Tom Stout Wins Compassionate Release from Federal Prison for Pro Bono Client

by

On March 26, 2021, the Honorable Claria Horn Boom of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted Tom Stout’s motion for compassionate release on behalf of an immunocompromised federal inmate in a matter handled by the firm pro bono. Our client was sentenced to 98 months in federal prison in 2018 for a non-violent drug offense. Despite being in the CDC’s highest risk category for complications from COVID due to multiple medical conditions and having no history of violent conduct, the Bureau of Prisons denied our client’s request for compassionate release then failed to either protect him from contracting COVID or properly treat him once he did. In fact, BOP was so overwhelmed by the volume of prisoners with COVID at the facility holding our client that it stopped performing tasks as basic as recording their daily vital signs.

After expressing “grave concerns about the BOP’s ability going forward to prevent reinfection or to address additional health risks stemming from his previous COVID infection,” the court proceeded to adopt our arguments that our client’s sentence warranted reconsideration due to the unusually harsh conditions during the COVID pandemic, the absence of any history of violent conduct, and the rehabilitative steps he took while in custody.

FINRA Escalates Unit Investment Trust Short Term Trading Enforcement

by

With FINRA announcing its largest enforcement settlement of 2020 last Wednesday with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. for short term trading of Unit Investment Trusts (“UITs”), now is a good time to catch up with recent FINRA enforcement activity and the progress of one of its enforcement priorities over the last several years.

First, some recent history. The Stifel settlement appears to be the culmination of a four-year long push by FINRA to rein in firms it views as engaging in unsuitable short-term trading of UITs and other long-term investments.

Rachel Naor attends ABA Women in Litigation Conference

by

Rachel Naor was thrilled to participate in the ABA Women in Litigation Conference, which brought together female litigators, neutrals, and judges from across the country for three days in San Diego, California. Rachel recently joined the ABA Litigation Section’s Women Advocate Committee, one of the committees who presented the conference. Rachel enjoyed meeting litigators from a diverse array of firms, and learning from the esteemed attorneys and judges who participated in the informative panel discussions.

Ellen London Moderates FCA Panel

by

On October 11, 2023, Ellen London was honored to moderate a WWCDA Global Enforcement & Compliance panel in Washington, DC entitled “The Good, the Bad, the [Arguably] Fraudulent: False Claims Act Developments.” The panelists, Jamie Ann Yavelberg, Denise Barnes, and Jennifer Short, spoke about their experiences in the government and in private practice with this statute, and provided the audience with a number of practical tips.