Insights | Kobre & Kim — Disputes and Investigations

Don't Stand Passive Against Anti-Competitive Behavior: U.S. Court Endorses Private Sector Antitrust Tools

Companies often believe that the only remedy for anti-competitive behavior comes from government intervention.
However, as a recent U.S. appeals court decision illustrates, private parties can obtain relief themselves, even against “consummated” mergers approved by government regulators.
This creative strategy is just one of many that companies can deploy by themselves when facing competitive challenges.

Publications March 10, 2021

Benjamin Sirota and David McGill on Antitrust and Financial Services in Part 3 of Antitrust Podcast Series

Financial services institutions often focus on the actions of enforcers like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in assessing their exposure. And rightly so. What they may fail to consider, however, are the antitrust risks of their business dealings, particularly as government enforcement agencies and private parties increasingly employ antitrust perspectives.

Publications March 10, 2021

Michael Ng Discusses Intel’s $2.2B Patent Judgment With Chinese Media 21CBR

Last week, a federal jury in Texas returned US $2.18 billion verdict against semiconductor giant Intel for infringement of two semiconductor patents. In an interview with Chinese magazine 21st Century Business Review (21CBR), Kobre & Kim intellectual property litigator Michael Ng shared his thoughts on the case.

Publications March 10, 2021

John Han, Merrick Watson and Timothy de Swardt Unpack Their “Groundbreaking” BVI Judgment in Global Restructuring Review

In a groundbreaking judgment obtained by Kobre & Kim, the BVI Commercial Court for the first time made a committal order against a personal defendant residing outside of the British Virgin Islands for failing to appear at a hearing. With their colleague John Han, Kobre & Kim’s Merrick Watson and Timothy de Swardt, who obtained the ruling, explained the significance of the judgment in an article for Global Restructuring Review.

The Corporate Transparency Act: Is it Actually Helpful for Private Parties?

The U.S. Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), part of the recently-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), has broken new ground by requiring beneficial owners of U.S. corporate entities to register with U.S. government authorities.
While the CTA appears to shut out private parties – such as creditors and victims of fraud – from accessing such information, there may be potential creative ways to work around this roadblock, bringing creditors one step closer to a substantial recovery of their assets.
Nevertheless, creative creditors and their counsel might be able to obtain this information through certain channels to cut off escape routes for debtors and fraudsters, and obtain more complete recoveries.

Publications March 2, 2021

Calvin Koo Pens Article in Wealth Briefing Asia on the Legal Risks for Asia-Pacific Investors Interested in Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s rise in price has coincided with its rise in attractiveness for a growing number of investors, including ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs). However, UHNWIs and their advisers should be wary of potential legal exposure as legal regimes are evolving around the world, including in Asia-Pacific, Kobre & Kim’s Calvin Koo writes in Wealth Briefing Asia.

Publications March 2, 2021

Benjamin Sauter Speaks with Cointelegraph on U.S. State vs Federal Digital Currency Regulation

Days before New York reached a settlement with digital currency trading platform Bitfinex after a long investigation, Ripple Labs registered as a business in Wyoming, underscoring the Swiss-cheese state of U.S. digital currency regulation and Wyoming’s effort to become the country’s digital currency center. Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sauter analyzed the current regulatory framework when he sat down with Cointelegraph.

Publications March 2, 2021

Sean Buckley and Amanda Tuminelli on Pretrial Release Strategies for Wealthy Defendants in Law360

Ghislaine Maxwell became the latest in a string of defendants held in pretrial detention in part because of her significant financial resources. With home confinement being more comfortable and allowing easier coordination with counsel, what can wealthy defendants do to make pretrial release more likely? Kobre & Kim’s Sean Buckley and Amanda Tuminelli explain in an article for Law360.

Publications March 2, 2021

Kobre & Kim Lawyers in CoinDesk Op-Ed: The Dangers of Calling the GameStop Rally “Market Manipulation”

The rise and fall of GameStop, Dogecoin and other meme stocks have left day traders and institutional investors angrily accusing each other of market manipulation. However, as Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sauter, Steven Perlstein, William McGovern and David McGill explained in an op-ed for CoinDesk, both sides may come to regret this shortsighted argument.

Publications February 23, 2021

Benjamin Sirota, Nicholas Surmacz and Joshua Huang on Antitrust and Offensive Investigations in Part 2 of “Antitrust” Podcast Series

Around the world, government-led antitrust actions and associated private litigation—such as the ongoing “techlash” phenomenon in the United States—are on the rise. Many companies naturally view this trend as creating risk and possible exposure. But companies are also advised to consider how to deploy antitrust tools offensively.

Publications February 19, 2021

Kobre & Kim Lawyers in Bloomberg Law: New Wire Fraud Theory Targets Securities and Digital Currency Traders

As a result of recent developments, U.S. regulators and prosecutors are “armed with a new tactic” to use criminal wire fraud charges to target securities and digital currency traders, Kobre & Kim’s David McGill, Jonathan Cogan, Sean Buckley and Benjamin Sauter wrote in an article for Bloomberg Law.

Publications February 5, 2021

Benjamin Sauter Explains Precedent-Setting Digital Currency Recovery Case

A precedent-setting case has shown how recovering stolen digital assets may now be even easier than traditional asset recovery. Kobre & Kim’s Benjamin Sauter, who took part in that case, spoke with Forkast News about the case’s impact on the wider industry.

Publications February 4, 2021

David McGill Discusses Implications of GameStop Rally with Compliance Week

As U.S. financial regulators meet to discuss the wild market swings in GameStop and other stocks, Kobre & Kim’s David McGill told Compliance Week that what happened may just be “the tip of the iceberg.”

Publications January 29, 2021

Evelyn Sheehan and Jason Short on New U.S. AML Risks for High-Net-Worth Individuals and Politically Exposed Persons

As part of the recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 substantially expands the United States’ anti-money laundering (AML) regime, which may pose far-reaching implications to high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and politically exposed persons. Kobre & Kim’s Evelyn Sheehan and Jason Short spell out the consequences in an article for Law360.

Publications January 29, 2021

Andrew Lourie on Market Manipulation and the Legal Risks Facing Gamestop Traders

Reddit users’ efforts to squeeze short sellers by driving up the stock price of Gamestop has drawn the attention of regulators. Kobre & Kim’s Andrew Lourie, a former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer focused on market manipulation, analyzed what legal action may follow when he sat down with Yahoo Finance.