The US Supreme Court decided several criminal procedure cases during the 2023 – 2024 term – including Diaz v. United States, 144 S. Ct. 1727 (2024) and Smith v. Arizona, 144 S. Ct. 1785 (2024) – which have relevance and...more
In US ex rel. Martin v. Hathaway, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit joined the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in requiring False Claims Act (FCA) plaintiffs to establish a direct causal relationship...more
The federal government sent another big signal that it’s stepping up efforts to keep cutting-edge, dual-use and military technologies out of the hands of adversarial foreign governments when it announced the launch of the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has long focused on pursuing potential insider trading violations, and its recent enforcement efforts serve as a stark reminder that the Commission has made insider trading cases a...more
The US Department of Justice is increasing its arsenal to pursue cyber-related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients. The program, called the “Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative,” was announced by Deputy Attorney...more
Introduction -
On June 3, 2021, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in Van Buren v. United States in the Court’s first-ever interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the federal anti-hacking statute....more
What happened -
In a recent client alert, we discussed the dramatic rise in offerings of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and some of the attendant litigation and enforcement risks. A raft of recent public...more
What happened The SEC recently brought charges against AT&T and three mid-level executives for selectively providing information to Wall Street analysts in alleged violation of Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD). According...more
What is a SPAC -
Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are on the rise. A SPAC is a publicly traded shell company with no underlying operating business that seeks to merge with a target operating company. According...more
What happened President Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Gary Gensler to serve as the next chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Gensler formerly served as head of the Commodity Futures Trading...more
In times of increased financial stress—and particularly during times of financial shock where expectations and reality diverge significantly and rapidly—internal and external pressures can lead to risk-taking with lasting...more