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Arnold & Porter Discusses DOJ’s First False Claims Act Settlement With PPP Lender

By Jonathan E. Green, Kevin M. Toomey, Tirzah S. Lollar, Christian D. Sheehan and Kara Ramsey September 28, 2022 by renholding

On September 13, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Prosperity Bank, a regional bank with branches in Texas and Oklahoma, for processing a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of an ineligible borrower.…

Latham & Watkins Discusses SEC’s Strategic Plan

By Marlon Q. Paz, Stephen P. Wink, Donald Thompson and Deric Behar September 26, 2022 by renholding

On August 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a draft Strategic Plan (the Plan) for fiscal years 2022–2026. The Plan focuses on three goals that, according to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, advance the SEC’s mission to protect …

How Common is Insider Trading? Evidence from the Options Market

By Oleg Bondarenko and Dmitriy Muravyev September 15, 2022 by renholding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought 51, 30, and 33 insider trading cases in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Whether those numbers mean that insider trading is relatively uncommon or that the cases regulators and prosecutors have pursued …

How Enforcement Affects Disclosure

By Benedikt Franke and Dirk Simons September 9, 2022 by renholding

The ability of disclosure rules to provide investors, consumers, and the public with useful information depends largely on how well the rules are enforced. Strong enforcement helps ensure the provision of information and increases companies’ desire for mandatory disclosure. In …

The War on Business

By Tom C.W. Lin September 8, 2022 by renholding

Nations and businesses often compete and clash. But the war on business has escalated in  recent years as nation-states and non-state actors target specific businesses with sanctions and recriminations and new intensity and methods. The many legal, economic, and social …

The Law and Economics of Blacklisting

By Nizan Geslevich Packin and Hadar Y. Jabotinsky September 2, 2022 by renholding

The crackdown on Tornado Cash, a crypto mixing service, continues a recent trend of regulators using blacklisting as a key enforcement tool. Tornado Cash was blacklisted by the Treasury Department for allegedly helping to launder over $7 billion in …

FTC Chair Lina Khan Speaks on Data Security Rulemaking

By Lina M. Khan August 22, 2022 by renholding

Today [August 11], the Federal Trade Commission initiated a proceeding to examine whether we should implement new rules addressing data practices that are unfair or deceptive.

The Commission brought its first internet privacy case 24 years ago against GeoCities, one

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Paul Weiss Discusses Second Circuit Ruling on Intent Element of a SOX Whistleblower Claim

By Geoffrey R. Chepiga, Andrew J. Ehrlich, Lorin L. Reisner, Audra J. Soloway and Daniel S. Sinnreich August 19, 2022 by renholding

On August 5, 2022, the Second Circuit held that individuals claiming they were terminated in retaliation for protected whistleblower activities under Sarbanes-Oxley must prove that their employer acted with retaliatory intent. Murray v. UBS Securities LLC, No. 20-4202 (2d …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses CFPB’s Focus on Tech Companies and Personal Finance Data

By Jared Fishman, Anthony Lewis, Rebecca Simmons, Stephen Meyer and Jennifer Sutton August 18, 2022 by renholding

Last week, the CFPB took three actions demonstrating the agency’s continued focus on technology companies and personal financial data protection.  First, the CFPB issued an interpretive rule explaining the CFPB’s view that many digital marketing providers may be “service providers” …

Revisiting the Audit Expectations Gap

By Wendy Heltzer and Mary Mindak July 25, 2022 by renholding

As the regulation of public company audits evolves, questions persist over whether there is still a gap between the public and auditors over expectations for the responsibilities of auditors – what we call the expectations gap. In a recent study, …

Debevoise Discusses What the ADPPA Means for U.S. Data Regulation

By Paul D. Rubin, Avi Gesser, Johanna N. Skrzypczyk, Michael R. Roberts and Alessandra G. Masciandaro July 15, 2022 by renholding

On June 21, 2022, the House Energy and Commerce Committee formally introduced a new federal privacy bill: the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (“ADPPA”). Notably, the ADPPA has diverse support from both branches of Congress and both political parties. …

The Pros and Cons of Disclosing News in Distressed Organizations

By Hrishikesh Desai and Daniel Schaupp July 1, 2022 by renholding

Regulation affecting managers’ disclosure of news in U.S. organizations has been affected by three main changes over the past three decades: (a) The Private Securities Litigation Reform (PSLR) Act, 1995, which protected managers from litigation arising from the disclosure of …

Assistant AG for National Security Speaks on Cybersecurity

By Matthew G. Olsen June 3, 2022 by renholding

Good afternoon. I’m Matt Olsen and I am the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the United States Department of Justice.

I’m very pleased to be here at CyCon. Thank you to Lucas for moderating this panel, to my

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Business Risks Stemming from Socio-Economic Inequality

By Todd Cort, Stephen Park and Decio Nascimento April 15, 2022 by renholding

Socio-economic inequality has risen over the last 40 years in almost every part of the world and has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Inequality does not only affect societies – it can also have a significant impact on the …

SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Removal of Credit-Ratings References from Reg M

By Gary Gensler March 25, 2022 by renholding

Today [March 24], the Commission voted to propose removing references of credit ratings from Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M (Reg M). I was pleased to support today’s proposal because, if adopted, it would fulfill a mandate issued by

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Debevoise Discusses New Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure

By Luke Dembosky, Avi Gesser, HJ Brehmer and Stephanie Thomas March 23, 2022 by renholding

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (the “Act”) into law, requiring critical infrastructure entities to report covered cybersecurity incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) within 72 …

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses End of Mandatory Arbitration for Sexual Misconduct Cases

By Jennifer Kennedy Park and Ye Eun Charlotte Chun March 14, 2022 by renholding

On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act[1] into law.  The law amends the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) to prohibit the use of mandatory arbitration provisions to resolve sexual …

The Most Dangerous Branch: Is the Supreme Court Dismantling the Administrative State?

By John C. Coffee, Jr. March 7, 2022 by renholding

At first glance, the question posed above may sound slightly paranoid. Still, sometimes a measure of paranoia may be justified. In any event, this column is less a prediction of the future than a review of what is actually happening, …

Toward a “Tender Offer” Market for Labor Representation

By Aneil Kovvali and Jonathan R. Macey February 23, 2022 by renholding

For decades, corporate America has succeeded in delivering ever higher profits for shareholders by squeezing workers.  Whether the basic driver is labor monopsony, or a lack of worker power to capture economic profits at corporations, or increasingly ruthless business and …

High-Yield Debt Covenants and Their Real Effects

By Falk Bräuning, Victoria Ivashina and Ali K. Ozdagli January 20, 2022 by renholding

The U.S. leveraged (high-yield) loan market has more than doubled since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), with nearly $1.2 trillion in outstanding debt in 2019 (Leveraged Commentary and Analysis, LCD). The rise in high-yield corporate debt (bonds included) in the …