We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement continues to slowly rebound from pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) resolved 13 corporate FCPA...more
As public companies increasingly discuss their artificial intelligence ("AI") capabilities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reminds us that it is closely watching these claims....more
In light of the DOJ’s most recent guidance on the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications by corporate personnel, this White Paper addresses issues and challenges that companies are facing in this area...more
10/18/2023
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Workplace Communication
Under a new U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") policy related to mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"), DOJ will decline to prosecute an acquiring company for misconduct by an acquired company where the acquiring company timely...more
Across every industry and every region of the world, corporate compliance programs have increasingly become an integral part of a company's operations and procedures—and the trend shows no signs of slowing. In the first in a...more
A Washington federal judge dismissed challenges to Starbucks's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") policies in a strongly worded opinion, making clear that politics don't belong in his courtroom....more
An estimated 32.6 million domestic and foreign companies will soon be required to report information about their beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury. This White Paper describes the new requirements and the steps companies...more
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
In Short -
The Situation: The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently decertified a class of stockholders who alleged that Goldman Sachs maintained an inflated share price by making...more
8/31/2023
/ Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v Goldman Sachs Group ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Decertification ,
Disclosure ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Inflated Stock Purchase Price ,
Material Misstatements ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Guidance ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
Retirement ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Prices
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has charged a group of small companies with making deficient filings on Form 12b-25, harkening back to the SEC's "broken windows" strategy from the last decade....more
In Short -
The Situation: Following a cyberattack on a law firm's systems, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") subpoenaed the firm for information, including the identity of clients whose information may have...more
8/15/2023
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Discovery ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Evidence ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Government Investigations ,
Hackers ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Subpoenas
In Short -
The Situation: The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held that supplemental disclosures must be "material" to warrant mootness fees in litigation challenging the disclosures for M&A transactions. Anderson v....more
A unanimous Supreme Court has confirmed that a claim brought under section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 ("1933 Act") requires that a plaintiff plead and prove that the shares purchased were issued pursuant to an allegedly...more
In 2022, anti-money laundering ("AML") and sanctions controls were at the center of regulatory and enforcement activities in the United States and abroad. Globally, governments have continued to recognize the impact of AML...more
While there are a number of ways in which organizations may become aware of potential wrongdoing internally, perhaps the most significant for its legal and compliance teams is internal reporting, or “whistleblowing,” by...more
5/15/2023
/ Cross-Border ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employment Rights Act ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The largest-ever award highlights the importance of whistleblowers to the SEC's biggest cases.
On May 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") awarded $279 million to a whistleblower, the agency's largest...more
Each year, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and in recent years, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") dedicate substantial resources to investigating and...more
The U.S. Supreme Court holds that district courts have jurisdiction to hear constitutional challenges to the structure of Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") administrative...more
In Short -
The Situation: The European Union's Fourth Anti-Money Laundering ("AML") Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/849 of May 20, 2015) granted broad access to information relating to the beneficial owners of companies...more
Asserting that the company misstated the scope of data stolen in the cyberattack, the SEC provides a clear reminder that cybersecurity disclosures remain an agency priority....more
In Short -
The Situation: As a follow-up to the deputy attorney general's September 2022 memorandum, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or "Department") announced in March 2023 significant updates to its corporate...more
According to the Stanford Law School/Cornerstone Research Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, each year since 2001, with just one exception (2006), investors have filed more than 150 securities fraud class actions in the...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement has yet to rebound from the immediate pre-pandemic period. In 2022, DOJ and SEC resolved eight corporate FCPA matters for $878 million, including four resolutions coordinated...more
3/3/2023
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
During 2022, securities case filings fell for the fourth consecutive year and were down slightly from 2021. The number of announced settlements rose substantially last year, as did total settlement amounts. The 2022...more
2/8/2023
/ Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Popular ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)