In Lucia v. SEC, the U.S. Supreme Court made things messy for the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") by vindicating constitutional concerns over the agency's use of administrative law judges. The Court concluded that...more
7/2/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Officers of the United States ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Trial Judges (STJs)
The Situation: The SEC accused Altaba Inc., then known as Yahoo! Inc., of misleading investors by failing to disclose a major data breach orchestrated by Russian hackers.
The Result: Altaba has agreed to pay $35 million to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers that whistleblowers must report alleged misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to benefit from Dodd-Frank's...more
2/26/2018
/ Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Internal Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
2017 will most likely be remembered as a year of transition, as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement actions indicate, at least in the near term, an emphasis on specific initiatives and retail investor...more
2/1/2018
/ Annual Reports ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Audit Committee ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
GAAP ,
Internal Reporting ,
Item 303 ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
U.S. tax reform will mean new rules for deducting fines, penalties, and other amounts, including disgorgement, paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Currently, Internal Revenue Code section 162(f)...more
On August 23, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the insider trading conviction of Matthew Martoma, a former portfolio manager for SAC Capital Advisors LLP ("SAC Capital"). In doing so, the court overturned...more
10/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Personal Benefit ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Reaffirmation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman
Against the backdrop of recent growth of initial coin or token offerings ("ICOs"), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), on July 25, 2017, published its first public statements on this fundraising practice. The...more
On June 5, 2017, in an unanimous ruling in Kokesh v. SEC, No. 16-529, the United States Supreme Court significantly limited the breadth of the Securities and Exchange Commission's primary enforcement tool. The Court held that...more
6/7/2017
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Punitive Damages ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations
On February 8, 2017, the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ") Fraud Section published a blueprint for assessing corporate compliance efforts, titled "Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs" ("Guidance"). It...more
3/2/2017
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Confidential Communications ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Internal Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
OECD ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senior Managers ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
Training