On March 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed three rule changes that demonstrate its continued focus on cybersecurity. One of these proposals, and the only one to be unanimously approved (the...more
The year 2022 saw a groundswell of interest in privacy rights and related legislation. Five states enacted new laws or regulations aimed at protecting a general right to privacy, while the U.S. government came closer than...more
1/24/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinCEN ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Russia ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Since Kramer Levin issued its Corporate Governance: 2022 Midyear Review, a wave of enforcement actions by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has underscored the continued importance...more
On Dec. 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that AT&T has agreed to a $6.25 million penalty, resolving charges brought against it under the securities rule known as Regulation Fair Disclosure (Regulation...more
On Nov. 22, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged an investment adviser subsidiary of a major U.S. financial institution with violations of Section 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers...more
Efforts to increase diversity at the top of public companies remain at the forefront of corporate consciousness and governance. As we have previously reported , stakeholder interest in diversified leadership has led to a...more
On June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, 597 U.S. ___ (2022), that the Clean Air Act did not clearly authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create the...more
7/12/2022
/ Air Pollution ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
West Virginia v EPA
The first half of 2022 illuminated important trends in the corporate governance space. In recent months, there were notable developments in the enforcement of economic sanctions and export control measures, and the oversight...more
7/5/2022
/ California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Equal Protection ,
Export Controls ,
Popular ,
Proxy Season ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Constitutions ,
White Collar Crimes
On April 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A., alleging that the company made false and misleading statements to investors about the company’s...more
On April 1, 2022, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, granted a summary judgment motion that effectively struck down AB 979, a California statute requiring the boards of public corporations based in the...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued for comment proposed rules requiring companies to include climate-related disclosures in their registration statements and periodic reports filed under...more
On March 9, the SEC, by a 3-1 vote, proposed new rules in its most far-reaching effort to enhance and standardize disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting by public...more
As noted in previous client alerts (including here), boardroom diversity continues to be an increasing focus of stakeholders ranging from legislators to institutional investors to retail stockholders. In recent years, their...more
On Dec. 15, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) proposed Rule 240.9j-1 (the Rule), intended “to prevent fraud, manipulation, and deception in connection with effecting transactions in, or...more
This client alert provides an overview of recent key updates on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters from the leading proxy advisory firms and major institutional investors. We also address updated guidance by...more
1/28/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Glass Lewis ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
2021 was a busy year for corporate governance matters, with new legislation passed early in the year and new enforcement priorities emerging under the Biden administration. Kramer Levin lawyers published numerous articles...more
1/6/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Caremark claim ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Over the course of the year — and even dating back to his time on the campaign trail — President Biden and senior officials in his administration, including Department of Justice (DOJ) and Security and Exchange Commission...more
12/21/2021
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Biden Administration ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corruption ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
On Nov. 23, the New York Court of Appeals held in a 6-1 ruling that an investment firm’s $140 million disgorgement payment to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was not a “penalt[y] imposed by law” under the firm’s...more
In a recent speech at the Practising Law Institute’s annual SEC Speaks conference, Gurbir Grewal, the new director of the Division of Enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission), signaled...more
On Sept. 27, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the most recent legal challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) practice of using “no-deny” consent agreements to resolve civil...more
On Sept. 14, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) entered a cease-and-desist order against App Annie Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO, Bertrand Schmitt, after agreeing to settle securities fraud claims....more
Demonstrating its continued focus on cybersecurity enforcement, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced three new actions on Aug. 30 charging eight firms with maintaining deficient cybersecurity policies and...more
As we have discussed in prior alerts, expanding boardroom diversity has been a recent focus for many regulators, issuers, shareholders and other stakeholders. To this end, in December 2020, Nasdaq Inc. proposed new rules that...more
On July 21, in S.E.C. v. Collector’s Coffee, Inc. et al.,[1] a New York federal court held that a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) whistleblower protection rule prohibiting actions to impede the...more
On June 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a $490,000 settlement with the real estate services provider First American Financial Corporation (First American) for violations of disclosure controls and...more