U.S. SEC Whistleblower Rules Take Effect; Agency Lists Cases for Possible Claims

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s whistleblower program formally became effective Aug. 12, starting with a launch by the commission of a new webpage with detailed instructions on how would-be informants can submit claims for awards…

U.S. SEC Adopts Whistleblower Bounty Final Rules That Encourage, Not Require, Internal Reporting

In a controversial and much-anticipated action, a divided Securities and Exchange Commission May 25 voted 3-2 to adopt final rules to establish a whistleblower bounty program mandated under the 2010 financial reform legislation…

ANALYSIS: Top Ten U.S. SEC Enforcement Developments of 2010

This article highlights significant developments during 2010 in the enforcement program of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Developments were selected because they may signal future trends or establish new legal standards…

U.S. SEC Maintains Dodd-Frank Act Reverses Morrison Case Ruling on Extraterritorial Reach

The Securities and Exchange Commission believes that the financial reform legislation effectively overturned the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Morrison and restored the so-called “conduct and effects” test for commission enforcement actions, a senior official said Jan. 5.

Elizabeth Jacobs, deputy director of the SEC’s Office of International Affairs, cited a footnote in an SEC brief, filed Dec. 21 in SEC v. Tourre, in which the commission stated its position. The case is an ongoing…

ANALYSIS: New U.S. SEC Enforcement Unit Focuses on Funds and Advisers

For decades, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division allocated few of its limited resources to the world of funds and advisers. The ’40 Act was left to the regulatory lawyers while, apart from the combined state-federal campaign against market timing and late trading a few years ago, the enforcement lawyers directed their investigations and litigation elsewhere.

This largely hands-off approach changed dramatically when the SEC’s new Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami announced that his restructuring efforts would include the creation of a…

Social Media Pose Risks, Liabilities for Organizations, U.S. Lawyers Say

In late October, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) became one of a growing group of companies to release its corporate earnings exclusively on the Internet. Joining others such as Google Inc., (GOOG) the company ceased announcing its financial performance numbers in press releases distributed through business wires, the traditional method for disseminating financial information in the United States.

Just three weeks earlier, a Securities and Exchange Commission official cautioned that companies should be careful about using Twitter to communicate information to…