In its never-ending war on corporate fraud, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has just commissioned a private army to fight as never before. On August 1, the DOJ launched a three-year program to provide financial rewards to...more
8/6/2024
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
The United States Supreme Court struck another major blow to the Securities Exchange Commission’s enforcement arsenal, finding that its oft-used practice of imposing monetary penalties in its in-house administrative...more
7/2/2024
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
FERC ,
OSHA ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud
The Department of Justice has published — and continues to update and emphasize — a set of practical guidelines on what it views as an effective compliance program and how it makes decisions about bringing charges and...more
12/28/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Ethics ,
Executive Orders ,
Good Faith ,
Machine Learning ,
Transparency
Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a new DOJ charging and sentencing policy memorandum, replacing existing guidance to federal prosecutors in their exercise of prosecutorial discretion. The thrust of the...more
Late last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced material changes to the way it intended to investigate, prosecute, and resolve corporate cases. The changes were aggressive, leading us to title our update “DOJ’s...more
9/22/2022
/ Audits ,
Compliance Monitoring ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Individual Accountability ,
New Guidance ,
Risk Assessment ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
On May 18, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the “Fifth Circuit”) dealt a major blow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement program. In Jarkesy v. SEC, the Fifth...more
On November 3, 2020, California voters approved Proposition 24, a ballot initiative which enacted the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”). The CPRA amends the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), the most sweeping...more
12/20/2021
/ California ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Retention ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personal Information ,
Right to Delete ,
Right To Know ,
Right-To-Access ,
Sensitive Personal Information
On Monday, President Biden released the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption, which details how the United States will work “domestically and internationally, with governmental and non-governmental partners, to...more
12/9/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 1, 2023, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (VCDPA) will go into effect. With passage of the law earlier this year, Virginia joined Colorado and California as the only states to enact comprehensive privacy...more
12/8/2021
/ California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) ,
CDPA ,
Colorado ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HITECH Act ,
Personal Data ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
State Privacy Laws ,
Virginia
In its latest move to press for stronger regulation of executive compensation, on November 29, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced staff accounting guidance on share-based executive compensation awards...more
On July 1, 2023, the Colorado Privacy Act (CPA) will go into effect as the third state law generally governing consumer data privacy and was the second enacted in 2021. If you do business with consumers in Colorado,...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated our reliance on digital services and platforms, which brings new challenges and expectations for data privacy. But, to date, there has been little movement towards...more
Last week we wrote about the three-pronged attack that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will use to get more aggressive in prosecuting cases and how they punish corporate offenders. Now, the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
Last week, at a gathering of the nation’s top white collar criminal defense attorneys in Miami, Florida, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced material changes to the way the Department of Justice will investigate,...more
On the heels of the First American enforcement action and settlement, this week, the SEC announced a settlement with Pearson plc in connection with a 2018 cyber breach. The SEC disclosed that Pearson, a London-based...more
On July 9, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order titled “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” Data privacy regulations are among 72 other initiatives in the Executive Order aimed at increasing...more
7/14/2021
/ Competition ,
Complex Corporate Transactions ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
Data Privacy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Joe Biden
As cyberattacks continue to attract greater attention, the SEC has taken an additional step in its efforts to bring enforcement actions related to cyber disclosures. On June 14, the SEC announced settled charges against a...more
6/22/2021
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Internal Controls ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Security Breach
On June 3, 2021, the White House issued a memorandum announcing anti-corruption as a core national security interest. The memorandum explains that, “[c]orruption threatens United States national security, economic equity,...more
6/10/2021
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Biden Administration ,
China ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
National Security ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Since announcing the creation of its Climate and ESG Task Force on March 4, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission has continued to emphasize that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues will take center stage...more
A series of recent announcements by the SEC underscores the agency’s commitment—and allocation of resources—to its heightened focus on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues. Significantly, on March 4, 2021, the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission fired a warning shot last week to all public companies about the quality and accuracy of disclosures made regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations. On...more
In addition to the tragic human toll that it has caused, the coronavirus pandemic has also wreaked havoc on businesses throughout world, leaving countless companies and individuals unable to perform their contractual...more
On June 22, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Liu v. SEC further limiting the SEC’s remedial powers. While the Court affirmed the SEC’s ability to obtain disgorgement for violations of...more
6/25/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Many companies will naturally want a piece of the $2 trillion federal stimulus package aimed at combating the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic currently making its way through Congress. However, be careful...more
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is causing unprecedented disruptions to business operations on a global scale. As these disruptions continue, and the economic effects mount, more industries will be significantly impacted....more