insider trading
Sidley Discusses the First Prediction Market Insider Trading Case
On April 23, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced parallel criminal and civil enforcement actions against an active-duty U.S. Army servicemember, alleging that he used …
Inequitable Sentencing Disparities in Insider Trading
In a forthcoming article, we examine the inequities and disparities in federal sentencing for insider trading convictions. The article examines the causes, symptoms and reach of this phenomenon and recommends corrective measures, including a deemphasis of financial harm-based sentencing enhancements …
New SEC Enforcement Director Speaks About His Agenda
I have now been in this role for about a week, and it feels very much like returning home. I previously served nearly five years as Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, and I have practiced in this …
John C. Coffee, Jr. – Indicting One’s Political Enemies: The Southern Poverty Law Center Story
Much commentary has focused on the Trump Administration’s use of criminal prosecutions to gain political vengeance and enforce conformity with Trumpian policy preferences. The clearest examples of such political retaliation involve New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve …
Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses CFTC Announcement of Enforcement Priorities
On March 31, 2026, CFTC Director of Enforcement David I. Miller delivered remarks at NYU Law School addressing three significant developments in the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement. First, Miller announced five enforcement priority areas going forward: (i) insider trading (including …
Are Bidder-Initiated Takeovers Opportunistic?
In principle, a potential acquirer may use private information to initiate a deal and offer to pay for the target with temporary overpriced shares. Analogous to insider trading in secondary equity markets, and irrespective of how the deal plays out, …
Securities Regulation’s Liquidity Rationale
Legal scholars have long opined on the social benefits of the core securities laws. The chief benefits of issuer-disclosure law and securities-specific fraud law identified to date relate to their positive effects on stock-price accuracy. A price-accuracy theory in support …
How “Foreign Private Issuer” Loopholes Leave U.S. Investors Exposed
For decades, U.S. securities regulation has treated foreign firms listed on U.S. exchanges differently from domestic issuers. Through the “foreign private issuer” (FPI) framework, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has offered foreign companies substantial accommodations such as exemptions from …
Davis Polk Discusses State Attorney General Insider Trading Cases
The New York State Attorney General filed civil actions against a former executive for insider trading and against his company for approving the trading plan that the executive used. These actions highlight the risk of state regulators filing claims that …
How Insiders’ Decision to Retain Shares Offers Valuable Information
As more corporate insiders are compensated with their firm’s stock, insider trading becomes more common. However, determining when insiders use private information to guide their trades remains a challenge. Regulators and market participants try to infer whether insiders “know something …
Do Stricter Insider Selling Policies Impede Market Efficiency and Hurt Innocent Players?
Corporate insiders’ opportunistic trading – particularly selling their firms’ stocks before bad news – erodes public trust, reduces market participation, and exacerbates the agency problem that occurs when the interests of insiders and the company conflict. Yet, regulators have been …
Sheppard Mullin Discusses Decision Vacating Conviction in First Crypto Insider-Trading Case
In United States v. Chastain, No. 23-7038, 2025 WL 2165839 (2d Cir. July 31, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated wire fraud and money laundering convictions in what the government described as its …
Paul Weiss Discusses Second Circuit Limit on Insider Trading Liability for Prime Brokers
On September 16, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of insider trading claims against Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs (the “Banks”) following the March 2021 collapse of Archegos Capital Management. Plaintiffs—investors in seven …
Insider Trading After the 2022 Rule 10b5-1 Amendment
In December 2022, the SEC finalized a major overhaul of Rule 10b5-1, which governs pre-scheduled insider trading plans. The amendment to the rule introduced several procedural safeguards designed to curb what critics saw as widespread abuse of the rule. While …
When AI Follows the Rules but Misses the Point
When a team of researchers asked an artificial intelligence system to design a railway network that minimized the risk of train collisions, the AI delivered a surprising solution: Halt all trains entirely. No motion, no crashes. A perfect safety record, …
The Placebo Effect of Insider Dealing Regulation
In a recent article, we explore the curious case of how regulators in the EU, UK, and United States treat two forms of insider trading — what we call “traditional insider trading” and “shadow trading.” The former, familiar to …
Supreme Court’s Recent Interpretation of Wire Fraud Confirms Confidential Government Information Is Property
For nearly 40 years, regardless of whether confidential information belonged to a governmental entity or a private-sector business, its misappropriation could be prosecuted as a property crime. Lower federal courts relied on Carpenter v. United States,[1] a well-known …
Does CEO Insider Trading Lead Non-CEOs to Follow Suit?
Stock trading by corporate insiders has long drawn interest because of its implications for corporate governance, market integrity, and regulatory oversight. However, the question of whether and how CEOs’ non-routine insider trading influences the trading behavior of other insiders remains …
Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Key Considerations for the 2024 Annual Reporting Season
As November comes to an end, the busy annual reporting and proxy season begins for many public companies. In this Client Update, we highlight key considerations for public companies when preparing their annual reports on Form 10-K or Form 20-F, …
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