The SEC’s Enforcement Division last week announced the first major update to its Enforcement Manual in nearly a decade. ...more
Consistent with patterns from past administrations, we expect U.S. securities enforcement to accelerate modestly in 2026. The SEC and FINRA will likely focus increasingly on cases about foreign actors, artificial intelligence...more
1/28/2026
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
On November 17, 2025, the Division of Examinations (the “Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published its annual 2026 Examination Priorities (the “Exam Priorities”). The Exam Priorities are...more
12/9/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agencies ,
ETFs ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Market Participants ,
Mutual Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Regulatory Organizations
“Back to basics” is a popular refrain in describing SEC Enforcement during the second Trump Administration. In part, that implies the Commission has dropped cases against crypto firms, turned away from big-fine cases about...more
11/19/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Negligence ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
While the federal financial regulators largely remain furloughed due to the federal government shutdown, the release of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) 2025 Enforcement Report last week...more
10/23/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Fraud ,
Government Shutdown ,
Investment Management ,
NASAA ,
Regulatory Oversight
The SEC’s longstanding practice of requiring settling parties not to deny the charges against them, denounced as the “gag rule” by critics, recently withstood another legal challenge. ...more
8/28/2025
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Gag Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
Unconstitutional Condition
On February 7, 2025, the Second Circuit ruled that the crime-fraud exception would prevent the former CEO of a public company from invoking attorney-client privilege to prevent an outside lawyer and his law firm from...more
2/12/2025
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Crime-Fraud Exception ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Internal Controls ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Subpoenas ,
White Collar Crimes
Last month, the SEC settled charges against Celsius Holdings, Inc. for allegedly improper accounting when it modified equity compensation awards for six departing employees and retiring directors. The errors caused allegedly...more
2/5/2025
/ Accounting Controls ,
Accounting Standards ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Statements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Vesting
U.S. federal law gives the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) flexibility when seeking sanctions, including remedies that are tailored to specific cases. ...more
Many of the actions by the SEC over the past few years came following closely divided 3-to-2 votes. The split arose concerning both rulemaking by the Commission as well as enforcement actions....more
On January 10, 2025, the SEC announced settled charges against Vince McMahon, former Executive Chair and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., for signing two settlement agreements without disclosure to the board, anyone...more
1/14/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Reporting ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement Agreements
On December 20, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued a press release highlighting settled enforcement actions against a private fund adviser and two pre-IPO companies for failure to timely file...more
1/3/2025
/ Blue Sky Laws ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form ADV ,
Form D Filing ,
Preemption ,
Private Funds ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Startups ,
Unregistered Securities
On December 16, 2024, the SEC announced settled charges against Becton, Dickinson and Company for misleading investors about risks associated with its continued sales of one of its key products and overstating its income by...more
On December 17, 2024, the SEC announced settled charges against Express, Inc. for failing to disclose perks paid to its then CEO, including personal use of airplanes.
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings,...more
12/19/2024
/ Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Compensation ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Neither Admit Nor Deny Settlements ,
Perks ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations
How will President-elect Trump’s reelection impact the SEC’s enforcement priorities? We looked for clues from the first Trump Administration’s Enforcement program, and also from the agency’s current Republican Commissioners....more
12/3/2024
/ Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Insider Trading ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Trump Administration