Securities Enforcement
Practice Overview
Buckley’s Securities Enforcement practice group brings together highly regarded former prosecutors and experienced subject matter professionals who defend companies and individuals under government investigation and assist companies with capital formation and disclosure requirements as well as advise regulated entities on compliance obligations.
Our securities defense practice represents public companies, financial institutions and their officers, directors, broker-dealers, investment advisers, senior managers and employees in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Department of Justice, and state attorneys general.
Our lawyers, several of whom previously served in senior positions in the Department of Justice, are skilled in handling independent investigations for private and public companies and defending against private litigation and government investigations. We routinely advise on the establishment and implementation of robust compliance programs and have particular strengths in implementing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and anti-money-laundering compliance procedures.
Our attorneys are particularly adept at navigating all aspects of the SEC’s whistleblower program and have conducted numerous whistleblower investigations and provided advice and counseling on the recent developments related to employee protections under that program.
Our team works closely with our Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers practice, offering the full spectrum of compliance and regulatory issues affecting their operations. This includes advising broker-dealers on issues that arise in dealing with clients, the public, investment advisers, hedge funds, mutual funds, and banks, as well as counseling investment advisers on meeting their federal and state compliance and regulatory obligations.
Along with our transactional practice group, our securities enforcement attorneys offer deep subject matter experience on capital formation, corporate transactions, and asset management. Our team is particularly skilled in structuring transactions, drafting disclosures, and identifying, addressing, and overcoming the challenges posed by regulators.
Articles
"New FCPA guide signals laxer successor liability approach" by Paige Ammons and Bree Murphy (Law360)
The U.S. Department of Justice 's and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 's recently updated resource guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act signals a potential relaxation of stringent requirements that have previously been applied to successor liability in mergers and acquisitions...
Articles"Budding decentralized finance industry comes with risks" by Ali M. Abugheida (Law360)
The sudden rise of Compound Labs Inc.'s COMP governance token in recent months pushed decentralized finance into the headlines, raising the profile of blockchain-based finance systems to a more mainstream audience. This article provides a short primer on decentralized finance and discusses some of...
Articles"Supreme Court decision upholds but limits SEC’s disgorgement authority" by Olivia A. Rauh
A recent Supreme Court decision allows the Securities and Exchange Commission to continue pursuing disgorgement in its enforcement actions, but with significant limitations that will curb disgorgement’s scope and could complicate the SEC’s future efforts to seek it.
Whether the SEC has...
Buckley Commentary & Analysis"SEC flexes regulatory and enforcement muscles in pandemic markets" by Timothy J. Coley
The Securities and Exchange Commission is sticking to its three-fold mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair and orderly markets, and encouraging capital formation as it responds to the Covid-19 pandemic by issuing regulatory guidance on crisis-relevant market and capital issues,...
Buckley Commentary & Analysis"E-oversight is more important than ever during Covid-19" by Meredith Leeson (Bloomberg Law)
Corporations determined to maintain employee productivity amidst the massive global shift to remote work triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic may not have given as much thought to a critical complication: How to oversee those employees and validate their ongoing compliance with policies, procedures,...
Articles"DOJ may face difficulties extraditing remaining defendants in international insider trading ring" by Bradley A. Marcus
The ongoing prosecution in Manhattan of seven defendants in an international insider trading scheme will test the government’s ability to bring international defendants within U.S. jurisdiction. While the government has, at this point, secured two guilty pleas and a conviction, it is unclear...
Buckley Commentary & Analysis"Mitigating crypto UDAAP risk after Ripple ICO ruling" by Ali M. Abugheida (Law360)
Cryptocurrency advocates have long argued that cryptocurrencies are not securities, and therefore not subject to state and federal securities laws. But a district court in California just shed light on whether advocates’ desired outcome also carries a substantial downside: application of state and...
Articles"Supreme Court will likely decide whether courts can order disgorgement in SEC enforcement proceedings" by Olivia A. Rauh
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 3 in a case that will likely determine whether the SEC has statutory authority to seek disgorgement in enforcement actions, and whether the courts have authority to order it.
The SEC’s authority to seek disgorgement was virtually...
Buckley Commentary & Analysis"2020 examination priorities: OCIE pushes again on information security" by Ian Acker
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations announced its annual examination priorities for...
