Columbia Law School
Sky Blog
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks Before the Investor Advisory Committee
As is customary, I’d
Securities and Exchange Commission
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks Before the Financial Stability Oversight Council
Thank you, Secretary Yellen, for your leadership of this council these last four years. I also want to thank my fellow council members and their staffs for the collaborative efforts we’ve all put in to ensure that the risks in …
Revisiting “Truth in Securities Revisited:” The SEC Disclosure Regime in the New Millennium
The system of disclosure for public companies no longer meets the needs of investors and other stakeholders. Largely put in place by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1982, the principles underlying the system have failed to keep pace with …
About Face: How Much of Current SEC Policy Will the Trump Administration Reverse?
The future of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is currently uncertain. Given the Trump election, Republican majorities in both the House and Senate and soon at the SEC, we focus on what may happen next and, even more importantly, …
Wachtell Lipton Discusses Prospects of Legal Clarity for Cryptoassets
A resilient cryptoasset industry is emerging from weathering years of headwinds — from edicts prohibiting the banking of the industry, to an SEC leadership bent on aggressive regulation-by-enforcement in lieu of transparent rulemaking. Looking ahead, tailwinds abound: Bitcoin and Ether …
How Low Can You Go?: DOGE and the SEC
The proposed Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) in incoming President Donald J. Trump’s administration promises an ambitious agenda of “regulatory rescission, administrative reductions and cost savings” with the goal of “mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy” by July 4, …
Are European and American Approaches to Sustainable Corporate Governance All That Different?
In the United States, there is talk of a backlash against ESG, while in Europe, the number of laws requiring companies to comply with ESG standards is growing steadily. This difference in attitude and approach toward ESG may, in part, …
SEC Announces Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2024
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on November 22 that it filed 583 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2024 while obtaining orders for $8.2 billion in financial remedies, the highest amount in SEC history.
The 583 enforcement actions represent
Cahill Discusses Potential Impact of 2024 Election Results on Crypto Sector
The election of Donald Trump to a second term as President signals the potential for a fundamental shift in the U.S. regulatory landscape for users of crypto assets and blockchain technology across a variety of sectors, including gaming, art and …
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, …
Freshfields Discusses Trump Administration’s Effects on Bank Regulation
Bank stocks surged the day after Donald J. Trump won election to a second presidential term, recording double-digit gains on a widespread view that financial regulation under the new administration will be more industry friendly than in the current one. …
SEC Acting Enforcement Chief Speaks on Protecting Investors and Promoting Compliance
I’d like to take the opportunity today to reflect on some of the goals and intentions that then-Director Gurbir Grewal and I, as his deputy, discussed when we assumed leadership of this remarkable Division three-plus years ago, and what I …
SEC Chair Gensler Speaks on Car Keys, Football, and Effective Administration
When I was with you two years ago, I quoted President Franklin Roosevelt when he signed the first of the foundational securities laws in 1933: “This law and its effective administration are steps in a program to restore some old-fashioned …
Ropes & Grey Discusses Second Trump Administration’s Implications for Asset Managers
On Wednesday, November 6, 2024, major media outlets announced Donald J. Trump as the winner of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. This alert discusses the potential impact of Mr. Trump’s election on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) …
Seven Easy Pieces for a New SEC Chair
Last week’s election results signal a definitive end to the enforcement-only philosophy that for the last four years has characterized the SEC’s posture towards the crypto industry. It’s not realistic to think Congress and regulators will now simply adopt a …
Ropes & Gray Discusses SEC Settlements With Four Issuers in Cybersecurity-Disclosure Cases
On October 22, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed settled enforcement orders involving four current and former public companies – Unisys Corp., Avaya Holdings Corp., Check Point Software Ltd, and Mimecast Limited. The settlements concern the issuers’ disclosures …
SEC Acting Enforcement Chief Speaks on Past Year’s Achievements
Good afternoon. Thank you to Bruce Carton for the invitation to speak today and for the kind introduction. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to talk to you about the work of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
As is …
Davis Polk Offers Update on Investment Management and Funds Regulation
SEC Division of Examinations releases examination priorities for 2025
On October 21, 2024, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (Division) published its examination priorities for 2025 (Exam Priorities). The Exam Priorities fall into the following seven categories: (1) Investment Advisers, (2) …
SEC Buyback Reform Would Give Investors a Shot at Exposing Corporate Shenanigans
In May 2023, the SEC adopted new disclosure rules on company stock buybacks (“New Disclosures”) to help investors better evaluate whether the buybacks serve management’s personal interest at the expense of the company and its shareholders. The New Disclosures would …
Why Activist Investors Are Rooting for Donald Trump
Year after year, the world’s activist-investor community meets at the Active-Passive Investor Summit, the premier shareholder activist conference in New York City, organized by research and advisory service 13D Monitor. Yet at this year’s gathering, on October 22, the mood …