Sky Blog
On March 6, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved in a 3-2 vote final rules that require most reporting companies to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports filed with the SEC. This memorandum …
The Supreme Court is about to eviscerate the SEC’s power to efficiently pursue fraudsters.
Or so we are told.
In SEC v. Jarkesy, the Court may hold that whenever the SEC seeks to impose monetary penalties on enforcement targets for …
A fascinating legal soap opera is now underway following a trial just completed in California. The issues are new, novel, and important in one sense, but old, familiar, and important in another. The case – SEC v. Panuwat[1] — …
Regulators globally are requiring companies to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For companies in some industries, Scope 1 and 2 emissions – covering, respectively, emissions from direct fuel use and from acquired energy – will cover most relevant emissions …
Class-action litigation for fraud on the market typically focuses on purchasers and sellers of stock. Yet those that traded in options on the shares can also be harmed. In a recent paper, we draw from experience in In re Apple, …
Whether you’re here in person or participating virtually from around the country, or even overseas, I thank you for joining us.
As is customary, my remarks this morning are in my official capacity as Director of the Securities and Exchange …
Traders in the United States now routinely trade hundreds of crypto assets in secondary crypto markets, and the pool of tradable assets is growing. Through these transactions, traders have seen financial gains and losses, which at times have been substantial. …
Today, Columbia is honoring Jack Coffee, a leader of securities law scholarship and policy. I hope Columbia one day might invite me back to celebrate your career, Professor Fox. Caveat inviter, though, at the SEC, we are Merritt neutral. As …
On March 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the SEC’s climate disclosure rules, which were adopted on March 6. The rules are discussed in our earlier post here.
The 20-word …
This update provides an overview of the major developments in federal and state securities litigation since our 2023 Mid-Year Securities Litigation Update:
Data from a recent NERA Economic Consulting (“NERA”) study illustrates several trend changes. …
When it comes to recovering money for shareholders injured by corporate fraud, do the plaintiffs’ lawyers matter? Intuitively, the answer seems like it must be yes. The most talented lawyers should develop more creative legal theories and uncover more evidence …
The shareholder proposal process has gone too far. How else to interpret the proposal recently sponsored by the climate activist investors Arjuna Capital and Follow This at ExxonMobil, which called on the oil giant to reduce further its carbon footprint? …
Does the enforcement of securities law by government authorities make a difference for market outcomes? This is an important question for policymakers and scholars and our focus in a forthcoming book chapter.
The academic debate on the question began with …
Today [March 6], the Commission is considering whether to adopt final rules to mandate climate risk disclosures by public companies and in public offerings. I am pleased to support this adoption because it benefits investors and issuers alike. It would …
Plaintiffs bringing retaliation claims under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act do not have to prove their employers’ “retaliatory intent,” only that their whistleblowing activity contributed to their termination, according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a unanimous opinion …
Proponents of ESG have recently had to contend with several developments that, at first blush, appear inconvenient. Investor support for ESG-focused shareholder proposals seems to have declined year-on-year, and some investors have abandoned ESG-themed funds while others have withdrawn from …
Last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed ambitious rules relating to artificial intelligence (AI) that have drawn significant commentary and criticism. While it is unlikely that any changes in the law are imminent, other initiatives by the …