settled an antitrust class-action suit for $835M because “[g]rowing political uncertainties … and increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class-action suits have changed Dow’s risk assessment of the situation.” [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]

* Abortion returns to the SCOTUS this week, and litigants are wondering which version of Justice Kennedy they’ll receive when a decision is made. If Gonzales v. Carhart Kennedy makes an appearance, states across the South in the Fifth Circuit could kiss abortion goodbye. Here’s hoping for Planned Parenthood v. Casey Kennedy. [MSNBC]

* Student activists from Harvard Law and Brandeis University protested an awards ceremony where Dean Martha Minow was honored for “making a lasting contribution to racial, ethnic or religious relations.” The protestors felt the award’s timing was ironic considering the ongoing racial divisiveness at the law school. [Harvard Crimson]

* Career alternatives for disbarred attorneys who “knowingly misappropriated client funds”: chief compliance officer of one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization? Ritu Singh is lucky compliance is so hot right now, because accusations of past financial crimes apparently aren’t dealbreakers in terms of hiring. [New York Post]

* The cynical reality of the coming constitutional fights. [Eric Posner]

* It doesn’t look like the Supreme Court will stop North Carolina’s redistricting order. [Politico]

* Can Chief Justice Roberts save the Court from partisan politics? [New Republic]

* The First Amendment even applies to lawyers with blogs. [Consumer Law & Policy Blog]

* The perfect way to make sure you are in compliance with every law and regulation, according to Professors Dan Solove and Woodrow Hartzog. [SSRN]

* Affluenza teen grows up! Ethan Couch will be tried as an adult. [Gawker]

* David Lat tells you how to take control of your career. [Legal Talk Network]

* How low can you go? For the first time in years, enrollment is up at Cooley Law — by three students. That’s the only thing the school will be able to brag about, because the average GPA and LSAT scores of its most recent entering class are the lowest the school has seen in at least a decade. Yikes. [Lansing State Journal]

* President Obama has to make quite the decision when it comes to choosing who will be his next SCOTUS appointment. He already faces an uphill battle, so if he were to pick any these five candidates (even the one who was recently confirmed 97-0), it’d likely make things even harder than they already are. [The Fix / Washington Post]

* “I’ll stay as long as necessary.” Activists from Reclaim Harvard Law are occupying a lounge to create a safe space for minorities, and they plan to remain there indefinitely. Armed with blow-up mattresses and blankets, they mean business. [Harvard Crimson]

* Charlotte Law launched a compliance certificate program, and anyone who can pay can receive training. Since compliance is booming right now, as InfiLaw graduates, they’re better equipped than most for jobs that don’t require a law degree. [Charlotte Observer]

* A New York judge who prosecuted drunk driving cases earlier in her career was arrested for allegedly driving drunk… while on the way to work to handle arraignments. It’s unlikely that she’ll return to the bench any time soon. [Democrat and Chronicle]

Which law school is turning part of its library into a "legal delivery center"?

Let's meet two former Biglaw attorneys who built a new business (and business model) to help a underserved client segment -- without writing any new computer code.

* Seton Hall Law Professor Michael Simkovic — he of the million-dollar law degree study — is back with a vengeance. Pay no attention to that law school scam op-ed in the New York Times; very few law school graduates are actually defaulting on their crushing loan debt. [ABA Journal]

* The U.S. Senate is finally looking into what’s going on with predatory pharmaceutical pricing at companies like Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Turing Pharmaceuticals, both of which have recently hiked up the price on lifesaving drugs to an absurdly exorbitant degree. [Reuters]

* Judge Arnold Ogden Jones II, a North Carolina state court jurist, has been accused of attempting to bribe an FBI agent with “a couple of cases of beer” in exchange for information. It better have been some damn good beer, Your Honor. [News & Observer]

* Complaints about tuition be damned, because law schools are still churning out pricey LL.M. programs like its their job. Fordham Law’s compliance program may be useful for some, but it comes with a $53,000 price tag. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* Law schools have been in a “death spiral” since applications started to drop along with admissions standards and student debt started to increase exponentially, but some will survive if the ABA steps in and polices accreditation and gainful employment. [Forbes]

* An amazing look at the exact way lawyers should NOT handle cleaning up their reputation after a PR snafu. [Techdirt]

* Even more bad bar results news, with Charleston School of Law taking a particularly bad hit. [Bar Exam Stats]

* A single lawyer — a divorce lawyer no less — cannot bring the NSA to its knees. Color me surprised. [Ars Technica]

* Attention new lawyers! Feeling overwhelmed? Here’s a list of online resources to make your day easier. [Associate’s Mind]

* A detailed look into the how-tos of complying with U.S. anti-corruption laws while conducting business in India. [Forbes]

* Here’s what a real Biglaw partner does in a day — or at least what Christina Martini, Chair of DLA Piper’s Chicago Intellectual Property Practice Group does when a camera is following her around. [Big Law Business/Bloomberg]

https://youtu.be/mwbmQctfeNc

If you are a foreign company planning to commence or strengthen your China operation’s legal compliance program, you should be prepared for a fight.

In a December 10, 2014 speech, Norm Champ, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, offered a glimpse at the top 10 industry lessons learned in 2014. While admitting that his Top Ten list “may not be as entertaining as one you would see on Letterman,” Champ said the list provides a view into both how the Division operates and its future goals.

If you want to keep operating in China and stay out of legal trouble, the time is now to get your China house in order. But how?

If your profits in China depend on your operating on the compliance margins, you should figure out now how to change.

As reported this week by Law360 (subscription required), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a reminder (Regulatory Notice 14-40) warning firms against the use of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements that prohibit or otherwise restrict customers or anyone else (such as current employees) from communicating with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), FINRA, or any federal or state regulatory authority regarding a possible securities law violation.