None of this is new. About a decade ago, one of my predecessors—Rob Khuzami—gave a speech about questionable behavior by defense counsel in SEC investigations. From slow-rolling document productions as I just described—to representing multiple witnesses with adverse interests in the same matter—to kicking witnesses during testimony to get them to answer questions a certain way, Director Khuzami catalogued many ways in which defense counsel undermined the SEC’s investigative process.
Unfortunately ten years on from that speech, we continue to see some of these behaviors, as well as newer forms of the same tactics. In other words, while defense counsel may have stopped kicking witnesses under the table, they’ve moved to more subtle behaviors.
Source: SEC.gov | Remarks at Securities Enforcement Forum West 2022
