Spotlight -
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Burr's Petition for the South Carolina Election Commission: South Carolina's Witness Requirement on Absentee Ballots is Here to Stay -
On October 5th, the Supreme Court...more
10/27/2020
/ Absentee Voting ,
Business Litigation ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employee Rights ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Liability Insurance ,
Mail-In Ballots ,
Phishing Scams ,
Political Campaigns ,
Remote Proceedings ,
Right to Vote ,
SCOTUS ,
Wage and Hour
Phishing FINRA -
October is cyber-security awareness month, so it’s only appropriate that FINRA started it with another Regulatory Notice warning member firms to beware of a false-survey phishing scheme. The Notice warns...more
10/8/2020
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Ransomware
SBA Issues New PPP Rules for Owner-Employees and Related Party Rents -
The Small Business Administration ("SBA") recently issued a new interim final rule clarifying whether paycheck protection program ("PPP") loan proceeds...more
9/25/2020
/ Business Closures ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Government Lockdown ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
Rent ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business
At a September 10 press conference, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt announced that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Criminal Division has reached 57 criminal prosecutions for fraud in connection with the...more
9/11/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Fraud ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business ,
Tax Relief
On August 20, FINRA warned member firms about a rash of imposter websites, using registered representative’s names, pictures, CRD numbers and other information to gull investors into providing personally-identifying...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has issued a special alert to its member firms, alerting them to an imposter website: www.finnra.org (containing an extra “n”)....more
The SEC recently announced the creation of the Event and Emerging Risks Examination Team (“EERT”) in its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”). ...more
This week the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a trio of criminal prosecutions for fraudulent PPP loan applications. Each involved inter-agency investigations involving the IRS Criminal Investigation Division...more
6/26/2020
/ Bank Fraud ,
Banking Sector ,
CARES Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Statements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Loan Applications ,
Money Laundering ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Wire Fraud
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) Final Interpretive Guidance on the “actual delivery” exception to regulatory jurisdiction for digital assets became effective June 24, 2020. See 85 Fed. Reg. 37734. The...more
On June 16, the SEC issued a temporary exemptive order, allowing registered municipal advisors to solicit banks, their wholly-owned commercial lenders and credit unions in connection with direct placements by municipal-issuer...more
The Supreme Court allowed the SEC to seek “disgorgement” as a form of “equitable relief” in civil-actions, but limited the remedy to net profits for benefit of harmed investors. Answering part of a question reserved in...more
6/25/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Effective June 30, SEC Reg. BI requires broker-dealers to make recommendations only in the “best interests” of retail customers, imposing additional disclosure, care, conflicts-of-interest and compliance obligations....more
On May 28, 2020, FINRA issued its Regulatory Notice 20-16 sharing firms’ WFH practices observed to date. They include common practices adopted across most industries, as one would expect....more
On May 8, FINRA filed an expedited request for an immediate rule change that would allow service by email, extensions of time, and video-conference hearings in member-application, disciplinary proceedings and appeals. FINRA...more
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has filed the first criminal action for fraud in connection with PPP loans. Documents unsealed May 5 in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island accuse...more
In a May 4 joint public statement, SEC Chair Clayton and Municipal Securities Office Director Rebecca Olsen urged municipal issuers to make voluntary disclosures specific to issuers, and their various outstanding municipal...more
On April 27, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management updated its COVID-19 FAQs to reflect the Staff’s position that small investment advisers must report the “nature, amounts and effects” of PPP loans if potentially...more
5/4/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Form ADV ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Small Business
The Tenth Circuit joined a majority holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) permits modification of an arbitration award for a “material miscalculation of figures” if the miscalculation is “evident” on the face of...more
The dispute-resolution arm of broker-dealer regulator FINRA has cancelled all in-person arbitration hearings and mediation sessions through July 3, 2020. In-person hearings originally were cancelled through May 1, then...more
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has held that new arguments for vacatur or modification first raised over 90-days post-award do not relate-back and may not be considered under the State’s version of the Uniform Arbitration...more
On April 9, FINRA amended its customer arbitration rules to give customers more options when a Respondent firm or associated person becomes “inactive” during an arbitration....more
On April 2, Chair Clayton said the SEC would hold firm on the June 30 compliance deadline for Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) and Form CRS, but suggested early examinations might focus more on compliance efforts than...more
On April 9, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) filed with the SEC a temporary rule change that waived certain late fees and delayed some key compliance deadlines....more
In the past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended trading in five separate over-the-counter (“OTC”) stocks due to dubious COVID claims or related identity confusion....more
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton issued an April 2 public statement that the SEC will hold firm on its June 30, 2020 deadline for firms to implement Reg. BI and Form CRS. There had been industry...more