Category Archive

Authored by Karen A. Aspinall On July 21, 2021, the Division of Examinations issued a new Risk Alert – Observations Regarding Fixed Income Principal and Cross Trades by Investment Advisers1 from an Examination Initiative.  This is a follow-up to a Risk Alert issued in September 2019,2 which highlighted the most common compliance issues observed by the staff related to principal … Read More

Authored by Ethan Corey & Robert Moreiro Carl Reiner: “Did Robin Hood really steal from the rich and give to the poor?” 2000 Year Old Man (Mel Brooks): “No, he didn’t. He stole from everybody and kept everything.” Carl Reiner: “How did legend spring up?” 2000 Old Man: “How did legend spring up?  He had a fellow, Marty – Marty … Read More

Authored by Ethan Corey & Alex Alberstadt Introduction: The Chair’s Agenda & Regulatory Priorities On June 11, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (regulatory agenda).  This particular regulatory agenda is noteworthy for a few reasons.  One, it is the first regulatory agenda issued by the SEC since Gary Gensler … Read More

Authored by Janet Hallahan As cyberattacks and ransomware attacks skyrocket throughout the world, many businesses are scrambling to identify best practices to protect their organizations from these attacks.  However, cybersecurity is generally not a one-size-fits all solution, and best practices are far from uniform.  In addition, many organizations that thought they were unlikely targets for cyberattacks are now suddenly realizing … Read More

Authored By Richard Pasquier and Alex Alberstadt What Is A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC)? This is the first in a series of Practus notes about SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies).   In this Part we will briefly describe what a SPAC is and lay out a basic timeline that will illustrate the features that have caused SPACs to play … Read More

SPAC Glossary of Terms de-SPAC Merger is the reverse merger of a target company into a SPAC, resulting in the business of the target becoming owned by a publicly traded reporting company under the 1934 Act.   The merger requires approval of SPAC shareholders, who receive proxy materials that must be reviewed by the SEC.  Often merger consideration is paid … Read More

Authored By Molly Aspan and Robert Fried On Friday, May 28, 2021, just before the holiday weekend, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its first technical assistance guidance since December 2020 related to COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and Other Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws.  This guidance is in response to … Read More

Authored By Ethan Corey On February 26, 2021, the Division of Examinations (DEX) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Risk Alert addressing the offer, sale and trading of digital assets that are securities (Digital Asset Securities) as well as compliance issues associated with the use of distributed ledger technology, including blockchain.    1. What is a Digital Asset? … Read More

Authored by Janet Hallahan and Andrea Shaw As privacy lawyers, we are frequently asked, “Does my company really need a privacy notice?” We always give the same answer: It absolutely does! A customer-facing privacy notice clarifies how you will use your customers’ data and, as long as you comply with your policy, can reduce your legal risk. . .  making … Read More

Authored By Ethan D. Corey Q&A about New SEC Chair On April 14, 2021, the Senate voted to confirm Gary Gensler as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to fill the remainder of the term vacated by his predecessor, Jay Clayton, which ends on June 5, 2021.  On April 20, 2021, the Senate voted once again to confirm … Read More