2026 is off to a rousing start for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with two notable developments related to the agency’s civil enforcement authority....more
1/30/2026
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Article III ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disgorgement ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Statutory Interpretation
When Paul Atkins became the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April 2025, the market expected enforcement actions against public companies to decrease....more
12/26/2025
/ Biotechnology ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Issuers ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Individual Accountability ,
Insider Trading ,
Investor Protection ,
Market Manipulation ,
Penalties ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently changed its longstanding position disfavoring the inclusion of certain mandatory arbitration provisions in corporate certificates of incorporation or bylaws. As Chair...more
On August 29, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the formation of a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to “identify and combat trade fraud that threatens [US] economic and national security interests.”...more
In a closely watched case, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently took a significant step to protect the attorney-client privilege over materials produced during internal investigations by companies. On August...more
Two leading consulting and expert firms – Cornerstone Research and NERA – recently issued their midyear reports on securities class actions. Both reports noted that the number of filings in H1 2025 remained steady, but...more
8/29/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Markets ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Settlement
On July 16, 2025, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed a scheme liability claim in an enforcement action brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a company’s former...more
On July 21, 2025, the California Supreme Court issued a significant decision clarifying that a forum selection clause in a company’s certificate of incorporation is not unenforceable simply because the selected forum (here,...more
On July 30, 2025, US Attorney General Pam Bondi released a memo to all federal agencies titled “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination.” This document clarifies how federal...more
Just months after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) designated healthcare fraud as one of its key criminal enforcement priorities, two recent announcements underscore the federal government’s continued focus on combating...more
7/31/2025
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Popular ,
Trump Administration ,
Whistleblowers
On June 9, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued new guidelines for investigations and enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), following a four-month pause of new FCPA investigations per President...more
When an executive learns that she is being investigated for fraud, her first reaction often is: “But I didn’t intend for anyone to lose money!” This entirely understandable response may well be true (and lead the executive to...more
As we discussed in this April 7 blog post, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) can pursue civil penalties for tariff evasion under the False Claims Act (FCA), including against companies that are aware of tariff evasion by...more
On February 20, 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the creation of a new enforcement unit – the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU). The SEC’s announcement made clear that the new unit...more
2/26/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Machine Learning ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 12, 2024, the US Supreme Court reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s decision in Macquarie v. Moab Partners and held that a pure omission cannot form the basis of a securities fraud claim under...more
4/22/2024
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Macquarie Infrastructure Corp v Moab Partners LP ,
Omissions ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
Cornerstone Research (a top consulting and expert testimony firm) issued its 2023 Year in Review report, examining recent trends in securities class action filings. According to the report, in 2023 there was a slight uptick...more
Plaintiffs often file securities fraud claims against pharmaceutical companies alleging that the company misled investors about clinical data, despite the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) subsequently approving the drug...more
The Department of Justice continues to make clear that one of its principal corporate enforcement priorities is encouraging companies to voluntarily self-disclose misconduct. To that end, the DOJ recently announced its...more
Key takeaways -
The US Supreme Court held that for the scienter element of the False Claims Act (FCA), what matters is the defendant’s “knowledge and subjective beliefs” – not objective reasonableness...more
On February 22, 2023, the US Department of Justice announced a new voluntary self-disclosure policy for corporate criminal enforcement in US attorney’s offices nationwide. The policy offers concrete and meaningful incentives...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
Summary -
On May 19, 2022, a panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a putative securities fraud class action accusing Nektar Therapeutics and several of its executives of...more