As a Red Sox fan, Curt Schilling is an iconic player to me, leading the team to break the curse of the Bambino. I don’t think that leads to him being a successful entrepreneur or video game developer. Nonetheless, he invested a great deal of his own wealth and raised a big pile of capital … Read more »
Phishing for Losses
You’re security is only as secure as your employees. I was struck by this when I received an email from the head of my firm wanted to discuss a wire. I was being subject to a phishing attack. I think we all see this often. Personally, I always find it curious when a bank sends … Read more »
Whistleblower Revealed
Several weeks ago the Securities and Exchange Commission handed out a big whistleblower award to an industry expert who lacked the first person knowledge of wrongdoing. That whistleblower has been revealed. The SEC itself has a strict rule on disclosing the identity of whistleblowers. Eric Hunsader said the Securities and Exchange Commission is sending him … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for February 26
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. Protecting the Compliance Officer: A Balanced Approach by Michael W. Peregrine in Corporate Counsel From a governance perspective, it matters not that these chief compliance officer (CCO) enforcement actions appear to be narrowly focused in particular industry sectors. Rather, what matters is … Read more »
Dodd Frank and Industry Consolidation
Enhancing regulations is meant to protect consumers. The side effect is often to protect the large incumbent firms and make it more difficult for smaller firms to thrive. This theory is proving true under Dodd-Frank. A study by Marshall Lux and Robert Greene on community banks found that since Dodd-Frank community banks have lost market … Read more »
Excessive Travel as a Bribe Under the FCPA
The recent PTC Case caught my attention for a few reasons. First, the company is based near my house and I biked past it’s headquarters this past weekend. Second, the actions stated in the headline were not good, but seemed to be at the extreme of what I thought would be considered bribery. According to … Read more »
Can Money Buy An Election?
When Jeb Bush dropped out of the Presidential race this weekend, my first thought was about all that money. Running for elected office costs too much money and all that money is seen a corrupting influence. One of the most controversial rulings was Citizens United that broadened the rights of corporations and unions when comes … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for February 19
These are some of the compliance related stories that recently caught my attention. Private Equity’s Unintended Dark Side by Alexander Ljungqvist, Lars Persson and Joacim Tåg in the CLS Blue Sky Law Blog But what about more long term consequences of buyouts? In a recent paper, we explore whether private equity could, inadvertently, impose a … Read more »
If You Recommend It, You Have to Mean It
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged an investment bank’s research analyst with publishing a rating on a stock that was inconsistent with his own view. Charles P. Grom gave a public “buy” recommendation to the retailer Big Lots, but privately expressed his concerns about the company. “We just had them in town so it’s not … Read more »
506(c) Enforcement Actions
Although I had a lot of hope that the changing of private placement advertising restrictions by the Securities and Exchange Commission would remove potential foot-faults from the fundraising process, the end result proved challenging. Now it appears that the SEC is on the brink of challenging firms that took at advantage of the loosened restrictions. … Read more »