Never before in modern times has there been such an outcry for regulatory reform in the securities and finance sectors of our economy. There will be calls for resignations of securities regulators, an increase in SEC civil enforcement actions and more criminal prosecutions of those alleged to have committed financial crimes. What does all this mean for the “middle tier” of companies, management and those entrepreneurs that in reality make the engine of the U.S. economy run? If history is any indicator of the trends to come, a large majority of the SEC, FINRA and state securities commissionenforcement actions will target those individuals and companies that are in the worst position to defend themselves from the very formidable weaponry of these regulators. Costs of defense will go up; legal, forensic accounting and consultants will comprise the defense team needed to put targets of SEC civil enforcement and administrative actions on equal footing with those persons conducting the investigations. The result will be quite similar to patterns of the past—large and well financed defendants will be treated disparately compared to defendants without sufficient resources.
Our Firm.
Our lawyers have represented public companies, accounting firms, broker-dealers, investment advisers, underwriters, audit committees and officers, directors and senior management.The following are just some of the matters we are prepared to handle:
Licensing Issues
Accounting and Financial Disclosure Fraud
Insider Trading
Hedge Fund Fraud
Market Manipulation and Other Trading Abuses
Subprime MBS, ABS, CDO, and CDS
Investment Adviser Fraud
Broker-Dealer Operations
Registration of Securities, Broker-Dealers, and Investment Advisers
Why SEC Enforcement Defense?
The Firm achieves better results for those clients that understand the need for SEC enforcement defense counsel early in any regulatory inquiry.
Most cases are filed by securities regulators after their inquiry has commenced using documents and statements made by prospective SEC enforcement defendants—often times in the spirit of cooperation.
With or without formal notice of an impending SEC enforcement action, the consequences of being named as a defendant in an SEC enforcement action are serious and damaging and likely permanent.
Defendants are not clearly advised whether their conduct is considered to be of a level of seriousness that may result in a criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Many, if not a majority of SEC enforcement defendants, do not clearly understand their conduct is likely to be violative of SEC laws or regulations.
Egregious cases make the news (Bernard Madoff, Michael Milkin, Martha Stewart and others), but a large majority of SEC enforcement cases filed in recent years involved entrepreneurs reaching for the stars.