As new areas of the law emerge, driven in part by technology and the free flow of information, federal agencies are becoming more aggressive with a tried and true carrot-and-stick approach to law and regulatory enforcement. ...more
7/15/2024
/ Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Incentives ,
Pilot Programs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Violations ,
Voluntary Disclosure ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit filed against the manager and trustees of a Massachusetts business trust and SEC-registered investment company. In doing so,...more
On October 8 and 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) held its annual “SEC Speaks” program in partnership with the Practicing Law Institute, this year in a virtual format and after a several-month...more
AGENDA -
- SEC Enforcement and Exams in 2019
- Risk Alerts and Other Hot Button Issues
- Enforcement Priorities and Selected Actions Pertaining to Investment Management
- A Review of Recent SEC Statements and...more
In a strong opinion, a federal court in the Southern District of New York recently dismissed a suit alleging that the defendant charged “excessive” fees to a mutual fund....more
Consistent with recent trends, 2018 saw significant activity in False Claims Act (“FCA”) litigation. While the government has made efforts to formalize its approach to FCA dismissals, the lower courts have continued to...more
On Thursday, November 30, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) took action to settle an issue that had been impacting its enforcement efforts for some time: whether its administrative law...more
On Wednesday, May 24, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, sitting en banc, heard arguments in Raymond J. Lucia Cos. v. SEC, a case in which it is tasked with deciding whether the...more
In the final days of 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denounced the constitutional authority of the five administrative law judges (“ALJs”) who preside over contested administrative proceedings brought by...more
Since 2002, as part of their anti-money laundering (“AML”) responsibilities, broker/dealers have had a gatekeeper-like obligation to monitor customers for “suspicious” activities and to report those activities to the Treasury...more
Under Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) authorization, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) is “responsible for regulating (1) all securities firms that do business with the public[,]” (2) key stock...more
4/25/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Culture ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Examination Priorities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinCEN ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Recently, attorneys from K&L Gates’ Government Enforcement practice group attended the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (“SIFMA”) Compliance and Legal Society Annual Seminar. We wanted to share with you...more
3/31/2016
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
CMBS ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Halliburton v Erica P. John Fund ,
Individual Accountability ,
Public Offerings ,
Retirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements ,
Self-Reporting ,
SIFMA ,
Toys R Us
Senior members of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC” or “Commission”) Division of Enforcement (“Division”) addressed the defense bar on February 19, 2016, during the Practising Law Institute’s annual “SEC Speaks”...more
3/4/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dark Pool ,
Financial Markets ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoofing ,
US v Newman ,
Whistleblowers
One of the factors that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) considers in deciding whether to bring charges against a corporation is the existence and effectiveness of the corporation’s pre-existing compliance program. On...more
11/5/2015
/ Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Government Investigations ,
White Collar Crimes
On April 29, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new Cybersecurity Unit within the Criminal Division issued a summary of “Best Practices for Victim Response and Reporting of Cyber Incidents” (“Best Practices”). While created...more
Recently, partners from K&L Gates’ Government Enforcement, Broker-Dealer and Investment Management practice groups attended the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (“SIFMA”) Compliance and Legal Society...more