The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") won at trial in its first "shadow trading" case, holding a corporate official liable for insider trading for using nonpublic information about his company's acquisition to trade...more
4/19/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Third-Party
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has charged a group of small companies with making deficient filings on Form 12b-25, harkening back to the SEC's "broken windows" strategy from the last decade....more
In Short -
The Situation: Following a cyberattack on a law firm's systems, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") subpoenaed the firm for information, including the identity of clients whose information may have...more
8/15/2023
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evidence ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Government Investigations ,
Hackers ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subpoenas
Each year, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") dedicate substantial resources to investigating and...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement has yet to rebound from the immediate pre-pandemic period. In 2022, DOJ and SEC resolved eight corporate FCPA matters for $878 million, including four resolutions coordinated...more
3/3/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In the most recent editions of this publication, we predicted the SEC Enforcement Division would more aggressively enforce the federal securities law than the previous administration’s Enforcement Division. While the...more
On May 18, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that key aspects of the SEC's in-house enforcement regime for securities fraud cases were unconstitutional. The decision, Jarkesy v. SEC, has significant...more
5/23/2022
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Lack of Authority ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Climate and ESG Task Force has filed one of its most significant enforcement matters to date. On April 28, 2022, the SEC brought an action in the U.S. District Court for...more
On January 28, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced a settled fraud case with HeadSpin, Inc., a technology start-up, that allegedly engaged in a scheme to boost the company's valuation to more...more
The proposed amendments to the rules governing the whistleblower program, if adopted, would reverse prior amendments and provide further and significant financial incentives for whistleblowers to report potential violations...more
2/14/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Biden administration took office in January 2021, announcing aggressive and sweeping anticorruption initiatives to tackle corruption around the world, labeling corruption a national security priority, and signaling a...more
1/28/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
We are pleased to present our year-end update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
The accelerated pace and size of awards to whistleblowers totaling more than $530 million in SEC Fiscal Year 2021 underscores the commitment to the whistleblower program under new SEC leadership. On September 15, 2021, the...more
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") charges a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), its CEO, and sponsor, as well as the merger acquisition target, with securities law violations, resulting in significant...more
On May 19, 2021, the SEC announced an award of more than $28 million to a whistleblower whose tip led the SEC and the DOJ to reach a combined $281 million FCPA settlement with a U.S.-based manufacturer of electronic systems...more
6/23/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Situation: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations ("EXAMS") released a Risk Alert on March 29, 2021, reminding broker-dealers of their obligation to comply with anti-money laundering ("AML")...more
SEC Whistleblower Awards to 40 individuals in 2021 surpass total awards in fiscal year 2020.
On March 29, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced an award of more than $500,000 to a whistleblower who...more
A recent Reg FD SEC enforcement action against AT&T may signal a renewed focus by the SEC that warrants public companies to assess their disclosure processes.
On March 5, 2021, the SEC charged AT&T and three executives...more
The Situation: President Joe Biden nominated Gary Gensler, former Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") under the Obama administration, for Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). ...more
The second half of 2020 saw U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") enforcement activity continue to rebound from deep uncertainty and change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, the SEC—despite a full-scale...more
In 2020, the biggest Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) headline was the record-shattering global anticorruption enforcement fines and penalties collected by foreign regulators in actions involving a coordinated FCPA...more
1/13/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
The highest award in the history of the SEC whistleblower program is issued to an employee who repeatedly reported misconduct internally before alerting the SEC.
On October 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
Companies should consider review of their compliance programs and procedures for addressing internal complaints or tips of potential misconduct.
On September 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted...more
9/29/2020
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Reporting ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers