Securities Litigation and Enforcement

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Trump Pauses FCPA Enforcement and Resets Priorities

On February 10, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled, “Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security” (“FCPA EO”) that directs the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 78dd-1 et seq.) (“FCPA”) for 180 days until new Attorney … Continue Reading

Millions of Reasons to be a Whistleblower Means Increased Need for Internal Reporting Incentives

Summer may be coming to an end, but whistleblower awards are far from over.  On August 23, 2024, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced payment of over $98 million total to two whistleblowers who provided the SEC with information that led to successful enforcement actions – the fifth largest since the program’s inception in 2011, … Continue Reading

Insider Dealing: Increasing Scope and Greater Focus from UK and US Enforcement – Are You up to Speed?

The UK and US enforcement agencies have been actively pursuing insider dealing (“insider trading”, in US parlance) since the COVID-19 pandemic ended. The UK and US have different securities enforcement regimes, but both have seen recent developments expanding the scope of conduct that can be prosecuted. For individuals and organizations trading across multiple jurisdictions, it … Continue Reading

SEC v. Jarkesy: Possible Implications for the SEC’s FCPA Enforcement

On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Securities Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy.  The Court held that the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, because these cases replicate common law fraud claims.  S.E.C. v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859, slip op. at … Continue Reading

Does the Seventh Amendment Limit State Administrative Adjudication?

At Global Investigations and Compliance Review, we’ve been keeping close tabs on the fallout from the Supreme Court decisions at the end of June. We mentioned in a previous post that the SEC v. Jarkesy opinion may have consequences beyond the specific situation of SEC civil penalties.  As we think about this more, there could be … Continue Reading

WEBINAR- The 2024 Revolution in Administrative Law: Chevron and Beyond

Join #TeamSPB’s Ben Glassman, Keith Bradley and Patricia Doersch for a timely webinar on the major decisions recently issued by SCOTUS.  The panel will cover each of the recent decisions (Loper Bright v. Raimondo, SEC v. Jarkesy, Ohio v. EPA, and Corner Post v. the Fed) and discuss the consequences, as well as the opportunities … Continue Reading

End of the Chevron Era: The Future of Agency Enforcement Shifts to Courts

With its second of two landmark decisions impacting the future of federal agency enforcement, SCOTUS struck down the Chevron decision last week.  In a 6-3 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Court shifted enforcement power away from agencies and to the federal courts. The implications of the Chevron decision are both significant and … Continue Reading

SCOTUS Ruling in Jarkesy Foreshadows Big Changes in Federal Enforcement

SPB’s Keith Bradley authored an article for Bloomberg Law covering a recent SCOTUS decision with significant ramifications: SEC v. Jarkesy. We believe that Jarkesy will decidedly shift the landscape of agency adjudication and regulatory enforcement. For the background and possible implications of this decision, read the full article at Supreme Court’s Jarkesy Ruling Upends SEC … Continue Reading

Who Determines Materiality of Cybersecurity Incidents in Light of Recent SEC Rule Requiring Disclosure of Cybersecurity Incidents?

In December 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) new rule requiring disclosure of material cybersecurity incidents became effective. SPB previously analyzed how the new rule applies to incidents affecting third-party vendors and what companies can do to manage reporting risks created by third-party cybersecurity incidents. In the first half of 2024, more than … Continue Reading

Managing and Reporting Third-Party Cybersecurity Incidents Under the New SEC Cyber Risk Regulations

The rules on reporting cybersecurity risks and incidents pose many challenges for companies. Those challenges can be even more difficult when the cybersecurity incident affects third-party systems. With no exceptions for third-party cybersecurity incidents under the new cybersecurity reporting regulations, companies should take proactive steps to assess and respond appropriately to third-party cybersecurity incidents. The … Continue Reading

Live Event:  Avoiding Litigation and Navigating Regulatory Challenges Amid Growing Privacy, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence Scrutiny

