It certainly wasn't good news for Mayer Brown when partner Joseph Collins was convicted in July of conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud arising from his work as an outside lawyer for the fraudulent brokerage firm Refco Inc. But, as far as the firm is concerned, things could be worse. So far, Mayer Brown has succeeded in beating back nearly every attempt to hold it liable in civil suits for the damage caused by Refco's collapse in 2005. In the latest victory, a federal judge this week dismissed a suit brought on behalf of some of Refco's former brokerage customers who claimed to have lost more than a half billion dollars.

For the first time, China's securities regulator has agreed to turn over audit documents related to an ongoing SEC investigation of a U.S.-listed Chinese company.

Acts of contrition by the mighty who have fallen are an art form. Now Marc Dreier, who will be sentenced Monday, steps onto the stage to say how very sorry he is for running a fraudulent law firm. In a letter to Manhattan federal judge Jed Rakoff filed today, Dreier describes the crazy, tortured life he's led. It's worth reading.

The auditors hoped to use to the Second Circuit's 2011 decision in Fait v. Regions Financial to escape securities claims related to the bankrupt oil shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group. A judge in New York wasn't having it.

The waning days of September brought the end to a slew of big patent cases involving R.J. Reynolds, Freddie Mac, LG, and others, with Verizon alone agreeing to pay more than $500 million to put two separate infringement suits to rest.

A dozen Am Law firms failed to convince a federal judge in San Francisco to throw out claims that many of the world's leading consumer electronics companies conspired to fix prices for CD, DVD and Blu Ray recordable and rewritable drives.

The fight over the validity of so-called unfinished business claims in law firm bankruptcies is heating up in courts on both coasts this week.