Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced two enforcement actions related to the failed implementation of anti-money-laundering (AML) procedures. These charges reflect the SEC’s continued focus on...more
As 2025 begins, we cover several significant corporate governance developments that occurred in the second half of 2024 and since our Corporate Governance: 2024 Midyear Review was published in August. We first highlight...more
In what will likely mark the final outcome, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, struck down the Nasdaq Stock Market’s diversity-disclosure framework on Dec. 11, 2024. The Nasdaq rules issue —...more
On July 18, 2024, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York dismissed most of the charges that the Securities and Exchange Commission brought against SolarWinds and its chief information...more
In this midyear update, we cover a number of significant corporate governance developments that have taken place over the first half of the year and since our Corporate Governance 2023 Year-End Review....more
On June 27, 2024, in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court held that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or the Commission) administrative process for adjudicating fraud-based enforcement...more
7/19/2024
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Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment
On June 10, 2024, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Facebook, Inc. v. Amalgamated Bank to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that Facebook could be held liable under Section 10(b) and Rule...more
On April 5, 2024, a federal jury in San Francisco returned a verdict in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Panuwat. The jury found that a corporate executive had...more
The Fifth Circuit has vacated the opinion we discussed in our Oct. 30, 2023, client alert Diversity in the Boardroom: Fifth Circuit Rejects Challenge to the SEC Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules; En Banc Petition Quickly Filed and...more
In a significant recent decision, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Govil, the Second Circuit substantially narrowed the scope of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) disgorgement powers to cases in which the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Court) recently rejected challenges to Nasdaq’s “Board Diversity” framework. Those rules require Nasdaq-listed companies to report that they have, or explain why they do not...more
On Sept. 29, 2023, Southern District of New York Judge Andrew L. Carter issued a decision denying Elon Musk’s motion to dismiss a securities fraud class action brought against him. The gravamen of the claim was that Musk...more
On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy to review a decision by the Fifth Circuit rejecting key aspects of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or the...more
7/10/2023
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Administrative Procedure ,
Appeals ,
Article II ,
Certiorari ,
PCAOB ,
Removal For-Cause ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment
On April 14, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in two related cases, Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC (No. 21-86) and SEC v. Cochran (No. 21-1239), holding that respondents may challenge the constitutionality of...more
On Dec. 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that AT&T has agreed to a $6.25 million penalty, resolving charges brought against it under the securities rule known as Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation...more
This alert addresses proceedings in two SEC securities enforcement actions emanating out of the Fifth Circuit. Both pose issues relating to the SEC’s power to bring enforcement proceedings in front of in-house administrative...more
On April 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A., alleging that the company made false and misleading statements to investors about the company’s...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
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
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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
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
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 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
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
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