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Join the Securities Litigation and Enforcement Group on LinkedInFort Worth Regional Director David L. Peavler to Leave SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that David L. Peavler, the Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office since 2019, is leaving the agency after more than 19 years of service. Eric R. Werner and Marshall Gandy will serve as the office’s Co-Acting Regional Directors when Mr. Peavler departs. Source: SEC.gov | Fort Worth […]
Lyft investors keep deal on track after judge nixes charity picked for class leftovers | Reuters
In a motion for preliminary approval of the deal, Block & Leviton told U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam of Oakland, California, that any money remaining in the settlement fund after distributions to class members would go to the National Women’s Law Center, which assists sexual harassment victims. Calling attention to issues of sexual violence, the […]
As lawmakers debate how to regulate the industry, more are openly trashing it. | Semafor
At a moment when Congress is finally debating whether and how to seriously regulate the cryptocurrency industry, a split appears to have formed in the Democratic Party. Some of its lawmakers are contemplating how to harness blockchain technology into a force for innovation, while scaling back its early excesses. Then there’s a group you might […]
$20 million SEC whistleblower award goes to Phillips & Cohen’s client | Phillips & Cohen
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a $20 million whistleblower award to a whistleblower represented by Phillips & Cohen LLP. The SEC does not reveal whistleblowers’ identities with very limited exceptions. Phillips & Cohen’s client has chosen to remain anonymous. Phillips & Cohen’s client “played a crucial role in the ultimate success of the enforcement […]
Big Law’s Crypto Bet Is Paying Off—Just Not How Lawyers Expected
This is not what Big Law firms had in mind when they started hiring crypto lawyers. The most obvious tell: bankruptcy practitioners don’t lead the crypto groups. As Bitcoin boomed and blockchain evangelists spoke of a technological revolution, large law firms poured in, seeking to be the trusted advisors to a fast-growing business. Quinn Emanuel […]
Sorry, Nancy Pelosi: Lawmakers Shouldn’t Be Stock Traders – Bloomberg
Now, with barely a month left in the current session, members of Congress should put their money where their mouths are. The simplest and most transparent solution is to ban lawmakers and their immediate families from holding stocks at all. Although that’s unlikely to fly, a requirement to put any investment assets in a blind […]
Communicating with the SEC When Your Organization Suffers a Cybersecurity Incident
As it determines the materiality of a cybersecurity incident, an organization must also decide whether to report the incident to the SEC in advance of any public disclosure and whether to cooperate with any ensuing SEC inquiry or investigation. On the one hand, proactive reporting of likely material cybersecurity incidents can build goodwill with the […]
After Months at Arm’s Length, Sen. Brown Opens Door for Crypto Legislation
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has widely been seen as the linchpin of legislation to set up oversight of the cryptocurrency industry. While his crypto suspicions have been clear in hearings, his plans for specific bills remained quiet until now. Brown sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. Treasury […]
What a Securities Lawyer Would Ask FTX’s Bankman-Fried
As a securities litigator for over 30 years, I have cross-examined a host of conmen and fraudsters…. Starting in 2017, I pivoted my firm toward representing foreign and domestic crypto exchanges, as well as a host of startup enterprises using blockchain technology to disrupt traditional financial products and services. When I heard that Andrew Ross […]
FTX’s Collapse Was a Crime, Not an Accident
Banks can be hit by “bank runs” because they are explicitly in the business of lending customer funds out to generate returns. They can experience a short-term cash crunch if everyone withdraws at the same time, without there being any long-term problem. But FTX and other crypto exchanges are not banks. They do not (or […]