04/29/2011 - Charging Expert Network Participants With Wire Fraud
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York last fall described insider trading on Wall Street as "rampant and [perhaps] on the rise," and more recently, announced that his office is "far from finished" with its ongoing investigation into alleged illicit interrelationships between so-called "expert network" referral companies and hedge funds.

04/12/2011 - SEC to Consider Extension of Registration Deadlines Applicable to Investment Advisers
In a letter dated April 8, 2011, to the President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”), Robert Plaze, Associate Director of the Division of Investment Management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), stated that the SEC is expecting to adopt final rules implementing various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) applicable to investment advisers by July 21, 2011.

04/06/2011 - The Feds Are on It, and Big Banks Need to Shore Up Compliance Programs
In the past year the government has moved aggressively to prosecute insider trading cases - from the Justice Department’s wide-sweeping wire-tap investigations of Raj Rajaratnam and the Galleon hedge fund, and of so-called “expert network” participants, to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil enforcement action last week against a chemist at the Food and Drug Administration for trading on confidential information concerning drug approvals.

02/24/2011 - SEC Proposes Private Fund Systemic Risk Reporting on New Form PF
On January 25, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed new Rule 204(b)-1 (the “Proposed Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), that would implement various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”).

02/02/2011 - New FINRA Rule 5131 to Address Abuses in the Allocation and Distribution of IPOs
On November 29, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) announced that FINRA Rule 5131 will take effect on May 27, 2011. FINRA Rule 5131 is intended to sustain public confidence in the initial public offering (“IPO”) process by regulating the allocation, pricing and trading of IPOs of equity securities (“New Issues”).

01/27/2011 - Exemptions From Investment Adviser Registration: The SEC’s Proposed New Rules
Effective as of July 21, 2011, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) repeals a key exemption from investment adviser registration currently relied upon by many private fund managers and replaces it with several much more limited exemptions from registration.

12/28/2010 - SEC Proposes New Disclosure and Reporting Requirements for Investment Advisers
On November 19, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed new rules and amendments to existing rules and Form ADV under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), that would implement various amendments to the Advisers Act contained as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”).

07/23/2010 - Significant New Registration, Reporting and Regulatory Requirements Imposed on Advisers to Private Funds
On July 21, 2010, President Obama officially signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”), which represents the most sweeping regulatory overhaul of the financial markets since the Great Depression. This alert addresses Title IV of the Act, codified as the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010 (the “Registration Act”).

07/02/2010 - SEC Adopts Pay-to-Play Rules
On June 30, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) formally adopted Rule 206(4)-5 (the “Pay-to-Play Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”).

01/27/2010 - Federal Court Issues Injunction Requiring Insurer to Advance Defense Costs to Stanford Financial Defendants for DOJ and SEC Proceedings
Yesterday, January 26, 2010, Judge David Hittner of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued an important opinion in the Stanford Financial case that paves the way for targets of criminal and civil enforcement proceedings to obtain insurance coverage for costs of defending themselves. The decision marks a significant victory for executives who have the misfortune of being caught up in a government prosecution and find themselves otherwise unable to fund their defense.

01/25/2010 - A New Era of Cooperation at the SEC
The SEC’s Division of Enforcement is implementing a series of measures designed to enhance and encourage cooperation in its investigations and litigation and, the Division hopes, expedite the enforcement program.

05/27/2009 - Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act Expands Liability Under the False Claims Act and Criminal Fraud Provisions
On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (“FERA”). This comprehensive legislation expands the reach of federal law and increases funding for federal agencies to combat financial fraud. The most dramatic changes affecting government contractors and organizations participating in federally-funded programs are found in FERA’s expansion of the False Claims Act (“FCA”).

05/01/2009 - Selection of Venue in a U.S. Swaps Litigation Governed by an ISDA
Current strains on the capital markets are causing swap counterparties to file for bankruptcy or default on their trade obligations, a trend which may lead to an increase in swaps litigation over these defaulted swaps in the near term. This article looks at a common litigation issue - forum selection - in swaps cases governed by the industry standard International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. ("ISDA") documentation.
© Bloomberg Law Reports 2009. Originally published by Bloomberg Law Reports. New York Law, Vol. 1, No. 1. Reprinted by permission.