Today, the Supreme Court took an important step in a case that should be of interest to investment advisors, accountants, and others who provide services to issuers of securities. The Supreme Court issued an order inviting the Solicitor General of the United States (“SG”) to file a brief expressing the views of the United States on whether the Court should review a recent ruling by the Fourth Circuit in Janus Capital Group v. First Derivative Traders, 566 F.3d 111 (4th Cir. May 7, 2009), a securities fraud case in which plaintiffs are testing the boundary between primary and secondary actors in the securities markets. Both the importance of the issue in Janus and the Supreme Court's desire to hear from the Solicitor General make this a case worth watching.

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