Reforming Securities Litigation and Enforcement for ESG Disclosure

By Kevin S. Haeberle April 2, 2025 by renholding

In an earlier post, I discussed my paper arguing that significant changes to the corporate-disclosure regime should trigger review of aspects of the securities-fraud regime. This is because the disclosure regime and the securities-fraud regime go hand-in-hand. So if …

SEC Commissioner Dissents on Recent SPAC Cases

By Mark T. Uyeda January 2, 2025 by renholding

Since July 2023, the Commission has brought three cases against special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and/or SPAC sponsors, charging them with fraud because they made false and misleading statements regarding the details of their communications with potential target companies. I …

How Low Can You Go?: DOGE and the SEC

By Scott Kimpel November 27, 2024 by renholding

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, …

SEC Announces Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2024

By Securities and Exchange Commission November 25, 2024 by renholding

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

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SEC Acting Enforcement Chief Speaks on Protecting Investors and Promoting Compliance

By Sanjay Wadhwa November 20, 2024 by renholding

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 …

Ropes & Grey Discusses Second Trump Administration’s Implications for Asset Managers

By James D. McGinnis, Joshua A. Lichtenstein, Jonathan M. Reinstein and Jeremiah Williams November 15, 2024 by eorozco

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

By Robert A. Cohen, Daniel P. Gibbons, Joseph A. Hall, Byron B. Rooney and Zachary J. Zweihorn November 12, 2024 by renholding

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 …

SEC Acting Enforcement Chief Speaks on Past Year’s Achievements

By Sanjay Wadhwa November 8, 2024 by renholding

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 …

Morrison & Foerster Discusses Top Five SEC Enforcement Developments for September 2024

By Haimavathi V. Marlier, Craig D. Martin, Nicole K. Serfoss, Michael D. Birnbaum and Mitchell E. Feldman October 25, 2024 by renholding

Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments. This month included the SEC’s fiscal year end and a large number of enforcement actions of note, and we examine:

An ESG disclosure settlement relating to the

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Watching the Watchdogs: Tracking SEC Inquiries Using Geolocation Data

By William Christopher Gerken, Steven Irlbeck, Marcus Painter and Guangli Zhang September 26, 2024 by renholding

The Securities and Exchange Commission plays a crucial role as the watchdog of Wall Street by detecting financial misconduct and enforcing securities laws, but much of its investigative process has remained opaque to researchers and the public. In a new …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses the SEC’s Disbanding of Its ESG Enforcement Task Force

By John F. Savarese, Wayne M. Carlin, David B. Anders and Carmen X.W. Lu September 20, 2024 by renholding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has disbanded its Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. The Task Force was established in March 2021 with the purpose of identifying ESG-related misconduct, including material gaps or misstatements …

Wachtell Lipton Offers Summer Takeaways in SEC Enforcement

By John F. Savarese, Wayne M. Carlin and David B. Anders September 5, 2024 by renholding

With the Labor Day holiday now behind us, it is a good time to review the SEC’s active enforcement docket and to look ahead to likely areas of continuing enforcement attention as we head into the fall. The record over …

SEC Enforcement Chief Speaks on Enforcing the Federal Securities Laws in the Age of Crypto

By Gurbir Grewal July 11, 2024 by renholding

I’m thrilled to be back at my law school alma mater. This is a special place – one that not only helped me hone my legal skills, but also one that helped mold me into a “citizen lawyer.”

For me,

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SEC Enforcement Chief Discusses Five Principles of Effective Cooperation in Investigations

By Gurbir Grewal June 3, 2024 by renholding

This event, together with its East Coast and now Midwest counterparts, offers regulators like me a unique opportunity to speak directly to leaders of the securities bar about issues of mutual concern. That’s what I’d like to do this afternoon

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The Big Lessons from the SEC Speaks Conference 2024

By Jonathan H. Hecht, Anne E. Railton and Anna Wittman April 26, 2024 by renholding

The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) recently hosted the 2024 SEC Speaks conference in Washington, DC. During the event, SEC leaders, including the Chair, commissioners, and senior staffers, shared their views about key priorities and trends in the enforcement …

Enforcement Chief Speaks on the “Why” of SEC’s Work

By Gurbir Grewal April 4, 2024 by renholding

Whether you’re here in person or participating virtually from around the country, or even overseas, I thank you for joining us.

As is customary, my remarks this morning are in my official capacity as Director of the Securities and Exchange …

Debevoise Discusses SEC’s Division of Enforcement Year-End Results

By Kara Brockmeyer, Andrew Ceresney, Robert Kaplan, Julie Riewe and Mary Jo White November 30, 2023 by renholding

On November 14, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC” or “Commission”) Division of Enforcement (“Division”) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year (“FY”) 2023.[1] Disgorgement and penalties were the second highest in the SEC’s history at just …

Columbia Law School to Hold 2023 Conference on M&A and Corporate Governance

By Reynolds Holding November 27, 2023 by renholding

On December 8, 2023, Columbia Law School will hold its 2023 Conference on Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Governance. The event is co-sponsored by the school’s Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, the Columbia Law School …

SEC Announces Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2023

By Securities and Exchange Commission November 15, 2023 by renholding

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed 784 total enforcement actions in fiscal year 2023, a 3 percent increase over fiscal year 2022, including 501 original, or “stand-alone,” enforcement actions, an 8 percent increase over the prior fiscal …

SEC Enforcement Chief Speaks on Corporate Compliance

By Gurbir Grewal October 25, 2023 by renholding

I’d like to start by returning to a theme that I’ve touched on before, and that is how public trust in our institutions is faltering.[1] No sector is immune from this trend. From Congress to law enforcement to the

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