Fifth Circuit Ruling Underscores a Shortcoming of the SEC Whistleblower Program

By Andrew Feller and Geoff Schweller September 24, 2024 by renholding

Whistleblowers who exposed what has been called “one of the biggest frauds in Texas history” are not eligible to receive Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whistleblower awards based on the collections recovered in a bankruptcy proceeding, according to a recent …

SEC Chief Accountant on Fostering a Healthy “Tone at the Top” at Audit Firms

By Paul Munter May 16, 2024 by renholding

Audit firms are private businesses with the same legitimate interest in making a profit that all private businesses have.[1] But audit firms have also been entrusted to be essential gatekeepers in maintaining the integrity of our capital markets. The …

Skadden Discusses Approach of SEC Enforcement Division to Compliance Officer Liability

By Anita B. Bandy, Andrew M. Lawrence, Daniel Michael and Hannah Henderson November 1, 2023 by renholding

In a speech on October 24, 2023, the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Enforcement Division, Gurbir Grewal, described the scenarios in which the commission would bring an enforcement action against a compliance officer.

In remarks to the …

Why the Major Questions Doctrine Does Not Cover SEC Crypto Lawsuits

By Todd Phillips and Beau Baumann September 14, 2023 by renholding

In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court expanded the reach of the major questions doctrine (MQD) by reframing it as a substantive canon and clear-statement rule rooted in both the Constitution’s separation of powers and “a practical understanding …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Congressional Bill Proposing Comprehensive Cryptoasset Legal Framework

By Kevin S. Schwartz, David M. Adlerstein and Samantha M. Altschuler June 16, 2023 by renholding

On June 2, the Chairs of the House Committees on Financial Services and Agriculture jointly released an ambitious discussion draft of new legislation aimed at filling the persistent gap in regulation of spot cryptoasset markets and to resolve lingering uncertainty…

Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC Enforcement Action Highlighting Whistleblower-Related Rules

By Kara Brockmeyer, Arian June, Julie Riewe, Jonathan Tuttle and Stephen Petraeus April 26, 2022 by renholding

On April 12, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) announced settled charges against David Hansen, the co-founder and former Chief Information Officer of a Las Vegas technology company, for violations of Rule 21F-17(a). In settling the …

Arnold & Porter Discusses Today’s SEC Examination Priorities, Tomorrow’s SEC Enforcement Actions

By Christian D. H. Schultz, Jane Norberg, Daniel M. Hawke, Ellen Kaye Fleishhacker and David F. Freeman, Jr. April 14, 2022 by renholding

Rounding out a series of quarter-end announcements from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Division of Examinations (Exams) announced its 2022 examination priorities on March 30, 2022. These priorities reflect SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s stated view that the …

SEC Says “Control Deficiency” Gave Enforcement Staff Access to Privileged Documents

By Securities and Exchange Commission April 7, 2022 by renholding

The Commission has identified a control deficiency related to the separation of its enforcement and adjudicatory functions within its system for administrative adjudications. When this deficiency was identified, the Chair immediately notified the other Commissioners and directed the staff to

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The SEC’s September Enforcement Spike

By Dain C. Donelson, Matthew Kubic and Sara Toynbee March 23, 2022 by renholding

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) periodically reports on its performance to the public and Congress, emphasizing metrics such as the number of enforcement actions (“cases”) filed (see, e.g., SEC, 2018, 2020). Former co-directors of the Division of Enforcement acknowledge …

New SEC Enforcement Director Speaks on Promoting Market Integrity

By Gurbir Grewal October 12, 2021 by renholding

Thank you for that introduction and for having me here today. At the Division of Enforcement, ensuring that broker-dealers and associated individuals follow our laws and regulations is critical to our mission, so it’s only fitting that my first speech

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The Impact of SEC Case Backlog on Investigations

By Samuel Bonsall, Eric Holzman and Brian Miller September 9, 2021 by renholding

In recent years, the number of enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declined significantly, which has led to questions about the SEC’s effectiveness. While several potential explanations exist for this decline, SEC officials have often pointed …

Morrison & Foerster Discusses Recent SEC Digital-Asset Offering Enforcement Actions

By Haimavathi V. Marlier, Susan I. Gault-Brown and Dario de Martino October 1, 2020 by snehapandya

So far in 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought fifteen enforcement actions in the offerings of digital assets space.[1] Three of these actions do not involve fraud; rather, they allege solely violations of the registration …

Commissioner Peirce Discusses SEC’s Enforcement Program

By Hester M. Peirce November 12, 2019 by renholding

Thank you, Meredith [Cross], for that kind introduction. It is an honor to be with you here today [November 4]. I must begin with my standard disclaimer that the views I represent are my own views and not necessarily those

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SEC’s Co-Director of Enforcement Talks About Her Division’s Impact

By Stephanie Avakian September 21, 2018 by renholding

My speech today [1] happens to fall a little less than two weeks before the close of Steve Peikin’s and my first full fiscal year as Co-Directors of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. In many respects, a year is an

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Chair White explains Disqualifications, Exemptions and Waivers Under the Federal Securities Laws

By Chair Mary Jo White March 16, 2015 by ilyabeylin

Thank you, Bill, for that very kind introduction. I am honored to be here.I see that you have an ambitious agenda over the next two days discussing some of the hardest legal challenges companies are facing today. We at the

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SEC Enforcement