FINRA’s Dispute Resolution Task Force issued its Final Report in mid-December. The Report reflects the group’s consideration of wide-ranging issues affecting the nation’s principle dispute-resolution forum for broker-dealers,...more
On December 16, FINRA submitted for SEC approval proposed Rule 2273 to require that brokers send customers an “educational disclosure” when changing firms. Although the proposal deletes a controversial provision that would...more
On December 16, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) filed with the SEC a proposed rule that would extend to municipal advisers the MSRB’s existing rule prohibiting “pay-to-play” practices and restricting...more
Last week FINRA proposed for SEC adoption a “pay-to-play” rule for broker-dealers engaged in distribution or solicitation activities with government entities. The Proposed Rule is modeled after investment-adviser pay-to-play...more
The Supreme Court Monday re-affirmed the enforceability of class-waivers in arbitration agreements. The five-justice majority felt the need to rebuke the California courts for trying to end-run Federal preemption through a...more
The Tennessee Supreme Court released a December 14 decision reviewing personal jurisdiction over non-resident defendants. First Community Bank, NA v. First Tennessee Bank, NA, No. 2012-01422-SC-R110CV (Tenn. Dec. 14, 2015)....more
Last week, VW blamed its “culture” for allowing “individual misconduct” that lead to the emissions-testing-evasion scandal engulfing the company. It reminded me of a couple of corporate-compliance mantras and of DOJ’s recent...more
The SEC granted two petitions for review last week that tee-up significant issues for full Commission consideration late next Spring. The Commission will consider the application of the Second Circuit’s Newman decision...more
Five years after the SEC brought charges that cost two fund executives their jobs, the U.S. First Circuit overturned the sanctions, chiding the SEC for misreading critical evidence, lacking substantial evidence for its...more
There’s a developing circuit split over whistleblower standing for retaliation claims. A decision this week extended that split to U.S. district courts within Tennessee, too. In Verble v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC, No....more
Speaking to a November 16 Money Laundering conference jointly sponsored by the American Banking and Bar Associations, Deputy AG Sally Yates unveiled revisions to the Department of Justice’s U.S. Attorneys’ Manual (“USAM”)....more
The Tennessee Securities Division, Department of Commerce and Insurance (Julie Mix McPeak, Comm’r) recently confirmed its launch of a comprehensive three-year cycle examination program covering all Tennessee-based...more
Atlanta federal Judge Leigh Martin May enjoined the SEC from proceeding in yet another administrative enforcement action Tuesday. Ironridge Global IV, Ltd. v. SEC, No. 1:15-CV-2512 (USDC NDGA Nov. 17, 2015)....more
Last Thursday, November 12, the MSRB published its Compliance Advisory for Municipal Advisors (“MA’s”). The new MA regulatory regime was imposed by Dodd-Frank and implemented by the MSRB and SEC over the past several years....more
The SEC recently approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (“MSRB”) extension to Municipal Advisors (“MA’s”) of its dealer Rule G-20, restricting gifts in connection with municipal securities. The Rule also updates...more
On November 9, the MSRB filed yet another amendment to its proposed Municipal Advisor conduct Rule G-42. The amendment adds Supplemental Material -.14 and -.15, creating a narrow exception to the principal-transaction ban for...more
FINRA Reg. Notice 15-37 (Oct. 2015) requests prompt comment (by November 30) on proposed Rules aimed at detecting and minimizing financial exploitation of seniors and other “vulnerable” adults....more
SEC Commissioners Piwowar and Gallagher dissented from a recent Commission Opinion sanctioning an investment adviser’s use of misleading historical data purporting to validate an asset-allocation model. Agreeing there was a...more
Laurie Bebo, CEO of Assisted Living Concepts, initially got some sympathetic words from the U.S. District Judge who felt constrained to turn away her constitutional challenge to the SEC’s administrative forum:
The Court...more
10/12/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appointments Clause ,
Bebo v SEC ,
Disclosure ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fraud ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Seventh Amendment
The battle over the constitutionality of the SEC’s administrative forum now moves to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit. The appellate court issued an order Wednesday, denying the SEC’s bid to upset the trial court’s preliminary...more
The citadel of the SEC’s administrative forum has been under assault from several vectors over the past year or so, as a chorus of dissenting Respondents have mounted increasing challenges to its constitutional legitimacy, as...more
10/5/2015
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Article II ,
Bebo v SEC ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Due Process ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Delegation Doctrine ,
Rules of Practice ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transparency ,
White Collar Crimes
The SEC recently – and predictably – rejected a Respondents’ arguments challenging the constitutionality of the agency’s administrative forum. The September 17 Timbervest decision was the first of the constitutional...more
On September 30, the SEC issued its second round of mass settled actions over municipal securities disclosure issues, as part of its Municipal Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (“MCDC”) Initiative. In this round, 22 municipal...more
The SEC has announced a series of proposed changes to the Rules of Practice governing its internal enforcement actions. The changes update the decade-old Rules and respond in small part to a groundswell of criticism about the...more
Tennessee has joined other states in formally approving lawyers’ cloud-storage of client-confidential data. The Board of Professional Responsibility (“BOPR”) held that lawyers ethically may use cloud storage for...more
9/25/2015
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Client Data ,
Client Services ,
Cloud Computing ,
Compliance ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Loss Prevention ,
Data Security ,
Due Diligence ,
Ethics ,
Financial Institutions ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Law Practice Management ,
OCIE ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider