Sky Blog
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 …
Just six months ago, when the Supreme Court’s current term opened in October, things looked bleak for the class action. Three major cases were on the Court’s docket, and each seemed handpicked as a vehicle for the Court’s conservatives to …
The ‘Twin Peaks’ method of financial system regulation is widely regarded as the leading model for the regulation of a country’s financial system. Australia was the first to adopt the model in 1997, has been using it the longest, …
In § 1502 of Dodd-Frank, Congress instructed the SEC to draft rules requiring public companies to disclose their use of “conflict minerals” originating in and around the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Coined the Conflict Minerals Rule, the statute …
The hedge fund industry in the United States has evolved from a niche market participant in the early 1950s to a major industry operating in international financial markets today. Hedge funds in the United States were originally privately-held, privately-managed investment …
Amid much fanfare, Square Inc. went public in an IPO at the New York Stock Exchange on November 19, 2015. Founded in San Francisco by, among others, Jack Dorsey who still runs the company to this day, the company has …
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made major progress in completing its rulemaking mandates under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) and the Dodd-Frank Act. Additionally, Congress enacted the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), …
The rise and fall of federal RICO claims in securities litigation is well-known. During the 1980s and early 1990s, plaintiffs increasingly asserted RICO claims premised on alleged securities fraud, drawn by the potential for treble damages. In 1995, however, Congress …
A perennial concern of policy makers around the world is the construction of a framework of financial regulation that is effective, efficient, and—most importantly—conducive to the emergence of deep and liquid financial market. While the channels through which financial development …
When it comes to corporate litigation, is more necessarily better? The legal system has developed a broad array of litigation options to address corporate wrongdoing. Under state law, shareholders can file a derivative suit or class action alleging that directors …
On November 3rd, high-frequency trader Michael Coscia was found guilty in Chicago in one of the most-watched financial trials in recent years.[1] His conviction under Dodd-Frank’s new anti-spoofing provision is important on a number of levels: what it means …
Corporate governance mitigates agency costs by protecting outside investors from exploitation from insiders, as well as aligning the financial and other incentives of insiders with those of the principal. The literature remains underdeveloped, however, on those tasked with shaping and …
Is a CEO’s statement that “I believe the TVs we manufacture have the highest resolution on the market” potentially actionable as an “untrue statement of material fact” under § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder? …
SEC proposes modest amendments to AP process to enhance efficiency and address concerns regarding fairness.
In an effort to enhance the efficiency of its processes in administrative proceedings (APs) and bolster its argument that APs offer a fair forum for …
Stock market prices and the market for corporate control are both crucial elements of the corporate governance matrix within which public companies operate. Share prices constitute highly visible signals of investor perceptions of corporate performance that provide cues for governance …
Accredited investors are eligible to participate in unregistered securities offerings such as private equity, venture capital and hedge fund private placements under the SEC’s Regulation D. Based on current SEC Rule 501, an individual investor is qualified as an accredited …
In recent years, taking advantage of expanded jurisdictional provisions in Dodd-Frank, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought an increasing number of enforcement actions, including complex matters with difficult factual and legal issues, through administrative proceedings, rather than …
As part of the effort to make capital more accessible for small businesses, the JOBS Act authorized the SEC to exempt annually up to $50 million of a company’s securities issuances from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of …
What role does public disclosure by a defendant firm play in the outcome of securities fraud class actions? In a recent article we study this question and find when a defendant firm discloses more via press releases and conference calls, …