It's commonplace for commercial contracts to contain arbitration clauses. But should they? The answer to this question depends on several factors, such as anticipated cost, the importance of confidentiality, the importance of...more
In a recent and highly anticipated decision, a court in the Southern District of New York held that Ripple’s cryptocurrency token – XRP – is not inherently a security. In a setback to the SEC, the court also held that...more
7/31/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Howey ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Summary Judgment ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
On April 5, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board levied a $100,000 fine against Scott Marcello, the former Vice Chair of Audit at KPMG. The penalty is noteworthy for two reasons: (1) it’s the largest monetary...more
In this article, Joe Wielebinski and Matthias Kleinsasser of Winstead PC provide an overview of U.S. receivership law and discuss how this equitable remedy may be used to combat fraud alone, or in concert with other creditor...more
There has been lots of breathless commentary in the financial press and the blogosphere over the SEC’s August 2021 filing of an insider-trading case involving so-called “shadow trading.” Shadow trading as defined in a 2020...more
It’s not a secret that, under the Biden administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission has prioritized enforcement of disclosures concerning Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues (ESG), going so far as to form...more
Capital raising through Special-Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) has gone through the roof in the last two years. Last year was by far the single highest deal value for SPACs, and the first quarter of 2021 has already...more
The dust has settled on the 2020 election, and the Biden administration has begun pressing forward with its policy objectives. Critical to achieving such objectives is the Democrats’ control of both the House of...more
2/9/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Broken Windows ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Insider Trading ,
NDAA ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Wall Street ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s disgorgement powers have made legal headlines a couple of times over the last few years – most notably, with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Kokesh v. SEC, 137 S. Ct. 1635 (2017)...more
1/7/2021
/ Disgorgement ,
Forfeiture ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
NDAA ,
Penalties ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Statute of Limitations
On September 3, 2020, the Securities & Exchange Commission charged Daniel Kamensky with abusing his fiduciary position as co-chair of the Neiman Marcus Group Unsecured Creditors’ Committee by pressuring a rival bidder to...more
9/8/2020
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Creditor's Committee ,
Creditors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hedge Funds ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
In sports, it is often said that “winning cures everything.” The same concept applies to uncovering fraud. When the economy is strong and most investors are making money, there is little incentive to ask difficult questions...more
The Fifth Circuit overturned a U.S. District Court’s approval of a settlement between Ralph Janvey, the Receiver for Stanford International Bank, and various insurance company Underwriters, under which the Underwriters had...more
6/27/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Co-Insured Issues ,
Fraud ,
In Rem Jurisdiction ,
Insurance Code ,
Insurance Industry ,
Jurisdiction ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Receivership ,
Reversal ,
Settlement ,
Third-Party ,
Underwriting