2021 continued the trend of increased regulatory focus on privacy and cybersecurity for private investment funds in the U.S. and abroad. There are no signs of the trend leveling off any time soon. One of the topics that...more
Sanctions continue to be a dynamic area of regulation and enforcement. In its first year, the Biden Administration has already undertaken a number of different sanctions initiatives. The three examples below highlight the...more
3/9/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Asset Management ,
Asset Seizure ,
Biden Administration ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Transactions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Global Magnitsky Act ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Russia ,
SDN List ,
Ukraine ,
Virtual Currency
A threshold question in many cryptocurrency inquiries is whether the digital assets qualify as securities under the federal securities laws. If so, then they are subject to a full suite of federal securities regulations....more
3/1/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
If 2021 was the year in which regulators and investors enthusiastically embraced environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations, by creating new legal and regulatory frameworks, then 2022 will be the year for...more
2/25/2022
/ Business Plans ,
Business Strategies ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment ,
Private Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Sustainability
We reported last year that unprecedented SPAC deal volume signaled an increased risk for disputes given their unique structure, including risks associated with disclosure requirements, material non-public information,...more
The SEC’s push to regulate the next generation of blockchain-based applications will likely give rise to disputes and enforcement actions, particularly in the developing decentralized finance (DeFi) space....more
Last year, we wrote, “The regulatory and litigation risks for private funds are greater than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008.” That statement is even more true today....more
2/2/2022
/ Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Risk Management ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On December 15, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of our clients, holding the Massachusetts Wiretap Statute (Mass. Gen. L. ch. 272, § 99) unconstitutional...more
1/22/2021
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Civil Liberties ,
First Amendment ,
Oral Communications ,
Police ,
Pro Bono ,
Secret Recordings ,
State and Local Government ,
Summary Judgment ,
Transparency ,
Wiretapping
This past year has brought lots of change, including an amendment to Rule 30(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 30(b)(6) governs the deposition of an organization (e.g., a corporation or a partnership) and...more
12/10/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Depositions ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
FRCP 30(b)(6) ,
FRCP 45 ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Meet and Confer ,
Subpoenas ,
Witness Preparation ,
Witnesses
With more people working remotely than ever before in light of COVID-19, firms in the private equity and hedge fund space should review their Regulation S-P privacy and information-safeguarding policies to ensure they are...more
6/30/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
OCIE ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation P ,
Regulation S-P ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The private fund industry is more in the public eye than ever before. Private capital and private markets have experienced massive growth over the last two decades, substantially outpacing the growth of public equity. We have...more
2/19/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Capital Markets ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Global Economy ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Banks ,
OCIE ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Venture Capital
An increasingly sophisticated and active OCIE division, innovative market disruptors, a maturing credit cycle, and a philosophical change in how the private fund industry views and utilizes litigation are likely to lead to...more
2/21/2019
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Litigation Funding ,
OCIE ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Token Sales
Last month, Proskauer filed an amicus brief on behalf of Sanctuary for Families — a leading non-profit organization advocating for victims of domestic violence and sex trafficking —specifically to advocate for allowing...more
1/30/2019
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Appeals ,
Audio Recording ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Detention ,
Domestic Violence ,
Nonprofits ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Oral Argument ,
Physical Abuse ,
Pretrial Imprisonment ,
Prisoners ,
Self-Incrimination ,
Sex Trafficking ,
Testimony ,
Witness Tampering
Last week, in Martin v. Gross, Chief Judge Patti B. Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of our clients, finding the Massachusetts Wiretap Statute (Mass. Gen. L....more
Potential disputes involving unicorns have been a hot topic for the last several years. We predicted that would continue this year in in our webinar and related blog post: The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for...more
5/4/2018
/ Credit Karma ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stock Options ,
Unicorns
With the public equity markets at an all-time high and private equity fund raising setting new records, it might seem counter-intuitive to forecast litigation and regulatory risks. The opposite is true. Disputes typically...more
2/13/2018
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
CTFC ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Popular ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unicorns
A team of Proskauer attorneys, on behalf of 12 leading non-profit organizations specializing in advocacy for victims of domestic violence, drafted an amicus brief in support of a mother seeking to uphold a district court’s...more
The recent IPOs of Snap, Inc. and Blue Apron indicate that while the IPO pipeline continues to flow, there may be a cautionary tale for “unicorns” – venture-backed companies with estimated valuations in excess of $1 billion....more
A recent decision from the District of Connecticut is part of a series of copyright cases where a plaintiff, unable to identify the accused infringer except by the Internet Protocol (or “IP) address used at the time of the...more
Private investment funds and advisers are likely to face new regulatory challenges and increased litigation risks in 2017, not only because of a change in the administration, but also because many advisers have not corrected...more
2/10/2017
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Advertising ,
Business Development ,
Business Litigation ,
Capital Raising ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Hedge Funds ,
Industry Examinations ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment ,
Marketing ,
Merger Agreements ,
OCIE ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Public Offerings ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Restructuring ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Snapchat ,
Unicorns ,
Valuation ,
Venture Capital ,
Whistleblowers
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2016, reaching new highs in the number of actions filed and money ordered forfeited through disgorgement and penalties. The SEC...more
10/12/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Penalties ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Several recent court decisions in patent infringement actions reflect the significant impact of the Supreme Court's ruling in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., which dramatically altered the landscape for...more
A recent report and recommendation issued in the District of Massachusetts is one of the first cases to interpret – and arguably, to extend – the Supreme Court’s recent decision on willful infringement, Halo Electronics, Inc....more
On May 11, 2016, the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) became law. The DTSA provides trade-secret protections on the federal level that are similar to those available through the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA)...more
7/27/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Confidential Documents ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Contract ,
Ex Parte ,
Immunity ,
Misappropriation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Popular ,
Private Funds ,
Trade Secrets ,
UTSA ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies