For nearly two decades since its enactment in 2005, PCAOB Rule 3502 prohibited any “person associated with a registered public accounting” firm from taking or omitting to take an action knowingly or recklessly in a way that...more
9/11/2024
/ Accounting Standards ,
Amended Rules ,
Auditors ,
Audits ,
Ethics ,
Liability ,
Negligence ,
PCAOB ,
Professional Liability ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
DOJ has introduced the new three-year Pilot Program, managed by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, effective August 1. Under this Pilot Program, whistleblowers meeting certain criteria may be...more
8/9/2024
/ CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FinCEN ,
Pilot Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On Thursday, June 27, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial in instances where the SEC seeks civil penalties against that defendant for alleged securities...more
7/3/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment
On Friday, April 5, a California federal jury found a former Medivation executive liable for insider trading under the novel liability theory of “shadow trading,” following an eight-day trial and less than three hours of...more
4/17/2024
/ Confidential Information ,
Corporate Officers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Jury Trial ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Misappropriation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Target Company
On April 2 and 3, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) presented its annual SEC Speaks program in conjunction with PLI, where senior members of the Commission provided updates on the current...more
Building on the recent passage of the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA), at the American Bar Association’s 2024 National Institute on White Collar Crime conference in San Francisco earlier this month (2024 ABA...more
3/19/2024
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Bribery ,
Cooperation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
FEPA ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Official ,
Fraud ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
Employers should check their confidentiality and severance agreements for a common oversight that, for some, is becoming a costly error.
Recent enforcement activity by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Rule...more
1/23/2024
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Manuals ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
IRS ,
Non-Disparagement Provisions ,
Rule 21F-17 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Severance Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The newly announced whistleblower policy gives certain individuals who promptly and completely cooperate with prosecutors the opportunity to receive a non-prosecution agreement in exchange for their information....more
The settlements announced by the SEC and CFTC on Monday are a continuation of the regulators’ focus on off-channel communications by employees of registered entities....more
8/11/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Retention ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mobile Apps ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement ,
Swap Dealers
Join BakerHostetler for our series of Fireside Chats about the latest developments impacting the capital markets and their participants, and the blockchain industry....more
7/12/2023
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Markets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Popular ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Webinars
On March 29, Gensler testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee during a hearing on the SEC’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Justification Annual Performance...more
In Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC and SEC v. Cochran, the respondents in administrative agency enforcement actions brought suit in federal district court, challenging the constitutionality of each respective agency’s attempt to...more
On Wednesday, March 1 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its first-ever prosecution of an individual for insider trading based on an executive’s use of 10b5-1 trading plans. Terren Peizer, the executive chairman of...more
3/8/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Amended Regulation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form 8-K ,
Indictments ,
Insider Information ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
Monaco’s and Polite’s remarks, and the DOJ’s new policies and guidance, come amid the Department’s increasingly tough on corporate crime approach and emphasis on rewarding companies that have effective compliance programs...more
3/7/2023
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Compensation ,
Monaco Memo ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (CorpFin) recently issued guidance (Guidance), including a “Dear Issuer” Sample Letter (Sample Letter) to assist companies in meeting their...more
In prepared remarks delivered at New York University School of Law on Sept. 15, Deputy AG Monaco announced significant updates to the DOJ’s corporate criminal enforcement policies.
Deputy AG Monaco’s announcement...more
9/21/2022
/ Compliance ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Monitoring ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Personal Liability ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
White Collar Crimes
On July 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) made headlines announcing insider trading charges against 10 individuals across four separate cases, signaling an increased and renewed focus on...more
Many companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”), whether as a public company, an investment adviser, or a broker-dealer, will undergo an inquiry or a formal investigation by the...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is considering greatly limiting the affirmative defense that protects corporate executives against SEC prosecutions for insider trading claims when they buy or sell their...more
On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Gary Gensler as the 33rd Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”). This change will bring forth a Democratic majority at the...more
4/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fraud ,
FSOC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On Oct. 8 and 9, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) presented its annual program, The SEC Speaks in 2020. The Commission touted its virtual enforcement results, particularly in Chairman...more
On August 14, 2020, the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) issued its first Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) advisory opinion in almost six years....more
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused extreme market turmoil. While it appears that the initial shock is subsiding, there is the possibility that market volatility will continue if there is another surge in COVID-19 cases and as...more
On the eve of the July 4th holiday, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) quietly published the second edition of the...more
On June 22, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Liu v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which found that disgorgement awards that do not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits (gross profits...more
7/2/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)