As previously discussed in our Sept. 10, 2020, client alert, in Wong v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., Case No. 18-CIV-02609 (Cal. Super. Ct. Sept. 1, 2020), the Superior Court of California for the County of San Mateo dismissed...more
On March 7, 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Treasury Department published guidance on increased vigilance for potential Russian sanctions evasion attempts. The FinCEN Alert follows the...more
In their March 3, 2022, speeches to the 37th American Bar Association (ABA) National Institute on White Collar Crime, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. both emphasized the...more
Judge William H. Orrick of the Northern District of California recently denied a motion to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) first insider trading case charging a defendant with “shadow trading.” The...more
As discussed in a previous client alert, The Boeing Company (Boeing) has faced shareholder litigation arising from the fatal crashes of two 737 MAX airplanes. In one such derivative suit filed under Section 14(a) of the...more
Over the course of the year — and even dating back to his time on the campaign trail — President Biden and senior officials in his administration, including Department of Justice (DOJ) and Security and Exchange Commission...more
12/21/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
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
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Treasury Department announced last week an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public comment on a proposed rule that would address the...more
12/15/2021
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
On Nov. 23, the New York Court of Appeals held in a 6-1 ruling that an investment firm’s $140 million disgorgement payment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was not a “penalt[y] imposed by law” under the firm’s...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
In her Oct. 28, 2021 keynote address at the American Bar Association’s 36th National Institute on White Collar Crime, new Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco announced several policy changes to the Department of...more
On Oct. 15, 2021, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) published sanctions compliance guidance for the virtual currency industry. OFAC acknowledged that virtual currencies are playing an...more
In a recent speech at the Practising Law Institute’s annual SEC Speaks conference, Gurbir Grewal, the new director of the Division of Enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission), signaled...more
On Oct. 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced the creation of a Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (the Initiative). According to the announcement, the Initiative combines the DOJ’s...more
In its recent decision in Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc., Case No. 2020-0444-JRS, 2021 WL 3855514 (Del. Ch. Aug. 30, 2021) (Slights, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed plaintiff’s breach of contract and other...more
On Sept. 27, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the most recent legal challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) practice of using “no-deny” consent agreements to resolve civil...more
As we have discussed in prior client alerts, in the wake of the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Salzberg v. Sciabacucci (Salzberg), 227 A.3d 102 (Del. 2020), several California state courts have dismissed claims against...more
On Sept. 14, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered a cease-and-desist order against App Annie Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO, Bertrand Schmitt, after agreeing to settle securities fraud claims....more
In a significant decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently denied a motion to dismiss, thus allowing discovery to proceed, on a Caremark claim against the directors of The Boeing Company (Boeing), arising out of the...more
Demonstrating its continued focus on cybersecurity enforcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced three new actions on Aug. 30 charging eight firms with maintaining deficient cybersecurity policies and...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
In a significant decision, a panel of the Second Circuit recently held that a French citizen who was charged with violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) in connection with the LIBOR scandal, but who lives in France and...more
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 July 13, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced partially settled charges against the Special Purpose Acquisition Company Stable Road Acquisition Co. (SRA), SRA’s sponsor and CEO, SRA’s target Momentus Inc....more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for a writ of certiorari in Pivotal Software v. Tran, a case that could have significant implications for Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) cases brought in state...more