Blog
The Cost of Convenience – Buy Now Pay Later Companies and Whether they should be regulated
In January 2022, the CFPB opened an inquiry into “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) companies. Specifically, the consumer watchdog issued orders seeking to collect pertinent information on the risks and benefits of these companies’...
SEC Investigations, Climate Risk Disclosures & Impact on Corporate Governance
On Monday, March 21, 2021, the Securities Exchange Commission released a 510-page proposal that would require U.S.-listed companies to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual...
Meta’s Ambitious VR Acquisitions Attract Antitrust Probe
At the company’s annual Connect conference in October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was renamed “Meta,” as a better embodiment of the company’s future focus on metaverse. At the core of this ambitious plan...
Corporate Malfeasance, Corruption and Cybercrime: 3 White Collar Crimes to Lookout for in 2022
The Department of Justice has spent the second half of 2021 implementing policy changes and enforcement initiatives aimed at fostering a tougher approach towards white collar enforcement. More specifically, Deputy U.S....
Big Tech’s Deceptive Fight for Small Business Support Against Proposed Antitrust Legislation
Recently, Congress has introduced several antitrust bills that seek to tightly regulate Big Tech companies in everything from anticompetitive mergers to preferential treatment for their own products and services. Both...
Admissions of Guilt in SEC Settlements
On December 17, 2021, the SEC announced a $125 million settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co., disposing of allegations that the bank failed to properly monitor and retain its employees’ work-related communications.[1]...
SEC more heavily scrutinizing of SPAC-related mergers
The SEC has recently turned its attention towards regulating businesses structured as special purpose acquisition companies, or SPAC’s. An SPAC is a publicly-listed shell corporation that is organized for the purpose of...
Department of Justice Defeats Motion to Dismiss in First Criminal Prosecution of Price-Fixing in Labor Market
Over the years, Federal Regulators have steadily increased their scrutiny of agreements that restrict solicitation, wages or movement of employees. The Department of Justice Antitrust Division and Federal Trade Commission...
Ambitious Statements and the Securities Lawsuits they Attract
Snap Inc. (“Snap”) is, once again, embattled by charges of violation of federal securities laws. The self-described “camera company,” whose main product is the well-known social media application “Snapchat,”is facing a...
SEC to Attorneys: Help Register Cryptocurrencies Instead of Advising on How to Skirt Securities Laws
On November 4, 2021, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Chairman Gary Gensler spoke at the Securities Enforcement Forum. While Gensler spoke on a variety of topics related to the agency’s enforcement mission,...