On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce[1], overruling the Chevron doctrine. This holding overturns the decades-long...more
7/5/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Statutory Interpretation
On December 5, 2022, the SEC filed a settled action against investment advisory firm Two Point Capital Management Inc. (the Firm) and its chief executive officer, who also served as the Firm’s chief compliance officer until...more
On October 24, 2022, the Security & Exchange Commission (SEC) issued settled orders against Cronos Group, Inc. (Cronos), a Canadian cannabis company, and its former Chief Commercial Officer. Cronos cultivates, manufactures,...more
On June 30, 2022, the SEC filed a settled action against Hamilton Investment Counsel, LLC (the “Firm”) and its chief compliance officer (“HIC CCO”). Notably, the SEC charged the HIC CCO with willfully aiding and abetting the...more
As the global economy faces the third year of the pandemic, manufacturers are no longer focused on figuring out when things will return to “normal.” Instead, they are applying lessons learned from the past few years to become...more
7/7/2022
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audits ,
BPA ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ,
Copyright ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Ethics ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
ICFR ,
Internet of Things ,
Investment ,
Liability ,
Machine Learning ,
Manufacturers ,
Mexico ,
Model Contract Clauses ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Patents ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Shortages ,
Sustainability ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Trade Secrets ,
Unions ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Well into the third year of the global pandemic, with record inflation and the uncertain outcomes of geopolitical issues roiling global markets, the cannabis industry has nevertheless continued upon a similar path as recent...more
6/7/2022
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Biden Administration ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
DEA ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Insolvency ,
NDAA ,
Patents ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Labor Laws ,
Sustainability ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Veterans Administration
On Wednesday, in a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Jarkesy v. SEC that proceedings before an SEC administrative law judge were unconstitutional. Notably, the...more
On May 3, 2022, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued guidance through the release of a sample comment letter of public reporting companies’ potential disclosure obligations related to “the direct or indirect...more
5/9/2022
/ Belarus ,
China ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Economic Sanctions ,
New Guidance ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supply Chain ,
Ukraine
On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a comprehensive set of proposed rules mandating climate-related risk disclosures for public companies (Proposed Rule). For some the release marks...more
3/25/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
ICFR ,
Proposed Rules ,
Risk Management ,
SASB ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which provides a safe harbor and affirmative defense from insider trading for...more
On August 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a litigated enforcement action in federal court in San Francisco, California alleging insider trading against Matthew Panuwat. Of note, the SEC action...more
On May 26, 2021, a Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell Plc (“Shell”) to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% (from 2019 levels) by 2030. Shell had previously pledged to reduce its emissions by 20% (from 2016 levels) by...more
This week, SEC Chair Gary Gensler identified Rule 10b5-1 stock trading plans and equity trading rules as fresh areas of regulatory focus for the SEC. Gensler mentioned these areas during prepared remarks at the CFO Network...more
On March 31, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant issued separate public statements concerning Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”). In these recent statements, the SEC is...more
Three recent developments in relation to ESG related disclosures are of note: (1) on March 10th, the US Department of Labor announced it would not enforce its own rules related to ESG investing, (2) on the same day the EU’s...more
3/16/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR
On February 26, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert signaling an exam focus this year on activities of investment advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and transfer agents related to Digital Asset...more
3/5/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Offerings ,
Registration Requirement ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Transfer Agents
On February 24, 2021, Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Allison Herren Lee released a public statement directing the Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate-related risk...more
On the heels of a year beset by turmoil and the myriad challenges caused by the global pandemic, the cannabis industry nevertheless entered 2021 poised for significant growth amid a landscape teeming with opportunity. Public...more
2/26/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Capital Markets ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Financial Institutions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Insolvency ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Restructuring ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
Three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Kokesh v. SEC that disgorgement in the context of an SEC enforcement action functions as a “penalty” for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2462 and is therefore subject to a five-year statute...more
6/25/2020
/ 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)
On June 5, 2017, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Kokesh v. Securities and Exchange Commission, resolving a circuit split and holding that the 5-year statute of limitations for civil penalties applies to SEC...more