On Dec. 13, 2021, an en banc panel of the Fifth Circuit held that the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) does not preclude federal district courts from exercising subject matter jurisdiction over constitutional...more
On Oct. 18, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) announced the results of its review of U.S. economic and financial sanctions. During her confirmation hearing in January 2021, Janet L. Yellen, secretary of...more
Securities fraud litigation based on regulatory mishaps, environmental disasters, data breaches, sexual harassment revelations, the COVID-19 pandemic and other well-publicized events that affect stock prices has been on the...more
9/3/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Class Action ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Financial Statements ,
Material Misstatements ,
Money Laundering ,
Puffery ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stock Drop Litigation
On July 21, in S.E.C. v. Collector’s Coffee, Inc. et al.,[1] a New York federal court held that a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) whistleblower protection rule prohibiting actions to impede the...more
On June 3, 2021, President Biden issued the first National Security Study Memorandum of his presidency, in which he declared fighting corruption “a core United States national security interest.” The Memorandum sets out the...more
6/9/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Financial Crimes ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Policy ,
Money Laundering ,
National Security ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
White Collar Crimes
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
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
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)
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