The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) announced that New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal will become the next director of its Enforcement Division (Division), after resigning his New Jersey's...more
Public companies should proceed with caution when receiving and investigating anonymous whistleblower complaints. Several public companies recently received whistleblower complaints from an anonymous source – each with...more
Public companies should prepare for a more strenuous auditing process, and the increased likelihood that the information that they share with their auditors could be compelled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
A remote status conference was held June 28 for United States v. Mark Schena, currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In the recently unsealed superseding indictment, the SEC...more
On June 11, the Biden administration’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) released the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or Commission) rulemaking agenda (Rulemaking Agenda) as part of the Spring 2021...more
The SEC’s Division of Enforcement recently issued voluntary information requests to several public companies, inquiring about the details of any impact arising from the widely publicized December 2020 SolarWinds cyberattack....more
Recent commentary by Diana Tani, an assistant regional director with the SEC, at the Securities Enforcement West web conference emphasized the agency's focus on data-driven investigations. Two areas targeted for recent...more
Summary -
The U.S. Courts of Appeal for the First and Second Circuits have split on the issue of whether a plaintiff must satisfy the Second Circuit’s “predominantly foreign” test (set forth in Parkcentral Global Hub Ltd....more
SPACs — short for “special purpose acquisition companies” — recently have drawn significant interest by companies and executives as a more seamless method to conduct an initial public offering. Often referred to as “blank...more
Who Needs to Know -
Financial Advisors and Institutions, Traders, Investors, Corporations.
Why It Matters -
As evidenced in the FY 2020 Division of Enforcement Annual Report (Report), the COVID-19 pandemic did not...more
Why It Matters -
As evidenced in the recently published 2020 Year in Review Report (Report), the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section (Fraud Section) demonstrated its resilience despite the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its...more
Background -
This year, the SEC has established its focus on disclosure and compliance issues related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters. Recent developments by the SEC concerning ESG issues signal that...more
On February 26, the SEC Division of Examinations (Division) (formerly the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations) issued a Risk Alert (Alert) relating to the offer, sale, and trading of digital assets that are...more
Why It Matters -
The 2021 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program serves as an authoritative resource for member firms to evaluate and, where necessary, enhance their compliance programs and operations...more
On February 9, Acting Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) Chair Allison Herren Lee announced that senior officers in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement (Division) will once again be authorized to approve the...more
On Friday January 1, with the Senate’s floor vote to override the president’s veto, Congress passed the 60th annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Encompassed within the $740.5 billion military spending bill is an...more
1/4/2021
/ Congressional Override ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
NDAA ,
Presidential Veto ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Statute of Limitations
Who Needs to Know -
Publicly traded companies, specifically those whose business was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Who Needs to Know -
Public companies and their directors and officers as well as brokers, dealers, investment advisors, investment companies and their associated persons....more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently settled an enforcement action in which it found that a public company failed to develop and implement adequate controls around a stock buyback program. The action...more