Lisa Vicens

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) ramped up their enforcement efforts in 2022, often in highly coordinated actions, including with other regulatory agencies such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Continue Reading Accelerated Pace and Increased Regulatory Expectations in Enforcement and Compliance Investigations

On June 1, 2020, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “Department”) released revisions to its guidance regarding the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, which the Department uses in assessing the “adequacy and effectiveness” of a company’s compliance program in connection with any decision to charge or resolve a criminal investigation, including…

As discussed in our most recent blog post, on April 30, 2019, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “the Department”) announced updated guidance for the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“the Guidance”).  The Guidance is relevant to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in conducting an investigation of a corporation, determining whether to bring charges, negotiating plea or other agreements, applying sentencing guidelines and appointing monitors.[1]  The Guidance focuses on familiar factors: the adoption of a well-designed compliance program that addresses the greatest compliance risks to the company, the effective implementation of the company’s compliance policies and procedures, and the adequacy of the compliance program at the time of any misconduct and the response to that misconduct.  The Guidance makes clear that there is no one-size-fits-all compliance program and that primary responsibility for the compliance program will lie with senior and middle management and those in control functions.
Continue Reading DOJ Guidance on Corporate Compliance Programs: A Checklist for Directors

On April 30, 2019, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced updated guidance for the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (“the Guidance”) in charging and resolving criminal cases.  This memorandum highlights key updates and discusses the themes present across versions of the Guidance.  Overall, this newest version places greater emphasis…

When reviewing a corporation’s financial statements and internal controls, independent auditors frequently request copies of materials that were prepared for ongoing or anticipated litigation.  Auditors may wish to examine reports from internal investigations, legal opinions addressing potential liabilities, or presentations about prospective litigation prepared for the board of directors, among other materials.  Indeed, it is becoming more and more common for auditors to conduct their own “shadow investigation” of a company’s internal investigation and, as part of that shadow investigation, to request access to the internal investigation’s underlying work product:  the collection of documents that the company’s lawyers have deemed “key,” the analysis of transactions tested by forensic accountants working at counsel’s direction, and notes from interviews conducted by counsel in the course of the investigation.  Auditors may make similar requests when investigating the possibility of “illegal acts” at a company, as required under Section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Continue Reading Audits and Adversaries: Making Disclosures to Your Auditors Without Waiving Your Privilege

On April 27, a civil FCPA litigation against three former executives of a Hungarian telecommunications company officially came to a close after more than five years of contentious litigation in the Southern District of New York when Judge Richard Sullivan approved the settlements of the last two defendants and entered judgment in the matter.  The case alleged that three former executives of Magyar Telekom, Plc., a Hungarian telecommunications company, participated in a scheme between 2004 and 2006 to bribe public officials in Macedonia in order to secure favorable treatment for Magyar’s Macedonian subsidiary.  All three defendants were foreign nationals working for an overseas company; the charged conduct took place exclusively on foreign soil; and the defendants continue to reside overseas.
Continue Reading SEC, Hungarian Executives Settle 5-Year FCPA Suit that Generated Government-Friendly Rulings on Threshold Legal Issues

Several sources have reported that Acting SEC Chair Michael Piwowar recently issued a directive mandating that only the Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement can authorize the issuance of formal orders of investigation, the means by which the SEC authorizes its investigative staff to issue subpoenas.[1]  The change—which reportedly strips approximately 20 Enforcement Division senior officers of the power to authorize formal orders—was not announced publicly and is not reflected in the SEC’s Enforcement Manual.
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Continue Reading Acting SEC Chair Michael Piwowar Takes Steps to Centralize the Process of Issuing Formal Orders – Are Commentators Drawing the Right Lessons?

On Tuesday, December 27, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Bandimere v. S.E.C., found that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) use of administrative law judges (“ALJs”) violated the U.S. Constitution.  While the court’s opinion relies on a somewhat arcane question of administrative law—whether the hiring of SEC ALJs violated the Appointments Clause—its decision to set aside an SEC order imposing sanctions for securities laws violations raises significant questions about future SEC claims brought before ALJs rather than in federal courts, as well as prior adjudications.  With the D.C. Circuit currently considering whether to grant rehearing en banc on its recent holding that these same SEC proceedings were constitutional, the Tenth Circuit’s decision is sure to draw considerable scrutiny in the months ahead and may well give rise to Supreme Court review of the issue.
Continue Reading Appellate Courts Split Over Constitutionality of SEC Administrative Proceedings

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this week in Salman v. United States, No. 15-268, 580 U.S. __ (Dec. 6, 2016), clarified what constitutes a “personal benefit” for purposes of insider trading liability.  In its first merits ruling in an insider trading case in two decades, the Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit’s holding that the personal benefit requirement may be met when an inside tipper simply gifts confidential information to a trading relative or friend.  In so holding, the Supreme Court significantly narrowed a key aspect of the Second Circuit’s landmark insider trading decision in United States v. Newman, which had required prosecutors to prove that the tipper received something “of a pecuniary or similarly valuable nature”—a more difficult standard to meet.

Before Newman was decided, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York had prioritized insider trading prosecutions, obtaining dozens of convictions and over a billion dollars in fines since 2009.  After Newman, however, prosecutors were forced to dismiss several indictments, and some commentators wondered what the future held for insider trading prosecutions.  The Supreme Court’s recent decision should reduce that uncertainty and may bring a renewed focus on insider trading investigations.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Clarifies Insider Trading Liability for Confidential Tips

In recent years, when pursuing corporations and their officers for violations of the U.S. securities laws, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Enforcement has increasingly brought its claims to the SEC’s in-house administrative law judges (ALJs) rather than the federal civil courts.  In fact, last year, over 90% of the SEC’s actions against public companies were brought to the SEC’s ALJs—whereas five years ago, only 33% of those cases were brought as ALJ proceedings.  The credit for this remarkable increase in ALJ proceedings belongs in large part to the 2010 Dodd–Frank Act,[1] which expanded the ALJs’ jurisdiction and authorized new penalties that ALJs could impose, making it unnecessary for the SEC to bring many claims in civil courts.
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Continue Reading Changes and Challenges in the SEC’s ALJ Proceedings