Introduction -
On Feb. 2, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease-and-desist order settling charges against the former CEO and CFO of WageWorks Inc. (WageWorks, or the Company), stemming from the...more
2/22/2021
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Statements ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Reimbursements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Section 304 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
On Oct. 30, 2020, the Fifth Circuit agreed to rehear en banc a case challenging the constitutionality of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) administrative proceedings on the ground that the agency “is violating...more
11/11/2020
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Audits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
En Banc Review ,
Lucia v SEC ,
PCAOB ,
Removal For-Cause ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation of Powers
In a recent settled administrative proceeding, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) imposed a $20 million fine and a cease-and-desist order on Andeavor LLC, a Texas energy company, in connection with...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has published a risk alert, warning SEC-registered investment advisers, brokers and dealers about the increasing use of...more
10/1/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Regulation S-ID ,
Regulation S-P ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On July 3, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the Second Edition of their joint Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (Resource Guide or Guide). ...more
Three years ago, in a footnote to its unanimous opinion in Kokesh v. S.E.C., the Supreme Court left open two questions: “whether courts possess authority to order disgorgement in SEC enforcement proceedings” and “whether...more
At the end of January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released its “Observations on Cybersecurity and Resiliency Practices” (Observations)....more
2/13/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Breach Plans ,
Data Loss Prevention ,
Data Management ,
Data Protection ,
Denial of Service Attacks ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Malware ,
Mobile Device Management ,
Mobile Devices ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Liability ,
Vendors
In its 2011 Janus decision, the Supreme Court emphasized that SEC Rule 10b-5 imposes liability for a false statement in connection with a securities transaction only on the “maker” of the statement, the “person or entity with...more
4/3/2019
/ Appeals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Fines ,
Intent to Defraud ,
Investment Banks ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Material Dissemination ,
Misleading Statements ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Suspensions
On Jan. 28, 2019, the House of Representatives passed with overwhelming bipartisan support (413 to 3) the Promoting Transparent Standards for Corporate Insiders Act (H.R. 624) (the Act). If passed by the Senate, the Act would...more
This Update highlights key legal and policy developments in cybersecurity and privacy law that may impact important trends for 2019 and beyond. A central takeaway from 2018 is that regulators in the U.S. and abroad are...more
1/28/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Carpenter v US ,
CLOUD Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Google ,
Hackers ,
International Data Transfers ,
Marriott ,
Microsoft ,
Personal Data ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Power Plants ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stored Communications Act
On June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court in Raymond J. Lucia, et al. v. SEC, held that the SEC’s administrative law judges are “Officers of the United States” whose appointment must comport with the requirements of the...more
6/29/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
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)
After months of steadily increasing supervisory activity in regard to the emerging cryptocurrency sector, it now appears that U.S. financial market regulators may have switched gears and entered the enforcement stage....more
4/2/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
On Feb. 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released interpretive guidance on public companies’ disclosure practices regarding cybersecurity breaches and risks to the public....more
3/1/2018
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Hackers ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On August 7, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released a Risk Alert summarizing the results of its second cybersecurity preparedness examination. The...more
On June 26, 2017, the D.C. Circuit, en banc, split 5-to-5 on whether to grant a petition seeking to overturn an August 2016 ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit that determined that SEC administrative law judges...more
In a pair of decisions issued on June 5, the Supreme Court sharply curtailed the scope of financial sanctions available in civil securities enforcement and criminal drug trafficking cases. In addition to the results, which...more
6/9/2017
/ Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forfeiture ,
Forfeiture Statutes ,
Honeycutt v. United States ,
Investment Management ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Misappropriation ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Statute of Limitations ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 27, 2016, in Bandimere v. SEC, the Tenth Circuit held that SEC administrative law judges (ALJs), who preside over the agency’s civil administrative proceedings, are “inferior officers” within the meaning of the...more