Sky Blog
On June 21, in a much anticipated decision, the Supreme Court held that SEC Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”), who have historically been appointed by SEC staff, are “Officers of the United States” and, hence, under the Appointments Clause, can be …
I’ve had the honor of serving as a commissioner of the SEC for just over a month now— and I’ve learned a lot in that time, mostly from the outstanding staff. I’ve been schooled about cryptocurrency, spent hours wading through …
2017 was the prototypical transition year for the SEC. In contrast to many other federal agencies under the current administration, the new SEC leadership did not promise a wholesale rethinking of the agency’s mandate. Rather, they seemed to signal minor …
On November 29, 2017, the Solicitor General filed a brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reversing the agency’s position and arguing that SEC administrative law judges (“ALJs”) have been unconstitutionally appointed to …
As the season changes to fall, and baseball playoffs and football dominate sports headlines, the home field advantage has proven important once again. But in the regulatory litigation game, it appears that even a home field advantage cannot help the …
On December 27, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Bandimere v. S.E.C.[1] found that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) use of administrative law judges (“ALJs”) violated the U.S. Constitution. While the court’s opinion …
On September 23, U.S. District Judge William Pauley refused to approve a settlement between the CFTC and Deutsche Bank covering the bank’s failure to report swaps properly. Instead of rubber-stamping the settlement, the judge asked the parties for additional briefing. …
On Friday, November 13, Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or the “Commission”) Chief Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) D. Michael Chappell issued an Initial Decision in In the Matter of LabMD, Inc. (FTC Docket No. 9357), dismissing the Commission’s Complaint against LabMD, …
SEC proposes modest amendments to AP process to enhance efficiency and address concerns regarding fairness.
In an effort to enhance the efficiency of its processes in administrative proceedings (APs) and bolster its argument that APs offer a fair forum for …
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that federal District Courts do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to entertain challenges to ongoing SEC administrative enforcement proceedings. A party to a pending administrative proceeding must defend against …
Since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”) expanded the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to seek civil penalties through administrative proceedings,1 the SEC has brought, as one court observed, “an …
The SEC’s Division of Enforcement has issued guidelines explaining the factors it will consider in determining whether to bring enforcement actions as administrative or judicial proceedings. The SEC recently has been criticized for its increased use of administrative proceedings to …