BIOS William Paine is Vice Chairman of the Corporate and Securities Litigation Group at Hale and Dorr. Paine has substantial experience defending securities class actions brought in federal and state courts, and typically represents clients charged with violations of the securities laws, and clients subject to government investigations and civil enforcement actions. He regularly represents […]
Regulatory Enforcement
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
First Whistleblower Regains Job Under Sarbanes-Oxley
The chief financial officer of a puny bank in a rural Virginia town appears to be the first individual to get back his job under the new whistleblower rules mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. On Jan. 28, Stephen L. Purcell, Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Labor, published an order that David Welch be […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
SOX May Not Be Having Impact On Class Action Filings
Though 2003 brought three of the largest shareholder class action settlements of all time, researchers at NERA Economic Consulting have found that Sarbanes-Oxley has had “no statistically significant impact” on class action filings, settlement values or recovery rates. Buckberg According to the research, led by Dr. Elaine Buckberg, all those key metrics have remained flat […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Chance Of Lawsuit Increases; Rate Of Dismissals Slows
LITIGATION The annual probability of facing a securities class action lawsuit has increased 40 percent since 1995. That’s according to Dr. Vinita Juneja, a SVP at NERA Economic Consulting, who recently completed a quantitative analysis of SOX’s impact on the volume and nature of class action litigation. According to Juneja, dismissals have also slowed since […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Siebel Faces Possible Second Regulation FD Action
Siebel Systems could wind up having the dubious distinction of being the first company to twice violate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s three-year old rule regarding selectively disclosing key information. The software maker has revealed in a regulatory filing that the SEC may take enforcement action against the company and several officers for statements allegedly […]
Posted inBoards & Shareholders
Governance Reform Latest Settlement Bargaining Chip?
EXAMPLES MCI: Unanimously adopted 78 recommendations by Corporate Monitor Breeden. Siebel: Will add director, limit director pay, expand comm-ittees to settle with TRS-LA. Homestore: Settled suit with pay; will also limit director terms, options, more. Hanover Comp: Settled suit with stock, new independent directors, auditor rotation. Sprint: Settled suit with cash, new board standards, comp. […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Discrepancy Between Fraud Perceptions, Incidence
Though asset misappropriation and “cybercrimes” like denial-of-service and virus attacks are among the most prevalent economic crimes, most senior executives are apparently kept up at night by fears of financial misrepresentation, in which company accounts are altered. However, those crimes only constitute two percent of economic crimes, according to a study by Wilmer, Cutler & […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Survey: Companies Avoiding Pro Forma Announcements
At last week’s annual conference of the National Investor Relations Institute, the results of a survey were released that show companies are attempting to avoid use of pro forma numbers in earnings statements. The survey, which was originally conducted to determine whether new disclosure rules were negatively impacting the flow of information to shareholders and […]
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Can A Possible Reg. FD Violation Turn Into An 8-K Breach?
Can a possible Reg FD violation turn into an 8-K breach? This is one of the questions surrounding AFC Enterprises, the fast food company that operates Cinnabon, Popeye’s and Church’s fried chicken. Last week, AFC filed its long-awaited 10-K for 2002, restating previously-reported earnings by $27.4 million over a three-year period due to what it […]