This Holland & Knight blog post is the second installment in a two-part series that examines the challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) charges in its landmark case against SolarWinds Corp....more
7/29/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Misleading Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
SolarWinds
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 18, 2024, dismissed most of the SEC's landmark cyber enforcement litigation against SolarWinds Corp. (SolarWinds or the Company) and the Company's Chief...more
7/24/2024
/ Audits ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Form 8-K ,
Hackers ,
Internal Controls ,
Material Misstatements ,
Materiality ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NIST ,
Popular ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Software Developers ,
SolarWinds
The SEC continues to expand its cybersecurity enforcement authority to include allegations that a company's failure to monitor its managed security service providers (MSSP) amounts to violations of federal securities laws....more
7/9/2024
/ Accounting Controls ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form 8-K ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Internal Controls ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
The SEC has been aggressively pursuing cybersecurity investigations and enforcement actions against public companies and foreign private issuers. In these actions, the SEC often alleges one of two theories: 1) that the...more
7/8/2024
/ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 8-K ,
Materiality ,
Misrepresentation ,
Professional Liability ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Puffery ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
SolarWinds
The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Court), on June 5, 2024, vacated the new private fund rules (Private Fund Rules) adopted by the SEC in August 2023, resulting in a significant victory for...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 30, 2024, approved a settled final judgment against technology company Arista Networks' former chairman and CEO, Andreas "Andy" Bechtolsheim based on...more
6/11/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Breach of Duty ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidential Information ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Stock Options ,
Target Company
In recent remarks at the Securities Enforcement Forum West 2024, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director of the Division of Enforcement Gurbir Grewal extolled the benefits of and expounded on the elements of...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance Director Erik Gerding released a statement on May 21, 2024, addressing Disclosure of Cybersecurity Incidents Determined to be Material and...more
5/23/2024
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form 8-K ,
Materiality ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is cracking down on how firms promote their artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to protect investors from falling victim to "AI-washing." On March 18, 2024, the SEC...more
4/22/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Practices ,
Client Data ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Statements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transparency
The SEC on Feb. 29, 2024, announced settled charges against Lordstown Motors Corp. (Lordstown) for allegedly misleading investors about sales prospects for the Endurance, Lordstown's flagship pickup truck for the electric...more
3/13/2024
/ Auditor Independence ,
Audits ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
PCAOB ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-X ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Startups
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 6, 2024, adopted a new slate of standardized climate-related disclosure rules for public companies and foreign private issuers. Adopted by a 3-2 vote, the final rules...more
3/11/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Reporting ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed recently to revisit a challenge to Nasdaq's board diversity rule. As we previously reported, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit upheld the rule in October 2023....more
3/4/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
En Banc Review ,
Gender Equity ,
LGBTQ ,
Listing Standards ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Woman Board Members
The SEC's five commissioners on March 6, 2024, will vote on whether to adopt long-awaited public company climate disclosure rules that would require registrants to report climate-related risks and metrics. In a Feb. 28, 2024,...more
Please join Holland & Knight's Financial Services Regulatory Team for a roundtable discussion on what to expect on the financial services landscape in 2024. Our attorneys will present on a wide range of topics in a "3-Minute...more
1/3/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OCC ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Webinars
The SEC's Division of Enforcement recently announced its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 results, touting a record-setting year. Rather than repeat Enforcement's detailed report available here, we boil the data down to give our readers...more
11/21/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Cooperation ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Holland & Knight, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2023 Florida Enforcement Summit on Oct. 18, 2023. The half-day program focused on current...more
10/31/2023
/ Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Ransomware ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government
Amid ongoing federal government shutdown risks and the close of its fiscal year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Examinations (Exams) recently announced its fiscal year (FY) 2024 priorities....more
10/26/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Market Participants ,
Regulation SCI ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Assessment ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SRO
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld Nasdaq's board diversity rule, which the SEC first approved in August 2021 and was then challenged as unconstitutionally discriminatory and an improper...more
10/24/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appellate Courts ,
Board of Directors ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Free Speech ,
Nasdaq ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Exchange Act
Continuing its focus on incentivizing prompt and voluntary self-disclosure of criminal misconduct, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced earlier this month a new U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Safe Harbor Policy...more
10/23/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Compliance ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Declination ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Due Diligence ,
Enforcement ,
Mergers ,
Policy Statement ,
Remediation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Voluntary Disclosure
As the SEC closed its fiscal year, it filed three separate enforcement actions against companies for purported violations of Rule 21F-17 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, which prohibits persons from impeding...more
10/10/2023
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Contract Terms ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Remediation ,
Retaliation ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Separation Agreement ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Overreach. Jurisdictional landgrab. Regulation by enforcement. These terms and expressions — and many more “colorful” turns of phrase — are used by some to describe the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approach to...more
Specifically, the SEC wants a change to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – now, not later – of its view that Torres got it wrong when she determined that the company's offer and sale of its XRP token...more
8/11/2023
/ Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Platforms ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Contract ,
Popular ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
In a monumental decision that will likely have substantial ramifications for crypto industry developers, securities practitioners, and millions of investors and token purchasers alike, on July 13, 2023, the U.S. District...more
7/20/2023
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Process ,
Fair Notice ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Howey ,
Institutional Investors ,
Popular ,
Registration Statement ,
Ripple ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
A recent enforcement action from the Fort Worth Regional Office of the SEC reminds one of the agency's investor-protection mission and continued focus on those who deceive retail investors in the private offer and sale of...more
6/27/2023
/ Enforcement Actions ,
FEMA ,
Howey ,
Jurisdiction ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Misappropriation ,
Offering Documents ,
Offering Fraud ,
Omissions ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Registration Requirement ,
Retail Investors ,
Reves v Ernst & Young ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
In the latest chapter of the high-profile SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., et. al. litigation, the SEC revisits its prior attempt to strike down the defendants' due process affirmative defense. Nearly a year after the SEC failed to...more