Proskauer on Private Equity Litigation

Tag Archives: SECURITIES REGULATION

Unicorns: The Tale Continues

Potential disputes involving unicorns have been a hot topic for the last several years. We predicted that would continue this year in in our webinar and related blog post: The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2018. In April, the Regional Director of the SEC’s San Francisco office, Jina Choi, confirmed … Continue Reading

Regulatory Scrutiny of the ICO Market – What Fund Managers Should Know

By Joshua M. Newville, Anthony Drenzek and Brian Hooven on April 30, 2018 Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital

Last week, former CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler explained in remarks at M.I.T. that he believes the second and third most widely used virtual currencies—Ether and Ripple—may have been issued and traded in violation of securities regulations. This comes on the heels of a crackdown on cryptocurrency-related securities by the SEC, which is particularly focused on … Continue Reading

SEC Settles with Private Equity Fund Adviser over Alleged Conflicts of Interest

By Anthony Drenzek and Michael R. Hackett on April 26, 2018 Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law

As a sign that the SEC is continuing to actively pursue private equity fund advisers, on April 24, 2018, the SEC announced a settlement with private equity fund adviser WCAS Management Corporation (WCAS) related to allegations of undisclosed conflicts of interest. The specific conflicts resulted from an allegedly undisclosed contractual arrangement whereby a portion of … Continue Reading

SEC Staff Issues Risk Alert on the Six Most Frequent Fee and Expense Compliance Issues

By Robert E. Plaze, Joshua M. Newville, Robert Leonard and Anthony Drenzek on April 19, 2018 Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital

On April 12, 2018, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a risk alert listing the most common compliance issues concerning fees and expenses charged by SEC-registered investment advisers. Advisers should review their practices, policies and procedures to ensure compliance with their advisory agreements and representations to clients in light of the fee … Continue Reading

Proskauer Adds Former SEC Enforcement Counsel, Samuel Waldon, As Partner Strengthening Its Securities Litigation Offering

By Timothy W. Mungovan on April 10, 2018 Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Credit, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital, Whistleblower

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 the SEC and his deep … Continue Reading

SEC Announces 2018 Compliance Outreach Program Seminar for Investment Advisers and Investment Companies

By Anthony Drenzek on February 16, 2018 Posted in Compliance, OCIE, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law

On Tuesday, February 13th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the opening of registration for its 2018 national compliance outreach seminar for investment companies and investment advisers. The event is intended to help Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at investment companies and investment advisory firms to enhance their compliance programs. … Continue Reading

The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2018

With the public equity markets at an all-time high and private equity fund raising setting new records, it might seem counterintuitive to forecast litigation and regulatory risks. The opposite is true. Disputes typically follow capital, and the steeper the growth curve, the greater the risk of litigation and regulatory scrutiny. With that backdrop, we are … Continue Reading

Chairman Clayton Asks Lawyers to Knock it Off with the Unregistered Coin Offerings

By Joshua M. Newville and Jeffrey Neuburger on January 23, 2018 Posted in Hedge Funds, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law

In his recent remarks at the Securities Regulation Institute, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton had some stern words for market professionals, especially lawyers, involved in initial coin offerings (ICOs). He expressed concern that lawyers in the space “can do better” in their role as gatekeepers to the securities markets, particularly in advising clients whether the “coin” … Continue Reading

U.S. House Bill Aims to Curtail SEC Staff’s Ability to Obtain Algorithmic Trading Source Code

By Christopher Wells, Robert Leonard, Michael Mavrides, Joshua M. Newville, Anthony Drenzek and Lucy Wolf on November 3, 2017 Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law

On October 4, 2017, U.S. Representative Sean P. Duffy [R-WI-7] introduced U.S. House of Representatives Bill H.R.3948 entitled the “Protection of Source Code Act.” If enacted, the Bill would amend the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act to prohibit the SEC staff from obtaining algorithmic trading … Continue Reading

Pay-to-Play – SEC Expands Scope of Rule to CABs

By Lucy Wolf, Anthony Drenzek, Michael R. Hackett and Joshua M. Newville on October 12, 2017 Posted in Compliance, Examinations, FINRA, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital

The SEC’s pay-to-play rule has given advisers reason to worry about potential foot faults since its adoption. As we have noted in prior posts, the rule is filled with landmines and is therefore difficult to navigate. As was evident from the SEC’s announcement of a series of settlements of alleged pay-to-play violations in early 2017, even … Continue Reading

SEC Flags the Top Six Advertising Rule Deficiencies for Investment Advisers

By Stephen T. Mears, Robert E. Plaze, Christopher Wells, Anthony Drenzek, Joshua M. Newville and Michael R. Hackett on September 25, 2017 Posted in Compliance, OCIE, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law

The SEC staff recently published an alert highlighting the most common deficiencies seen in investment advisers’ marketing materials. Based on its recent examinations and initiatives, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued its risk alert to highlight compliance issues relating to Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Advertising Rule”). Here are the top six: Misleading Performance … Continue Reading

SEC Continues to Use Advanced Data Analytics to Investigate Insider Trading

By Joshua M. Newville and Julia M. Ansanelli on June 7, 2017 Posted in Regulation, SEC, Securities Law

The SEC has been active in pursuing several insider trading cases this year on both the large and the small-scale, some of which involved trades that yielded profits as small as $40,000-$60,000. Why does the enforcement division spend resources on these smaller cases? And how will the SEC continue to investigate new leads through data … Continue Reading