Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. For the month when Paul Atkins was sworn in as SEC Chairman, we examine:
• The SEC’s...more
5/28/2025
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Receivership ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Stablecoins
On April 17, 2025, three operating divisions (the “Operating Divisions”) of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the Division of Enforcement (“DOE”) provided guidance in CFTC Letter 25-13 (the...more
4/29/2025
/ CFTC ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Materiality ,
New Guidance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Self-Reporting
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments. This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•An SEC action alleging an insider trading scheme and...more
4/23/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Private Funds ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments. This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments. This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
On April 7, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo (the “Blanche Memo”) announcing the Trump administration’s Department of Justice (“DOJ”) refocus of enforcement policies related to investigations and...more
4/11/2025
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Money Laundering ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities Fraud ,
Trump Administration
On April 4, 2025, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”) Division of Corporation Finance (“Staff”) issued a statement on stablecoins (the “Stablecoin Statement”), outlining the Staff’s...more
4/9/2025
/ Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Stablecoins
On April 1, 2025, the House Financial Services Committee issued a press release regarding a number of Committee requests to various federal agencies for rescission, modification, or re-proposal of specific Biden...more
On March 26, 2025, the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Financial Institutions held a hearing, entitled “A New Era for the CFPB: Balancing Power and Reprioritizing Consumer Protections.”...more
On March 14, 2025, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland declined to grant a temporary injunction to the City of Baltimore and the Economic Action Maryland Fund. The plaintiffs had requested an...more
3/21/2025
/ Bank Secrecy Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Military Lending Act ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stablecoins
To issue a subpoena for documents or testimony, Enforcement staff must first obtain a formal order. A formal order authorizes SEC staff “to administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, take...more
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments. This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
Each week of the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, we will publish updates on key federal financial services regulatory and related developments.
This week, we review the following developments as of Wednesday:...more
On February 27, 2025, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporate Finance (the “staff”) released its views on “meme coins,” stating that under certain circumstances, the offer and sale of “meme...more
The Advisory sets out factors that the Enforcement Division will use to rate self-reporting and cooperation. This rating places a company or individual within a “tier” used to determine the Mitigation Credit amount available....more
On February 20, 2025, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) issued a list of priority regulatory targets for nullification under the CRA “in the coming weeks.” Included on the list is the CFPB’s December 10, 2024 final...more
On January 17, 2025, a few days before the presidential inauguration, the SEC reported a record-breaking first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (October through December 2024) with 200 total enforcement actions, including 118...more
2/27/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblowers
On February 18, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order designed to reduce the power of federal independent agencies by bringing them under the purview of the White House. The Executive Order provides that it applies...more
2/21/2025
/ Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
CRA ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Stablecoins ,
Trump Administration
On February 7, 2025, newly confirmed Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director Russell Vought replaced Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as acting director of the CFPB....more
2/14/2025
/ CFTC ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda
In this episode of the Above Board podcast, hosts Scott Lesmes and Haima Marlier are joined by Morrison Foerster partners and legal advisors to leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies Marian Waldmann Agarwal and Justin...more
The establishment by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of a Crypto Task Force and the issuance by President Trump of an executive order entitled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology”...more
1/29/2025
/ Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinTech ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine:
•Insider trading charges against a professor overseeing...more
1/28/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Insider Trading ,
Perks ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement
The SEC continues to leave its mark as a federal cybersecurity enforcer and closed out the year by charging another company with making misleading statements about a cybersecurity attack and failing to maintain cyber-related...more
1/23/2025
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Form 10-K ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
On December 20, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the “Commission”) announced charges against several entities that failed to file a Form D within 15 days of a private sale of securities. These entities,...more
1/8/2025
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form D Filing ,
Investment Adviser ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations