By Porter Wright on The SEC’s Commissioners have rejected a proposed settlement to "claw back" a portion of the bonuses and stock sale profits a former CEO received during a period of accounting fraud. The SEC had previously described the case as the first clawback case under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act against an individual who was not alleged to have … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On Tuesday, July 19, 2011, the Wall Street Journal ran an interesting article by Gina Chon entitled "Judges Making Lawyers Earn It," discussing trends in fee awards in lawsuits challenging mergers and acquisitions in the Delaware Court of Chancery, finding that: In recent months … the court’s judges have been more discerning, according to plaintiffs … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On Monday June 13, 2011, the SEC announced that it was amending its rules to delegate authority to the Director of the Division of Enforcement to issue witness immunity orders to compel individuals to give testimony or provide other information. This rule will go into effect for an 18-month period once it is published in … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on In January 2010, the SEC announced "a series of measures to further strengthen its enforcement program by encouraging greater cooperation from individuals and companies in the agency’s investigations and enforcement actions." One of those measures included the use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements ("DPA"). On Tuesday May 17, the SEC announced that it has entered into … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On Friday, April 22, 2011, the SEC released its study and recommendations regarding how the Commission could reduce the burden of complying with Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for companies whose market capitalization is between $75 and $250 million, while maintaining investor protections for such companies. The SEC recommended leaving the Section 404 requirements … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On March 10, 2011, the Boston Consulting Group ("BCG") submitted a Report to Congress examining the internal operations, structure and need for reform at the SEC. As part of its work, BCG reviewed extensive documentation and conducted over 425 interviews. The Report (available here) recommended a series of initiatives designed to optimize the SEC’s resources, but … Continue Reading
By Porter Wright on On March 10, 2011, Cornerstone Research announced the results of its latest study: "Securities Class Action Settlements – 2010 Review and Analysis." The Annual Report, which provides detail on settlement summary statistics and an analysis of case characteristics, reviewed the 86 court-approved settlements in 2010, finding that the number of settlements fell to its lowest in … Continue Reading
