The judge called the deal "half-baked justice at best," but still "better than nothing." And that's about the best Rakoff had to say for a case that's bedeviled him for six months.

The AIG litigation machine keeps humming as a New York federal judge declines to dismiss a class action alleging that the insurer misled shareholders about its credit default swap portfolio.

An anonymous tipster with apparent inside knowledge of the agency's negotiations with Citi raised the allegations in an unsigned fax to Sen. Charles Grassley. True or not, the fax makes for compelling reading--and we've got a link to it.

We've all been waiting for the other shoe to drop since word leaked in April that AIG was getting ready to sue the banks that sold it $40 billion in toxic mortgage bonds. On Monday AIG's lawyers at Quinn Emanuel slammed it down--and hard. The bank's new litigation woes, coupled with the U.S. credit downgrade, may have conspired to knock 20 percent off BofA's stock price on Monday.

Quinn Emanuel's litigation record is still impressive by any measure. But last month's high-profile loss against Apple is an unwelcome reminder that even the winningest firms have to lose sometimes.

Without admitting or denying any wrongdoing, JPMorgan agreed to pay $153.6 million--including a $133 million penalty--to resolve allegations that it marketed an ill-fated collateralized debt obligation without disclosing the role of a hedge fund that was shorting assets in the CDO.

After a hostile reception by the Justices at oral arguments, plaintiffs lawyers doubted the high court would endorse U.S. securities claims by foreign investors who bought shares of foreign companies on foreign exchanges. They just prayed the damage would be limited. Those hopes were dashed by the Court's unanimous ruling Thursday. We've got analysis from the lawyers who argued both sides at the Court.

The Global Lawyer last examined the broad impact of Morrison v. National Australia Bank in the U.S. federal courts, and the limited prospects for state law workarounds for world-spanning securities claims. Where else in the world might global securities class actions be filed? And could an international treaty someday govern them?

Admit it: We're all amused, in a schadenfreude sort of way, at watching Cravath struggle to downplay the sophistication of its nine years of work for its former client Airgas. But GCs and outside counsel can learn from Cravath's decision to represent Air Products in its hostile bid for Airgas. Business isn't like dating. There's no reason not to put your relationship in writing.