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
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
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)
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: On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted final rules that significantly alter the ways in which directors and officers adopt and utilize Rule 10b5-1 plans and...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued final rules under which the national securities exchanges and associations will require listed issuers to adopt and operate accounting restatement-based clawback policies that...more
As required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, on October 26, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules directing the national securities exchanges and national...more
In Short -
The Situation: The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's ("PCAOB") ability to inspect and investigate PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong was previously restricted...more
In the most recent editions of this publication, we predicted the SEC Enforcement Division would more aggressively enforce the federal securities law than the previous administration’s Enforcement Division. While the...more
On May 18, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that key aspects of the SEC's in-house enforcement regime for securities fraud cases were unconstitutional. The decision, Jarkesy v. SEC, has significant...more
5/23/2022
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Lack of Authority ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Climate and ESG Task Force has filed one of its most significant enforcement matters to date. On April 28, 2022, the SEC brought an action in the U.S. District Court for...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") voted 3–1 to propose amendments to Regulations S-K and S-X that would require registrants to provide certain climate-related information in their registration...more
3/24/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Statements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On January 28, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced a settled fraud case with HeadSpin, Inc., a technology start-up, that allegedly engaged in a scheme to boost the company's valuation to more...more
The proposed amendments to the rules governing the whistleblower program, if adopted, would reverse prior amendments and provide further and significant financial incentives for whistleblowers to report potential violations...more
2/14/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Biden administration took office in January 2021, announcing aggressive and sweeping anticorruption initiatives to tackle corruption around the world, labeling corruption a national security priority, and signaling a...more
1/28/2022
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
We are pleased to present our year-end 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
The Fifth Circuit's opinion creates a circuit split that raises the possibility of a Supreme Court review.
On December 13, 2021, the Fifth Circuit issued an en banc opinion in Cochran v. U.S. Securities & Exchange...more
The accelerated pace and size of awards to whistleblowers totaling more than $530 million in SEC Fiscal Year 2021 underscores the commitment to the whistleblower program under new SEC leadership. On September 15, 2021, the...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
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler suggests SEC will aggressively police crypto assets and decentralized finance ("DeFi") platforms while seeking expanded authority to regulate these fast-growing industries....more
8/10/2021
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Gary Gensler ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities
The use of SPACs has reached unprecedented levels, but recent pronouncements from the SEC may signal heightened enforcement and litigation risk for SPACs, as well as their sponsors, officers and directors, and auditors.
The...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") charges a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC"), its CEO, and sponsor, as well as the merger acquisition target, with securities law violations, resulting in significant...more
On May 19, 2021, the SEC announced an award of more than $28 million to a whistleblower whose tip led the SEC and the DOJ to reach a combined $281 million FCPA settlement with a U.S.-based manufacturer of electronic systems...more
6/23/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Corruption ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Internal Reporting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Situation: The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations ("EXAMS") released a Risk Alert on March 29, 2021, reminding broker-dealers of their obligation to comply with anti-money laundering ("AML")...more