On May 14, 2025, Deputy Enforcement Director Antonia Apps told those gathered at an anti‑money laundering conference in Washington, D.C. to expect a more measured approach from SEC Enforcement. That may include, she...more
6/25/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Real Estate Development ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. For the month when Paul Atkins was sworn in as SEC Chairman, we examine:
• The SEC’s...more
5/28/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Receivership ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Stablecoins
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments. This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
On April 4, 2025, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”) Division of Corporation Finance (“Staff”) issued a statement on stablecoins (the “Stablecoin Statement”), outlining the Staff’s...more
4/9/2025
/ Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins
To issue a subpoena for documents or testimony, Enforcement staff must first obtain a formal order. A formal order authorizes SEC staff “to administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, take...more
On February 27, 2025, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporate Finance (the “staff”) released its views on “meme coins,” stating that under certain circumstances, the offer and sale of “meme...more
On January 17, 2025, a few days before the presidential inauguration, the SEC reported a record-breaking first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (October through December 2024) with 200 total enforcement actions, including 118...more
2/27/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
In this episode of the Above Board podcast, hosts Scott Lesmes and Haima Marlier are joined by Morrison Foerster partners and legal advisors to leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies Marian Waldmann Agarwal and Justin...more
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•Insider trading charges against a professor overseeing...more
1/28/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Perks ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement
On December 20, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the “Commission”) announced charges against several entities that failed to file a Form D within 15 days of a private sale of securities. These entities,...more
1/8/2025
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form D Filing ,
Investment Adviser ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court decided in SEC v. Jarkesy that where the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) brings enforcement actions for civil penalties, it must do so in the federal courts, as opposed to before...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
NLRB ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Separation of Powers ,
Seventh Amendment
On March 6, 2024, two years after the issuance of a proposing release and following more than 24,000 comment letters and 4,500 unique letters submitted in response, by a vote of 3-2, the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
3/14/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Form 10-K ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-X ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
To provide an overview for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important and interesting SEC enforcement developments from the past month, with links to primary resources....more
1/18/2024
/ Coinbase ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
ICFR ,
Repurchases ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stock Repurchases ,
Unregistered Securities
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
• The SEC’s announcement of its Fiscal Year 2023 enforcement...more
12/18/2023
/ Charter Communications ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Internal Controls ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Share Buybacks ,
Whistleblowers
On March 30, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules and amendments relating to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). The SEC indicated these proposals are meant to enhance...more
4/11/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
GAAP ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Amendments ,
PSLRA ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shell Corporations ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On December 15, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) proposed amendments to the affirmative defense in Rule 10b5-1(c) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and...more
12/17/2021
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Cooling-Off Rule ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Gary Gensler ,
Good Faith ,
Insider Trading ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation