The Legal Tightrope: Surviving Parallel Investigations
Navigating Government Contracts: Diana Shaw on Oversight and Whistleblower Protections
From Court to Code: Smart Contracts and Arbitration
Episode 335 -- The New DOJ Whistleblower Program
Navigating Emerging Privacy Issues in Financial Services — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Implications of the SEC Cybersecurity Disclosure Rule
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: SEC Suffers Dismissal of Claims in Solarwinds Securities Fraud Case
Episode 334 -- District Court Dismisses Bulk of SEC Claims Against Solarwinds
The Woody Report: The Solar Winds Dismissal
In That Case: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy
Corruption, Crime and Compliance: Deep Dive into The SEC’s Settlement with R&R Donnelly on Cybersecurity Controls
Episode 332 -- Deep Dive into SEC’s Internal Controls and Cybersecurity Settlement with R&R Donnelly
The Justice Insiders Podcast: Jarkesy’s Implications for the Administrative State
DE Under 3: OFCCP Must Shut Down its Administrative Court Prosecutions as a Result of SCOTUS’ SEC Jury Trial Case Decision
Dogecoin’s Day in Court
Unpacking the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act: Implications for the Digital Asset Industry — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?
Navigating the Regulatory Waters: The SEC's Wells Notice to Uniswap and its Impact on DeFi — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Will Resiliency Carry the Digital Asset Sector Through 2024: Federal Legislative Developments and OFAC Consent Orders — The Crypto Exchange Podcast
Compliance into the Weeds: The WACKO Enforcement Action Involving BF Borgers
Earlier this year, the SEC, NASAA, and FINRA issued an Investor Alert cautioning investors about the rise of investment fraud involving artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. The overarching concern:...more
On March 18, 2024, the SEC announced—in videos posted on YouTube and Twitter—regulatory actions against two investment advisers for “AI washing,” a practice defined by the SEC as “making false artificial intelligence-related...more
Like an accordionist, real estate sponsors often seek to be innovative. Cutting-edge opportunities like crowdfunding and online selling platforms call to them. However, based on statistics from the Securities and Exchange...more
Firms will be able to treat private residences from which certain supervisory activity is conducted as non-branch offices instead of OSJs. The adoption comes after nearly two years of FINRA efforts to align its supervisory...more
A September report of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) on broker-dealer compliance with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) finds...more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) recently released a report prepared by its Broker-Dealer Section Committee (Committee) presenting the findings of Phase II (B) of its National Examination...more
July 25, 2023- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler gave remarks at a roundtable co-hosted by the SEC, North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and the Wisconsin Department of...more
The bane of every start-up company is the never-ending quest to raise capital for its operations. Newly (and not so new) formed companies seemingly would do anything to raise funds. Over the course of many decades, these...more
Firms would be able to treat private residences as non-branch offices instead of OSJs under certain circumstances. FINRA hopes to align its supervisory rules with current work-from-home practices....more
On March 29, 2023, a new exemption from SEC registration for brokers providing services in mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) transactions officially went into effect. The exemption, outlined in Section 501 of the Consolidated...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on March 2, 2023, which will be open to the public via webcast. In the morning session, the Committee will discuss potential regulatory...more
Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) requires registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) of securities brokers, which is defined as “any person engaged in the...more
Brokers who specialize in the sale or purchase of private companies (“M&A Brokers”) have long been an uncomfortable fit under the rules applying to securities broker-dealers. M&A Brokers typically provide advisory services to...more
Capital raising involves significant legal risks and complex securities law issues. All sorts of ownership interests sold in exchange for investments and payment rights constitute “securities” and their sale is subject to...more
Last week, the North American Securities Administrators Association sent a letter to U.S. Senate and House committee leaders expressing concern that the appropriations process will "may be used to advance provisions in the...more
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), a non-governmental organization that recommends securities regulations for state adoption, has published proposed rules that would limit the ability of...more
As expected, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced last week that it voted to adopt a “Statement of Policy Regarding the Use of Franchise Questionnaires and Acknowledgements” (NASAA...more
Earlier this year, on February 14, 2022, the SEC issued to BlockFi Lending LLC (“BlockFi”), a crypto lending platform, a cease-and-desist order (the “Order”). See BlockFi Lending LLC. The Order prohibits BlockFi from engaging...more
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, d/b/a Mark Twain, was the author of many outstanding (and often humorous) books and short stories that had good guys (e.g., Huck, Jim and Tom), bad guys (e.g., Pap Finn; the Duke and the Dauphin, who...more
Many years ago, a lovely older couple (I’ll call them Chris and Jamie) came to my office seeking advice about a failed real estate investment. Hoping to improve on the low interest rate offered by their bank, they had...more
The SEC recently solicited comments regarding broker-dealer and investment adviser “digital engagement practices” (DEPs), features commonly referred to as the “gamification” of trading. The request follows the GameStop...more
I never find it boring to review the investment adviser exemptions for private fund managers. Apparently, I am not the only one since this is a question we frequently field. Initially, private fund manager investment...more
In December 2020, the New York State Attorney General altered its filing rules to align with those required by the SEC’s requirements for a Regulation D Rule 506 offering. Now, for a Rule 506 offering in New York, the...more
On Dec. 1, 2020, the New York Department of Law modernized its dealer rules to more closely align with federal requirements for a Regulation D Rule 506 offering. Under the amended rules, an issuer conducting a Rule 506...more