In a series of recent public statements and announcements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has signaled that climate change disclosures will be front and center on its agenda.

These announcements come as Gary Gensler, President Biden’s nominee for …

The SEC recently brought charges against AT&T and three mid-level executives for selectively providing information to Wall Street analysts in alleged violation of Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD). According to the complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, …

On March 5, the SEC brought an enforcement action charging a public company and three of its investor relations personnel with violations of Regulation FD, alleging that the company’s IR personnel had fed non-public information to sell-side research analysts in …

In a widely anticipated action that was years in the making, the SEC adopted Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act prior to the conclusion of former Chair Jay Clayton’s tenure.  The rule overhauls the regulatory framework for the use of …

In the second half of 2020, demand for ESG-focused investments continued to accelerate, and data showing the outperformance of those investments during the COVID-19 pandemic has set the stage for robust demand to continue in 2021. In his recent letter …

On March 4, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a newly created Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. The Climate and ESG Task Force will work closely with other areas of the SEC as part of …

A recent SEC conditional no-action position (the “No-Action Statement”) has further opened the regulatory door to trading of digital asset securities (“DAS”), by allowing certain limited purpose DAS-only broker-dealers to maintain custody of these securities on …

Notwithstanding the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and unprecedented changes in daily life and the economy, the second half of 2020 marched on to the steady drumbeat of securities-related lawsuits we have observed in recent years, including securities class and stockholder …

The recent meteoric rise (and subsequent fall) of GameStop, AMC Theaters and a host of other “meme stocks” has prompted hedge funds, investment bankers, regulators and public company executives to critically re-examine their preparedness for extraordinary market volatility.

The meme …

For the next several weeks and months, intense focus will be trained on determining the priorities of the Biden administration. We believe that at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the new administration will ramp up examinations and investigations of …

As we write this memorandum, a new administration is forming in Washington, with new leadership teams being nominated at DOJ, SEC, CFTC and other regulatory and law-enforcement agencies — thus prompting the question of what these changes may portend for …

On December 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had settled charges against The Cheesecake Factory for making material misstatements concerning the impact of COVID-19 on its business operations and financial condition.[1]  The settlement resolved charges …