Buckley Commentary & Analysis"SEC risk factors: A single wrong word could cost millions" by Meredith Leeson (American Bar Association Business Law Today)
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently proposed to simplify crucial corporate disclosures regarding legal proceedings and risk factors by moving toward a more principles-based approach; yet, the SEC continues to pursue big-dollar enforcement actions that offer filers little clarity about...
Articles"Stronger transatlantic cooperation could be boon for DOJ, ailing U.K. Serious Fraud Office" by Timothy J. Coley (Bloomberg Law)
The Department of Justice has over the past decade collaborated in several high-profile investigations with the Serious Fraud Office, the agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting complex financial crimes in the United Kingdom. Their work in bringing cases related to the Libor and...
Articles"Congress may restore SEC’s disgorgement power" by Mehul Madia
Congress is considering legislation that would clarify and significantly expand the Securities and Exchange Commission’s disgorgement powers, two years after the Supreme Court curtailed them in ruling that they were penalties subject to a five-year statute of limitations. The decision in...
Buckley Commentary & Analysis"Night of the living SEC injunction" by Lauren R. Randell (Law360)
Just in time for Halloween, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit raises the specter that conduct once considered time-barred can return from the dead to haunt defendants in the securities industry. The case, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Gentile, further...
Articles"Reducing the regulatory risk of merchant cash advances and factoring" by Clinton R. Rockwell and Lauren Frank (Law360)
A growing number of courts and regulators have reached different conclusions on whether factoring and merchant cash advances constitute loans subject to state lender licensing and usury regulations, leaving many factoring companies and their clients without legal certainty about the nature of the...
Articles"It may help to oppose discovery stay in parallel proceedings" by David S. Krakoff, Adam Miller, and Bradley A. Marcus (Law360)
Representing a client in parallel civil and criminal proceedings is fraught with peril at every strategic turn. Decisions in each case can significantly affect the other, often in unpredictable ways. One piece of conventional wisdom for attorneys representing such clients is to support motions by...
Articles"SEC tool could test executive online impulse control" by Ian Acker (Legaltech News)
A message to corporate executives and their public-relations minders: One in a trillion may no longer be a reasonable guarantee of anonymity. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is confronting the difficult challenge of how to keep an eye on and sort through a fire hose of social media...
Articles"Why securities lawyers are the new employment lawyers" by Christopher F. Regan (Law360)
In early 2018, corporate America will be waiting with bated breath as the U.S. Supreme Court decides a game-changing whistleblower retaliation case. For employees thinking about blowing the whistle on financial malfeasance, this decision will resolve a circuit split and clarify when protections...
Articles"How Clayton’s SEC is likely to view the FCPA" by Daniel R. Alonso (The FCPA Blog)
In the days following President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of his intention to nominate Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, countless observers have opined on how the SEC’s priorities may change in the upcoming administration. One...
ArticlesLetting the CAT Out of the Bag
Tim Coley authored, "Letting the CAT Out of the Bag," which was published in WatersTechnology on Friday, April 10, 2015. In her February keynote address at the annual Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Speaks conference in Washington, DC, SEC Chair Mary Jo White called the soon-to-be-...
ArticlesThe RMBS Working Group: Is There Life After Eric Holder?
Financial institutions are asking what Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation means for the future of the U.S. Department of Justice’s financial fraud enforcement program generally, and the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group specifically. Launched in 2012 “to...
Articles
News & Blogs
5th Circuit affirms SEC’s victim awards
On October 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s nearly $2.4 million disgorgement order in an SEC case involving alleged penny stock fraud, marking the first time an appellate court has been asked to decide the “awarded for victims” question that arose out...
InfoBytesSEC announces final rule for filing fee disclosure and payment methods modernization
On October 13, the SEC announced a final rule to adopt amendments to modernize filing fee disclosure and payment methods, which is intended to improve filing fee preparation and payment processing. Operating companies and investment companies (funds) pay filing fees when participating in some...
InfoBytesSEC enforcement director says admissions increase accountability
On October 13, the SEC Director of the Division of Enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, indicated that the agency will require admissions in cases “where heightened accountability and acceptance of responsibility are in the public interest.” Speaking before the Practising Law Institute’s SEC Speaks...
