Episode 286 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Ripple Decision and Celsius CEO Indictment
Blue Sky Laws: Defending State-Level Securities Violations
The Justice Insiders: The Administrative State is Not Your Friend - A Conversation with Professor Richard Epstein
Four Decision Points in SEC Securities Investigations
Crypto Enforcement Is Here, and Always Has Been
Cryptocurrency: The Regulator’s Perspective
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
SEC rules prohibit taking “any action” to impede an individual from communicating directly with the SEC about a possible securities law violation, including by enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to investigate companies for including language in their employment and separation agreements or retail client settlement agreements that potentially discourages...more
In a blog post this morning, Liz Dunshee notes that the Securities and Exchange Commission has recently announced the settlement seven more cases involving Rule 21F-17(a), which provides...more
As new areas of the law emerge, driven in part by technology and the free flow of information, federal agencies are becoming more aggressive with a tried and true carrot-and-stick approach to law and regulatory enforcement. ...more
On January 31, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Whistleblower posted six new Notices of Covered Actions (NoCAs). These NoCAs signal that the SEC is now accepting whistleblower award claims for...more
The Supreme Court resolved a circuit split on February 8, 2024, when it issued its opinion in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, holding that a whistleblower need not prove that the employer acted with “retaliatory intent” in...more
In Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, the case arose after Trevor Murray, a research strategist for UBS, was fired shortly after reporting to his direct supervisor that he had been "improperly pressured" to "skew" business...more
Executive Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that a whistleblower under the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is not required to prove the employer acted with retaliatory intent to prevail on a whistleblower claim....more
On January 16, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a record $18 million sanction against JP Morgan for Rule 21F-17(a) violations, sending the strongest message yet that the SEC is cracking down on...more
Despite a 50% increase in whistleblower tips over fiscal year (FY) 2022, the number of whistleblowers who received awards from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decreased significantly in FY 2023. This trend...more
2023 was another groundbreaking year for whistleblower litigation and bounty awards. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shattered records by issuing a $279 million award and continued to actively enforce the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2023, which reported a total of 784 enforcement actions, up 3% from FY22. This includes 501 original (stand-alone)...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently settled charges alleging that a company’s employee separation agreements restricted former employees from receiving monetary awards for reporting securities law...more
On October 25, Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealed that in the 2023 Fiscal Year the SEC Whistleblower Program the SEC Whistleblower Program received 18,000 whistleblower tips, a...more
There should be a short answer to the question of which whistleblower program applies in which situation. And sometimes there is; but not always. Securities (like stocks) are regulated by the SEC (Securities and Exchange...more
Public companies should be mindful not to interfere with or retaliate against whistleblowers, and stretching is best reserved for the yoga mat, not the numbers in a company's public disclosures. So says the U.S. Securities...more
On May 5, the SEC announced the Commission’s largest-ever award—nearly $279 million—awarded to a whistleblower for providing information and assistance leading to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions. The SEC...more
On March 31, the SEC announced awards totaling more than $12 million to two whistleblowers whose information and assistance led to a successful SEC enforcement action. According to the redacted order, the first whistleblower...more
On August 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly adopted two significant changes to the rules governing its whistleblower program, as proposed in February 2022. These reverse amendments to the same rules...more
The SEC has a long list of priorities and a full agenda. One issue on its list was to address changes needed to the SEC’s whistleblower program. ...more
On July 19, 2022, the SEC announced an award of more than $17 million award to a whistleblower who provided critical information and assistance to the SEC in a covered action and related action. (The order granting the award...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering changes to its billion-dollar whistleblower program with two amendments. First, a tweak to Rule 21F-3 would give the agency the discretion to pay whistleblower...more
On February 10, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced two proposed amendments to its whistleblower program rules. As we previously reported, a closely divided SEC adopted a final rule implementing...more
The proposed amendments to the rules governing the whistleblower program, if adopted, would reverse prior amendments and provide further and significant financial incentives for whistleblowers to report potential violations...more
On November 15, 2021, the SEC published its annual report to Congress covering the period from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The report was prepared by the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower to summarize its...more