Law firms with the largest white-collar defense practices, ranked by partner, as reported via an email survey in October and November 2009.
Regulatory Enforcement
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Financial Crisis Spawns New Task Force
The government has created a new task force to coordinate its efforts to fight fraud stemming from the massive financial crisis. The Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, led by the Department of Justice, will include representatives from dozens of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, and inspectors general. In announcing its creation this week, Attorney General Eric […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Possibly Coming Soon: “We’re #3 in 2007” Tee Shirts
I’m still thinking about last week’s SEC job ad that, for unknown reasons, continues to highlight the fact that the SEC was “RANKED THIRD BEST FEDERAL WORKPLACE FOR 2007!” Do you think this mere (all caps, bold, exclamation-pointed) reference is adequate under the circumstances? I mean, doesn’t this three-year-old bronze medal call for something much […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Canada Stops Governance Reforms
Canadian securities regulators have decided not to push ahead with planned corporate governance reforms out of concern that companies would be too busy to comply with any new rules. The Canadian Securities Administrators, an umbrella body for province-level regulators, set out plans to improve governance at the country’s listed companies last December. But a hostile […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Lessons Taken From SEC Hedge Fund Enforcement
When the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its massive insider-trading bust against Galleon Management last month, SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami gave a warning: “It would be wise for investment advisers and corporate executives to closely look at today’s case, their own internal operations, and the increasing focus and scrutiny on hedge fund trading by […]
Posted inInternal Controls
Aguilar Rails Against Effort to Roll Back 404(b)
If it clears Congress, an amendment to pending legislation could roll back the auditor attestation requirement of Sarbanes-Oxley for more than 6,000 public companies, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission official. SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar, who railed against an amendment to The Investor Protection Act passed by the House Financial Services Committee last week, […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SEC, DOJ Sue “Octopussy” & Lawyers for Trading
As SEC Enforcement Director Rob Khuzami said today, “If you find yourself chewing the card of a cell phone…something has gone terribly wrong.” Indeed. The SEC filed a huge insider trading case today against two lawyers, six Wall Street traders and a proprietary trading firm, alleging that the scheme netted over $20 million. The SEC […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Red Flags Rule Delayed Again, and in Flux for Lawyers
Prodded by Congress, the Federal Trade Commission has yet again delayed enforcement of the so-called “Red Flags” Rule for financial institutions and creditors subject to its enforcement until June 1, 2010. At the request of some lawmakers, the 11th hour delay was announced Oct. 30, just before the previous Nov. 1 enforcement deadline was set […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
FSA to Appeal Block on SEC Help
The U.K Financial Services Authority is to appeal a court ruling that blocked its efforts to obtain confidential evidence for the Securities and Exchange Commission. In August, a court ruled that the FSA had overstepped the mark when—acting on a request from the SEC—it tried to force a London accounting firm to hand over confidential […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Sweep of False Claims Act Only Gets Bigger
As the government ramps up its war on fraud, companies ought to prepare to do battle with more False Claims Act lawsuits. Thanks to the passage of the Fraud Enforcement & Recovery Act earlier this year, the already broad scope of the False Claims Act, the government’s primary tool to guard against fraud, has grown […]
