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On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum outlining the Criminal Division’s enforcement priorities and policies for prosecuting corporate and white-collar crimes in the new Administration. Later that week, Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, addressed the new policies in a speech at the SIFMA Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference. Galeotti emphasized that the DOJ is “turning a new page on white-collar and corporate enforcement,” with a renewed focus on crimes that pose the greatest risk to U.S. interests. His remarks, coupled with the recent expansion of the DOJ’s Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program, signal a new era of accountability, transparency, and proactive compliance for portfolio companies operating in high-risk sectors.

Confession: writing this in May 2025, we cannot predict with confidence what the rest of 2025 will bring. The year has already seen four months of change and upheaval – political, regulatory, and economic. The new US administration has touted a business-friendly regulatory environment, with actual and promised tax cuts and deregulation. However, geopolitical tensions, tariff trade wars and political instability have introduced new risks and created a climate of extreme unpredictability. We should expect 2025 to hold several surprises still, whether that is a breakout of peace or new political themes obtaining prominence in one or more jurisdictions.

Since 2015, the SEC has brought nearly two dozen enforcement actions for violations of the whistleblower protection rules under Rule 21F-17(a) against employers for actions taken to impede reporting to the SEC. The bulk of these actions have focused on language in employee-facing agreements that allegedly discouraged such reporting. The SEC shows no sign of slowing down; indeed, the Commission has brought five enforcement actions in this past fiscal year alone, and the penalties imposed for these violations appear to be increasing. The settlements – and the risk they represent – serve as a reminder for companies to review their existing employment documents and internal policies, including confidentiality policies, to ensure that restrictive language is removed and that appropriate whistleblower carveout language is included. Conducting this review, and making any appropriate changes, will help ensure compliance with Rule 21F-17(a).

We are pleased to announce that partner Samuel Waldon has joined Proskauer’s Litigation Department in DC, enhancing the Firm’s securities litigation and regulatory enforcement practices.  Among his other areas of focus, Sam will bolster the firm’s Asset Management Litigation team.

“In today’s ever evolving regulatory landscape, Sam’s extensive experience at…

Top-10-2017_v2Private investment funds and advisers are likely to face new regulatory challenges and increased litigation risks in 2017, not only because of a change in the administration, but also because many advisers have not corrected and aligned past practices with current regulatory guidance.  In this post, we have highlighted ten areas that should be on the top of every private fund adviser’s list for 2017 – and how to assess and manage the associated risks.

SECOn November 18, 2016, outgoing SEC Chair Mary Jo White delivered a speech at New York University School of Law entitled “A New Model for SEC Enforcement: Producing Bold and Unrelenting Results.”  Chair White’s remarks covered a broad range of enforcement initiatives and outcomes from her tenure as SEC Chair.  This post summarizes the aspects of Chair White’s remarks most relevant to private fund sponsors.

SEC

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently published a risk alert noting that the SEC exam staff intends to examine registrants’ compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower provisions.  OCIE intends to examine registered advisers for compliance, in light of recent enforcement cases the SEC has filed…

SECThe Securities and Exchange Commission today announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2016, reaching new highs in the number of actions filed and money ordered forfeited through disgorgement and penalties.  The SEC noted that it brought the most ever cases involving investment advisers or investment companies, including 8 enforcement actions related to private equity advisers, an area that has clearly been a priority for the Commission over the past year, and a record 21 cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an area of increasing importance to the SEC. 

SECA recent SEC settlement of whistleblower charges should serve as a useful reminder for private fund sponsors to conduct a comprehensive review of their policies and procedures.

On August 10, 2016, the SEC announced that BlueLinx Holdings Inc., an Atlanta-based building products distributor, had settled charges that it violated securities laws by using severance agreements that contravened Dodd-Frank provisions prohibiting employers from impeding whistleblower reporting.