Sky Blog
On August 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) announced its second major enforcement action against an employer for using contracts with employees that seek to impede employees from engaging in protected whistleblowing activity. Under rules …
On July 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule related to the reporting and public dissemination of security-based swap (SBS) transaction information. The rule builds on an earlier reporting rule for security-based swap dealers (SBSDs) finalized …
Six months have passed since the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Nuclear Agreement), and the related easing of certain trade and economic sanctions on Iran. As discussed …
In March 2016, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed new rules regarding disclosure of third-party compensation of directors. This third-party compensation, which may not be publicly disclosed, arises when a party other than the issuer, such as an activist …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) brought over 400 enforcement actions in the first half of fiscal year (FY) 2016, and is on pace to surpass its record of 807 enforcement actions in a single …
On July 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a proposal aimed at eliminating or updating duplicative, overlapping and obsolete disclosure requirements. The proposal is welcome, but largely technical in nature and generally focused on duplicative requirements. As a result, …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now accepting Form C filings from private companies seeking to sell securities through registered crowdfunding portals. We have been following the nascent crowdfunding space closely and will continue to monitor the adoption of …
In the wake of its release on May 17, 2016 of updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“CDIs”) relating to the disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance has indicated in no uncertain terms that now is …
As we have previously observed, private fund advisers face a difficult challenge when SEC guidance (in the form of a speech or a public enforcement order) indicates that certain long-standing practices may be contrary to the securities laws. What does …
On July 13, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted important amendments updating its rules of practice governing its administrative proceedings.[1] These changes concern, among other things, the timing of hearings in administrative proceedings, depositions, summary disposition, the …
On June 16, 2016, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a proposed rule (available here), which, if adopted, would result in a revamp of its disclosure requirements for mining company issuers. The proposed rule is intended to …
The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) on December 20, 1999. The motivation behind the proposal was concern that an informational advantage provided by selective disclosures to certain market participants was resulting in a loss of …
Months after the end of World War II, a 28-year old Brooklyn lawyer recently discharged as an Army officer took a job with a fledgling New Deal alphabet-soup agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC then operated from its …
Congress expanded the SEC’s ability to pursue enforcement actions in administrative proceedings in the Dodd Frank Act, bringing the agency’s use of proceedings before its own administrative law judges (ALJs) into the spotlight. A number of respondents have challenged the …
Regulators seem to think so. In the Dodd-Frank Act, policymakers made an unprecedented move towards using securities regulation to address issues unrelated to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) core mission of protecting investors and maintaining the fair and efficient …
With the passage of Section 929P(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, the SEC saw the largest expansion of its administrative enforcement power to date. Prior to that, SEC administrative proceedings were limited to obtaining an order enjoining violations of …
The Volcker Rule’s covered fund provisions have not received the attention they deserve. Like the more well-studied proprietary trading rule, the covered funds rule restricts bank investments in the name of limiting their risk-taking and mitigating their contribution to systemic …
In order to retain their access to large scale capital at low cost, there is no question that companies need to actively manage their compliance with the ever-increasing regulatory requirements in the United States pertaining to corporate disclosure. Managing this …
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a set of liquidity risk management requirements for registered open-end mutual funds and ETFs. The proposal is part of a broader SEC agenda to modernize the Investment Company Act of 1940 (’40 …
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 …