ON Securities

As I reported previously, the SEC enforcement staff is “loaded for bear,” stepping up its enforcement activities to go after violations of the securities laws. Some recent stories reinforce that it is more important than ever to guard against these violations . . . . The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the SEC has greatly expanded its insider trading investigations of broker-dealers and hedge funds . . . . There is no reason to think that the current investigations are limited to broker-dealers and hedge funds, and the trail could easily lead the SEC staff to company personnel. . . . [to read more, click on the link above]

I’ve been working on my outline for an upcoming continuing legal education program on how in-house counsel can help avoid or minimize securities fraud liability. I talked to Maslon’s securities litigation partner extraordinaire, Rich Wilson, about the topic, and we came up with the following tips. . . . The simple rule is to disclose material information in a way that’s not misleading. However, Rich cautions that a higher standard of disclosure may be required now. . . .