Partner Overhears Merger Talk At Firm, Is Indicted

A real estate partner in a Philadelphia law firm overheard a colleague discuss a pending merger with the legal assistant they shared, and has been charged with insider trading. According to a U.S. attorney, he bought before the merger, sold shortly thereafter and cleared $75,000. The SEC, in its statement about the case, identified the lawyer but not his firm. Reporters subsequently named both his current firm and his previous firm, one of the largest in the U.S.