Join subject matter experts across policy, litigation, and regulation for an engaging discussion around privacy, cybersecurity, and AI.  This live event will be in our Washington DC office and will include perspectives from in-house leaders, a former FBI agent, an incident response forensic expert, world-class public policy experts, and our privacy and cybersecurity professionals.  The … Continue Reading

SEC Approves Changes to Its Whistleblower Program

This week, in a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) approved significant changes to the rules governing its whistleblower program.  The program, established by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2011, incentivizes those with information about possible securities law violations to report to the SEC.  If the tipster provides “high-quality original … Continue Reading

The White House Directs Federal Agencies to Focus on Fairness in Investigations and Enforcement

On May 19, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump signed Executive Order 13924, to provide regulatory relief for entities economically impacted by the pandemic.  Section 6 of the Executive Order directed agencies to revise their procedures and practices in administrative investigations and enforcement in light of certain enumerated principles of fairness.  It … Continue Reading

DOJ and SEC Release Second Edition to FCPA Resource Guide

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly released updated guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) before the Fourth of July holiday weekend.  Entitled A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Second Edition[1] (“Guide”), the Guide is the first update to the original document published … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Resolves Constitutionality of SEC’S ALJ Appointments — Now What?

Last week, the United States Supreme Court settled a circuit split regarding the constitutionality of the appointment of Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”).  In Lucia v. SEC, the Court held that the Commission’s five ALJs are “officers” subject to the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, which requires officers … Continue Reading

SCOTUS Decides: Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections Only Cover Those Who Report to the SEC

In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the United States Supreme Court ruled on February 21, 2018 that the anti-retaliation provisions of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank” or the “Act”) only cover whistleblowers who report potential violations of the securities laws to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” … Continue Reading

SEC’s 2018 Exam Priorities Reflect Continued Focus on Cybersecurity

Annually, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) publishes its examination priorities for the new year.  Recently, OCIE announced five priorities that will inform its examinations moving in to 2018. OCIE is committed to “promoting compliance, preventing fraud, identifying and monitoring risk, and informing policy.” In support of these “pillars,” … Continue Reading

The SEC’s New Year’s Resolutions: Retail Investors and Cybersecurity

2018 arrived in the wake of big changes at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“the SEC”).  Jay Clayton was sworn in as Chairman of the Commission in May, naming Steve Peikin and Stephanie Avakian as Co-Directors of the Enforcement Division (the “Division”) in June.  As many do for the start of a new year, … Continue Reading

Remediation and Cooperation Pay Off in SEC Settlement

The SEC often encourages self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation in speeches and policy statements. In a settled enforcement action announced today, the Commission made clear just how valuable those efforts can be, allowing a company to settle accounting controls and disclosure violations with no financial penalty whatsoever. According to the SEC’s announcement, from 2012 to early … Continue Reading

The SEC Changes Course on its Defense of ALJs

For the past few years, the SEC has been battling challenges to the constitutionality of its administrative proceedings. Today, in a drastic shift in position, the SEC issued an order ratifying its prior appointment of its five sitting Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) to remedy what the SEC now seemingly concedes was an unconstitutional hiring process. … Continue Reading

The SEC Announces Another Seven-Figure Whistleblower Award

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week announced a payout of more than $1 million to a whistleblower who provided information that resulted in a successful SEC enforcement action against a “registered entity” (e.g., a broker-dealer) that “impacted retail customers.” The SEC announced the award, while keeping the details of the enforcement action, the … Continue Reading

SEC ALJ Decision Shows Agency’s “Home Field Advantage” Has Its Limits

In a dense, nearly 60-page decision issued on September 27, 2017, SEC Administrative Law Judge Carol Foelak rejected all claims asserted by the SEC Enforcement Division (the “Division”) in In the Matter of Lynn Tilton, et al. The case involved a series of distressed debt funds that issued notes to institutional investors, using investor proceeds … Continue Reading
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