After nearly two years of public comments and deliberation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a Final Rule on Mandatory Climate Disclosures (Final Rule). While less sweeping than initially proposed,...more
3/19/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The 28th United Nations (U.N.) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) wrapped up in Dubai in mid-December 2023. This Article summarizes key takeaways and describes the potential implications for businesses and...more
1/19/2024
/ Business Entities ,
Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Green Technology ,
Investors ,
Natural Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
United Nations ,
World Bank
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two climate disclosure bills into law on October 7, 2023. They will impose significant reporting obligations on thousands of companies doing business in California. SB 253, the Climate...more
10/19/2023
/ California ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Governor Newsom ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced significant new guidance on March 3, 2023, regarding the use of personal devices and the retention of corporate communications. The DOJ’s concern regarding the use of personal...more
3/17/2023
/ Corporate Communications ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investigations ,
Mobile Apps ,
Mobile Devices ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Third-Party ,
White Collar Crimes
The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2020. While much was discussed, there are four takeaways that may be of greatest interest to business...more
12/23/2022
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Carbon Off-Set Credits ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Summit ,
Global Market ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investment ,
Net Zero ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on March 21, 2022, proposed detailed and wide-ranging requirements for publicly traded companies to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate risks in their...more
3/31/2022
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), wrapped up earlier this month in Glasgow, Scotland, after two weeks of negotiations. While attention was focused on national pledges to reduce...more
11/23/2021
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Disclosure ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Net Zero ,
Paris Agreement ,
State and Local Government ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
United Nations
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler outlined a vigorous enforcement approach in his keynote remarks at the annual Securities Enforcement Forum. In a clear reference to cryptocurrencies and tokens,...more
11/9/2021
/ Capital Markets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Regulatory Mandates ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales
On October 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is stepping further into the cryptocurrency fray by creating the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET)....more
10/11/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Heightened Scrutiny ,
Investigations ,
Money Laundering ,
Popular ,
RICO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
It is no surprise that more and more companies are issuing sustainability reports and broadly disclosing the effects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. A wide range of stakeholders are demanding this...more
7/14/2021
/ Business Strategies ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Investors ,
Materiality ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
Over the course of the last week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has reportedly begun quietly questioning borrowers who had received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans about the “necessity” of their loans. On...more
11/5/2020
/ Applications ,
Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Certifications ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Register ,
For-Profit Corporations ,
Lenders ,
OMB ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Questionnaires ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Supporting Documentation
Borrowers that, together with their affiliates, received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in an aggregate amount less than $2 million will be deemed to have made their certification that the loan was “necessary” in...more
Taxpayers should take prompt action to assess their situation, yet move carefully before making representations or filings to the IRS.
Over the past month, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has sent letters to over ten...more
8/21/2019
/ Amended Tax Returns ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Failure to Report ,
Financial Transactions ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Audits ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Returns ,
Virtual Currency ,
Warning Letters
The wave of federal charges against some fifty individuals for college admissions fraud and testing bribery schemes caught numerous universities and much of the United States by surprise. This growing scandal has already...more
3/20/2019
/ Bribery ,
College Admissions ,
Colleges ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Universities ,
White Collar Crimes
The Ethereum Classic blockchain was the victim of a 51% attack (often called a majority or Sybil attack) on January 5, 2019 that reorganized portions of the blockchain and allowed the attackers to double-spend 219,500 ETC...more
2/22/2019
/ ASIC ,
Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Ethereum ,
Popular ,
Private Right of Action ,
Virtual Currency