The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released its first-ever department-wide corporate enforcement policy for all criminal matters, aimed at “promoting uniformity, predictability, and fairness in how it pursues...more
At the Texas A&M School of Law Corporate Law Symposium on February 17, 2026, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul S. Atkins addressed the ballooning size and complexity of corporate risk factor disclosures...more
In 2025 there was a significant shift in federal regulatory and enforcement priorities impacting issuers’ financial reporting, shareholder engagement, and corporate governance around ESG, AI, DEI, and crypto, among other...more
2/6/2026
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Government Shutdown ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal in the case of Ongkaruck Sripetch v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted a brief agreeing a grant of...more
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins recently previewed updates meant to “improve on and refine” the SEC’s Wells process. In his Keynote Address at the 25th Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Lecture on...more
With last year’s change in administration, the appointment of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the “Agency” or “Commission”) Chairman Paul Atkins, and Judge Ryan being named as enforcement director, there is much...more
Last week, on October 21, 2024, the SEC’s Division of Examinations released its Examination Priorities report for fiscal year 2025 (found here). As we have seen with past annual reports, the Division intends to cover a broad...more
On December 5, 2022, the SEC filed a settled action against investment advisory firm Two Point Capital Management Inc. (the Firm) and its chief executive officer, who also served as the Firm’s chief compliance officer until...more
On June 30, 2022, the SEC filed a settled action against Hamilton Investment Counsel, LLC (the “Firm”) and its chief compliance officer (“HIC CCO”). Notably, the SEC charged the HIC CCO with willfully aiding and abetting the...more
On Wednesday, in a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Jarkesy v. SEC that proceedings before an SEC administrative law judge were unconstitutional. Notably, the...more
On December 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which provides a safe harbor and affirmative defense from insider trading for...more
During last week’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the questioning of SEC Chair Gary Gensler focused on the expected topics of cryptocurrency regulation, ESG disclosures, and...more
On August 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a litigated enforcement action in federal court in San Francisco, California alleging insider trading against Matthew Panuwat. Of note, the SEC action...more
On June 15, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settled charges against real estate settlement services company First American Financial Corporation for disclosure controls and procedures violations...more
This week, SEC Chair Gary Gensler identified Rule 10b5-1 stock trading plans and equity trading rules as fresh areas of regulatory focus for the SEC. Gensler mentioned these areas during prepared remarks at the CFO Network...more
On March 31, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant issued separate public statements concerning Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”). In these recent statements, the SEC is...more
On March 15, the SEC announced a 90 day consultation period on mandatory climate change disclosure. Acting Chair Lee cited to the December 2020 work of the ESG Sub-Committee of the Asset Management Advisory Committee which in...more
Three recent developments in relation to ESG related disclosures are of note: (1) on March 10th, the US Department of Labor announced it would not enforce its own rules related to ESG investing, (2) on the same day the EU’s...more
3/16/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Investment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SFDR
On February 26, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert signaling an exam focus this year on activities of investment advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and transfer agents related to Digital Asset...more
3/5/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Offerings ,
Registration Requirement ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchanges ,
Transfer Agents
On February 24, 2021, Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Allison Herren Lee released a public statement directing the Division of Corporation Finance to enhance its focus on climate-related risk...more
Beginning January 1, 2021, registered management companies and certain registered unit investment trusts that have complied with the required transition period disclosures are now able to use electronic delivery to transmit...more
On January 1, 2021, the U.S. Congress voted to override a presidential veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)1, the annual military spending bill. Tucked away in the 1,400-page legislation are provisions...more
On January 6, 2021, the Division of Examinations (“Division”) issued a Risk Alert to notify investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other market participants of a recent action relating to investments in securities...more
1/11/2021
/ American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
China ,
Divestment ,
Executive Orders ,
Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) ,
Index Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Alert
On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had finalized reforms under the Investment Advisers Act to modernize rules that govern investment adviser advertisements and payments to solicitors....more
On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose an amendment to Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933 to revise the holding period determination for securities acquired upon the conversion or...more