By Sara Kropf The Securities and Exchange Commission just announced settled charges against The Cheesecake Factory for making misleading disclosures about COVID-19’s impact on its financial situation. According to the SEC’s press release, “[t]he action is the SEC's...
Another Insider Trading Court Decision: Making Life Easier for the Government
By Dan Portnov 2019 ended with Congress trying to tackle insider trading but 2020 begins with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals once again commanding center stage in defining the elements of the offense. In United States v. Blaszczak (issued on December 30, but no...
Congress Tackles Insider Trading
By Dan Portnov Not busy enough with impeachment in the run up to the holidays, the U.S. House of Representatives on December 5 passed a bipartisan bill to prohibit insider trading. The Insider Trading Prohibition Act passed by a vote of 410 to 13 and now awaits a...
SEC Investigations 101: The Endgame
This post is the eighth in a series of posts for non-lawyers, or non-securities lawyers, who might suddenly find themselves on the wrong end of a Securities and Exchange Commission document request, subpoena or call from Enforcement division staff. By Dan Portnov...
SEC Investigations 101: The Wells Notice (Part 2)
This post is the seventh in a series of posts for non-lawyers, or non-securities lawyers, who might suddenly find themselves on the wrong end of a Securities and Exchange Commission document request, subpoena or call from Enforcement division staff. By Dan Portnov In...
SEC Investigations 101: The Wells Notice (Part 1)
By Dan Portnov SEC investigations can last a long time. Even when the Enforcement staff comes charging out of the gate, the investigative pace invariably slows once there are terabytes of documents and hundreds of pages of testimony to review. The staff might even...
SEC Investigations 101: Testimony
This post is the fifth in a series of posts for non-lawyers, or non-securities lawyers, who might suddenly find themselves on the wrong end of a Securities and Exchange Commission document request, subpoena or call from Enforcement division staff. By Dan Portnov If...
SEC Investigations 101: Cooperation?
This post is the fourth in a series of posts for non-lawyers, or non-securities lawyers, who might suddenly find themselves on the wrong end of a Securities and Exchange Commission document request, subpoena or call from Enforcement division staff. By Dan Portnov ...
Practical Insights from SEC’s Newest Enforcement Associate Directors
By Y. Ramona Lin[1] Last week, I had the pleasure of [virtually] attending a lunch and discussion featuring two newest SEC Enforcement Associate Directors, Anita Bandy and Carolyn Welshhans.[2] The discussion was moderated by Kara Brockmeyer, a partner at...
Initial Coin Offerings and What the SEC Might Think About Them: An Update
By Daniel Portnov Earlier this week I attended the DC Bar’s Communities program “Crypto Update: Current Issues Relating to Blockchain, Digital Assets and ICOs” featuring two members of the Commission’s staff – Assistant Director Jennifer Leete from the Enforcement...