For the 2025 proxy and annual reporting season, there are a number of key issues to consider and keep an eye on for further developments as preparations commence. This alert provides an overview of these issues and updates in...more
In response to compliance officer personal liability concerns and increasing SEC regulations, Commissioner Peirce proposed the creation of a compliance advisory committee, which would bring together SEC regulators and...more
11/4/2024
/ Advisory Committee ,
Compliance ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Criminal Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Liability ,
Personal Liability ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Bar Associations
For nearly two decades since its enactment in 2005, PCAOB Rule 3502 prohibited any “person associated with a registered public accounting” firm from taking or omitting to take an action knowingly or recklessly in a way that...more
9/11/2024
/ Accounting Standards ,
Amended Rules ,
Auditors ,
Audits ,
Ethics ,
Liability ,
Negligence ,
PCAOB ,
Professional Liability ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On Thursday, June 27, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial in instances where the SEC seeks civil penalties against that defendant for alleged securities...more
7/3/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment
In a recent interview with Law360, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal reiterated the agency’s commitment to the encouragement of voluntary self-reporting, going as far as to say that...more
On Friday, April 5, a California federal jury found a former Medivation executive liable for insider trading under the novel liability theory of “shadow trading,” following an eight-day trial and less than three hours of...more
4/17/2024
/ Confidential Information ,
Corporate Officers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Jury Trial ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Misappropriation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Target Company
On April 2 and 3, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) presented its annual SEC Speaks program in conjunction with PLI, where senior members of the Commission provided updates on the current...more
The settlements announced by the SEC and CFTC on Monday are a continuation of the regulators’ focus on off-channel communications by employees of registered entities....more
8/11/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Retention ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mobile Apps ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement ,
Swap Dealers
Join BakerHostetler for our series of Fireside Chats about the latest developments impacting the capital markets and their participants, and the blockchain industry....more
7/12/2023
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Markets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Popular ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Webinars
In Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC and SEC v. Cochran, the respondents in administrative agency enforcement actions brought suit in federal district court, challenging the constitutionality of each respective agency’s attempt to...more
On Wednesday, March 1 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its first-ever prosecution of an individual for insider trading based on an executive’s use of 10b5-1 trading plans. Terren Peizer, the executive chairman of...more
3/8/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Amended Regulation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form 8-K ,
Indictments ,
Insider Information ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (CorpFin) recently issued guidance (Guidance), including a “Dear Issuer” Sample Letter (Sample Letter) to assist companies in meeting their...more
On July 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) made headlines announcing insider trading charges against 10 individuals across four separate cases, signaling an increased and renewed focus on...more
Key Takeaways - The SEC and DOJ announce that they are focusing on individual and corporate accountability, including a renewed emphasis on lawyers and accountants as the first line of defense against misconduct....more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is considering greatly limiting the affirmative defense that protects corporate executives against SEC prosecutions for insider trading claims when they buy or sell their...more
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler as the 33rd Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”). This change will bring forth a Democratic majority at the...more
4/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
FSOC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On Oct. 8 and 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) presented its annual program, The SEC Speaks in 2020. The Commission touted its virtual enforcement results, particularly in Chairman...more
On June 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which found that disgorgement awards that do not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits (gross profits...more
7/2/2020
/ 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)
The COVID-19 crisis is truly global in scope. Public issuers over a course of mere weeks have been confronted with the myriad challenges presented to their workforce and business operations. Forced to navigate uncharted...more
During these unprecedented times, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Enforcement (“Division”) is keeping a close watch on activity that may run afoul of the federal securities laws and is reminding...more
With more than 130 highly trained enforcement accountants at his disposal, Matthew Jacques, the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), provided a firsthand glimpse into current enforcement...more
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that an investment adviser (IA) cannot willfully make a negligent disclosure in its Forms ADV. The decision vacated a combined $150,000 in fines that the...more
Both the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have continued their focus on anticorruption enforcement in 2015. Although there was a decline in enforcement...more
4/20/2016
/ Corporate Fraud ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Settlement ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
Despite a decline in enforcement actions by the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the first half of 2015 has continued to highlight the relevance and ever-evolving effects of the...more
10/14/2015
/ Aerospace ,
Africa ,
Angola ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Avon ,
BHP Billiton ,
Brazil ,
Bribery ,
China ,
Clean Companies Act ,
Compliance ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivative Suit ,
DPA ,
Eli Lilly ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Prosecutors ,
Fokker ,
Football ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Goodyear ,
Hospitality Programs ,
India ,
Indictments ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Money Laundering ,
Olympics ,
PBSJ Corporation ,
PetroTiger ,
Popular ,
Public Utility ,
Racketeering ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Settlement ,
Soccer ,
Sports ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
UK Bribery Act ,
Wal-Mart ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Wire Fraud ,
World Cup
Over the course of 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) have continued their aggressive enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). This has led to critical...more