The Justice Insiders Podcast: Meet the Securities and Exchange (and Human Resources) Commission

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Host Gregg N. Sofer is joined by Husch Blackwell senior associate Rebecca Furdek to discuss the recently concluded Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action concerning McDonald’s and its former CEO Stephen Easterbrook. In November 2019 McDonald’s fired Easterbrook “without cause,” entitling Easterbrook to a large package of compensation. Later, after a second internal investigation uncovered additional indiscretions and falsehoods, McDonald’s sued Easterbrook to claw back $100 million-plus in See more +
Host Gregg N. Sofer is joined by Husch Blackwell senior associate Rebecca Furdek to discuss the recently concluded Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action concerning McDonald’s and its former CEO Stephen Easterbrook. In November 2019 McDonald’s fired Easterbrook “without cause,” entitling Easterbrook to a large package of compensation. Later, after a second internal investigation uncovered additional indiscretions and falsehoods, McDonald’s sued Easterbrook to claw back $100 million-plus in compensation.

Enter the SEC: it commenced its own investigation, culminating in an order finding that Easterbrook violated the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that McDonald’s violated Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act and Exchange Act Rule 14a-3 because it “failed to disclose that the company exercised discretion in treating Easterbrook’s termination as without cause in conjunction with the execution of a separation agreement valued at more than $40 million.”

The order breaks new ground for the SEC in its claims that McDonald’s use of discretion regarding Easterbrook’s termination was a “material element of CEO compensation,” as Mark Cave, Associate Director of the Division of Enforcement later termed it. Gregg and Rebecca discuss the implications of the SEC order, as well as the substance of the strident dissent entered by two of the Commission’s commissioners.

Gregg N. Sofer Biography

Gregg counsels businesses and individuals in connection with a range of criminal, civil and regulatory matters, including government investigations, internal investigations, litigation, export control, sanctions, trade secrets and regulatory compliance. Prior to entering private practice, Gregg served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas—one of the largest and busiest United States Attorney’s Offices in the country—where he supervised more than 300 employees handling a diverse caseload, including matters involving complex white-collar crime, contract fraud, national security, cyber crimes, public corruption, money laundering, export violations, trade secrets, tax, large-scale drug and human trafficking, immigration, child exploitation and violent crime.

Rebecca Furdek Biography

A senior associate in Husch Blackwell’s Milwaukee office, Rebecca is a member of the firm’s White Collar, Internal Investigations & Compliance team and regularly helps clients navigate today’s regulatory and government enforcement landscape. Before joining Husch, Rebecca served as Counsel to the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), where she gained firsthand insight into federal agency rulemaking and administrative enforcement. Prior to her government service, Rebecca worked as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of a global law firm, focusing on litigation and government enforcement, and began her legal career as a judicial law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. During law school, she served as a law clerk with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. See less -

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