Over thirteen years after the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act added Section 10D to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) clawback rules[1] became effective on October 2, 2023 (the “Clawback Rules”). Companies listed on national exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) will be required to adopt clawback policies by December 1, 2023 and comply with their respective listing standards.[2] Companies, executives and advisors have understandably been grappling with how to ensure compliance with these new Clawback Rules. Below, we address some common questions that we have received.Continue Reading ClawFAQs: Common Clawback Questions

At the September 21, 2023 Conference of the Global Investigations Review, Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Marshall Miller announced actions by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to further incentivize companies engaged in M&A to prioritize compliance.  Miller affirmed that “acquiring companies should be rewarded—rather than penalized—when they engage in careful pre-acquisition diligence and post-acquisition integration to detect and remediate misconduct at the acquired company’s business.”[1] He noted that in practice, “… [Main Justice’s] Criminal Division has declined to take enforcement action against companies that have promptly and voluntarily self-disclosed misconduct uncovered in the mergers and acquisitions context and then remediated and cooperated with the Justice Department in prosecuting culpable individuals,” and that the DOJ “will be looking to apply that same approach Department-wide.”[2]  Continue Reading DOJ Announces Additional Guidance on Voluntary Self-Disclosure in M&A Context