On September 10, 2024, the SEC settled charges against Keurig for "incomplete and inaccurate" ESG disclosures about the recyclability of Keurig's K-Cup pods, signaling a continued focus on environmental-related disclosures...more
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Jarkesy decision, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") dismissed two contested Rule 102(e) proceedings against accountants, suggesting that the agency believes...more
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the majority of claims that the Security and Exchange Commission ("SEC") asserted against SolarWinds, including claims that the company's alleged...more
Seventh Amendment entitles defendants to jury trials when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud. ...more
The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") won at trial in its first insider trading prosecution against an executive based exclusively on his sales of stock under 10b5-1 trading plans....more
The Situation: The Australian Federal Parliament has passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Act 2024 ("Act"), some six years after a bill to create a 'failure to prevent' foreign bribery offence...more
The United States Supreme Court in Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, L.P., No. 22-1165, ruled that a corporation is not liable under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 for...more
4/29/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Item 303 ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Misleading Statements ,
Omissions ,
Regulation S-K ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") won at trial in its first "shadow trading" case, holding a corporate official liable for insider trading for using nonpublic information about his company's acquisition to trade...more
4/19/2024
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Third-Party
Recently, a senior officer from the SEC's Division of Enforcement defended the penalties the Commission has levied on firms for failing to capture and retain their employees' "off-channel" electronic communications, and, in...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") has issued a final rule ("Final Rule") extending the initial reporting deadline for new entities required to file beneficial ownership information ("BOI") with FinCEN to 90...more
During 2023, securities lawsuit filings rose for the first time in four years. Settlements declined last year; there were nine mega-settlements of more than $100 million, including a $1 billion settlement. Case filings...more
2/28/2024
/ Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Misleading Statements ,
Scienter ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations
The Background: In August 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC., et al. ("Murray") that an employee suing his employer under the anti-retaliation provisions of...more
2/19/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
Certiorari ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Murray v UBS Securities LLC ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
SCOTUS ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On January 30, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") denied a Petition for Rulemaking to amend SEC Rule 202.5(e), known as the SEC's "no-admit/no-deny" rule or, more pejoratively, the "gag rule."...more
The recently created SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program encourages individuals to self-disclose certain criminal conduct and cooperate in resulting investigations and prosecutions.
...more
2/8/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Liability ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
New York ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
Pilot Programs ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement continues to slowly rebound from pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) resolved 13 corporate FCPA...more
As public companies increasingly discuss their artificial intelligence ("AI") capabilities, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reminds us that it is closely watching these claims....more
In light of the DOJ’s most recent guidance on the use of personal devices and third-party messaging applications by corporate personnel, this White Paper addresses issues and challenges that companies are facing in this area...more
10/18/2023
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Guidance Update ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Workplace Communication
Under a new U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") policy related to mergers and acquisitions ("M&A"), DOJ will decline to prosecute an acquiring company for misconduct by an acquired company where the acquiring company timely...more
Across every industry and every region of the world, corporate compliance programs have increasingly become an integral part of a company's operations and procedures—and the trend shows no signs of slowing. In the first in a...more
A Washington federal judge dismissed challenges to Starbucks's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ("DEI") policies in a strongly worded opinion, making clear that politics don't belong in his courtroom....more
An estimated 32.6 million domestic and foreign companies will soon be required to report information about their beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury. This White Paper describes the new requirements and the steps companies...more
We are pleased to present our latest update on financial reporting and issuer disclosure enforcement activity. This White Paper primarily focuses on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement activity...more
In Short -
The Situation: The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently decertified a class of stockholders who alleged that Goldman Sachs maintained an inflated share price by making...more
8/31/2023
/ Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v Goldman Sachs Group ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Decertification ,
Disclosure ,
Goldman Sachs ,
Inflated Stock Purchase Price ,
Material Misstatements ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Guidance ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
Retirement ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stock Prices
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has charged a group of small companies with making deficient filings on Form 12b-25, harkening back to the SEC's "broken windows" strategy from the last decade....more