InfoBytesSEC chair discusses digital analytics in finance
On October 12, SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated that the agency is reviewing conflicts of interest and other risk concerns that may be associated with digital engagement practices (DEPs) employed by online brokerages and advisers. Speaking before the Practising Law Institute’s SEC Speaks conference,...
InfoBytesSEC Division of Enforcement says firms should take proactive compliance measures
On October 6, the SEC Director of the Division of Enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, discussed the agency’s mission to maintain market integrity and improve public confidence in the securities market. While Grewal noted that enforcement actions taken over the past few years have helped to significantly...
InfoBytesSEC charges hemp company with misrepresentations
On October 5, the SEC filed a civil fraud complaint against a Canadian-based hemp company and its two co-founders (collectively, “defendants”), alleging that they fraudulently raised over $15 million from investors, and that they misappropriated a significant portion of the funds for personal and...
InfoBytesSEC bans two individuals from whistleblower program
On September 28, the SEC announced that it permanently barred two individuals, pursuant to the 2020 amendments to the Whistleblower Program Rules, from the SEC's whistleblower award program due to filing hundreds of frivolous award applications. According to both orders (see here and here ), the...
InfoBytesSEC charges Florida payday lender with making fraudulent misrepresentations in offering
On September 27, the SEC filed charges against a Florida-based payday lender and its CEO (collectively, “defendants”) for fraudulently raising more than $66 million through the sale of promissory notes to hundreds of retail investors, including members of the South Florida Venezuelan-American...
InfoBytesCFTC announces more than $2.5 million in fines for swap data reporting violations
On September 29, the CFTC announced a $1.5 million settlement with a non-U.S. provisionally registered swap dealer headquartered in France to resolve claims that it failed to comply with certain swap dealer reporting requirements. Among other things, the swap dealer allegedly failed to meet mid-...
InfoBytesSEC letter illustrates climate-change disclosures
Recently, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance issued guidance to companies that may be required to include information concerning climate change risks and opportunities in “disclosures related to a company’s description of business, legal proceedings, risk factors, and management’s discussion...
InfoBytes
Press Releases & Announcements
Benchmark recognizes Buckley Sandler litigation team; David Krakoff inducted into American College of Trial Lawyers
Benchmark Litigation has recognized Buckley Sandler as one of the nation’s top litigation law firms, awarding it a National Tier 1 ranking for its White Collar practice and deeming its District of Columbia litigation team “Highly Recommended” — Benchmark’s highest...
AnnouncementsGordon Miller joins Buckley Sandler
WASHINGTON, DC (August 13, 2018) – Buckley Sandler LLP announced today that banking regulatory lawyer Gordon L. Miller has joined the firm as a Senior Counsel in its Washington, D.C., office. Miller brings more than three decades of public- and private-sector experience in bank regulation,...
Press ReleasesThomas A. Sporkin Recognized by Securities Docket in Its “Enforcement 40”
Buckley Sandler Partner Thomas A. Sporkin has been named to Securities Docket’s 2017 “Enforcement 40” list, which recognizes 40 of the “best and brightest” securities and enforcement attorneys in the country.
Securities Docket reviewed...
AnnouncementsBest Lawyers in America Recognizes 11 Buckley Sandler Partners for 2018
Buckley Sandler is pleased to announce that 11 of its partners have been recognized by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® 2018.
Partners Jeremiah S. Buckley,...
Announcements
Our Securities Enforcement Team
Partners
Counsel
FYI
"New FCPA guide signals laxer successor liability approach" by Paige Ammons and Bree Murphy (Law360)
"Budding decentralized finance industry comes with risks" by Ali M. Abugheida (Law360)
"Supreme Court decision upholds but limits SEC’s disgorgement authority" by Olivia A. Rauh
Recent Blog Posts
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October 15, 2021
5th Circuit affirms SEC’s victim awards
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October 15, 2021
SEC announces final rule for filing fee disclosure and payment methods modernization
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October 15, 2021
SEC enforcement director says admissions increase accountability
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October 14, 2021
SEC chair discusses digital analytics in finance
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October 12, 2021
SEC Division of Enforcement says firms should take proactive compliance measures