Is AI the new green? Recent comments by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler suggest the regulator is primed to begin turning its enforcement efforts against so-called “AI washing,” presenting a new area of...more
12/8/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Machine Learning ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Technology Sector
Federal regulators have cracked down on the use of texts messages and messaging platforms for business communications, using their broad authority to root out record retention violations, resulting in significant fines and...more
10/20/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Email ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FERC ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fines ,
Insider Trading ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mobile Devices ,
Multi-Factor Authentication ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Record Retention ,
Regular Business Communications ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Software ,
Text Messages
Last week the US Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of state laws requiring businesses to consent to lawsuits in the state after registering with state authorities to conduct business there. In Mallory v. Norfolk...more
Scoring a victory for the Securities and Exchange Commission in its efforts to qualify digital tokens as securities, a New Hampshire federal court ruled this week that tokens sold by LBRY Inc., known as LBC, are securities...more
On Monday, the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and issued a long-awaited decision holding that broad U.S.-style discovery under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 is not available in private foreign arbitrations. In the past decade,...more
More than a year after creating its Climate and ESG Task Force in March 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s ESG-related enforcement goals are finally being realized. The SEC recently brought a fraud action against...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Rules on Climate-Related Disclosure, released March 21, 2022, represent a significant change in public company disclosure requirements and, if adopted, will have far-reaching...more
4/29/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Advertising ,
Financial Planning ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Martin Act ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Back in June, we analyzed the Supreme Court’s decision in Goldman Sachs Group v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, which examined the extent to which a corporation’s arguably generic public statements could form the basis...more
A recent decision in the Delaware Chancery Court broadens the risk of inter-corporate liability by endorsing the theory of “reverse” veil-piercing, where a plaintiff can reach down to the assets of a parent company’s...more
In a unanimous decision, the Delaware Supreme Court recently held that Delaware law applies to a D&O policy issued to a Delaware corporation, ruling that the place of incorporation outweighed other factors such as where the...more
Since announcing the creation of its Climate and ESG Task Force on March 4, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission has continued to emphasize that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues will take center stage...more
After months of stalled negotiations, Congress has passed sweeping new COVID-19 relief legislation that, among other things, revitalizes and revises the Paycheck Protection Program. The new legislation reopens the program to...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission fired a warning shot last week to all public companies about the quality and accuracy of disclosures made regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations. On...more
On November 18, 2020, the IRS and Treasury Department released Revenue Ruling 2020-27 (the Revenue Ruling) stating that, if a taxpayer received a PPP Loan (defined below) and paid or incurred Eligible Expenses (defined...more
In addition to the tragic human toll that it has caused, the coronavirus pandemic has also wreaked havoc on businesses throughout world, leaving countless companies and individuals unable to perform their contractual...more
The Small Business Administration issued long-awaited rules governing lender and borrower obligations when there is a change in ownership of an entity that has received a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan. The new...more
As Congress scrambles to craft the next phase of COVID-19 stimulus and relief legislation, both sides of the aisle appear to be in agreement on expanding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to include more funds for small...more
A ripening circuit split over the availability of U.S. discovery in foreign arbitration proceedings took another step toward a possible Supreme Court showdown with the July 8 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for...more
On June 16, the Small Business Administration released an updated PPP Loan Forgiveness Application (SBA Form 3508) and a simplified version for certain eligible borrowers (SBA Form 3508EZ), both reflecting program changes...more
The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPFA), passed by both houses as of June 3, makes significant changes to the Paycheck Protection Program affecting both new and existing loans, including reducing the amount of...more
On May 22, the SBA and Treasury released two additional interim final rules (IFRs) on PPP loan forgiveness, providing specific guidance to borrowers and lenders regarding their responsibilities, as well as information on the...more
On May 15, the SBA and Treasury released the long-awaited PPP loan forgiveness application and related guidance, providing much-needed clarity and ending weeks of speculation about how borrowers will obtain loan forgiveness....more
The Small Business Administration has issued new guidance regarding the certification of necessity under the Paycheck Protection Program. Now, borrowers who received loans for less than $2 million -- roughly 98% of PPP loans...more
The Small Business Administration has clarified through newly-issued guidance that employees of foreign affiliates must be counted when determining the size of a business for eligibility under the Paycheck Protection Program....more
5/7/2020
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
IRS ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Non-Profit Hospitals ,
Nonprofits ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBA ,
Small Business
On April 28, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the SBA would be conducting audits of all businesses that received greater than $2 million in PPP loans, reiterating his warning from last week that businesses...more