Digital Commons Network^™

A New Era Of Accountability? The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act’S Pursuit Of Regulatory Equality, Robert Ruelas

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper discusses the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA) as a response to the long-standing regulatory disparities between U.S. and foreign firms listed on U.S. stock exchanges, with particular regard to foreign firms from China. The HFCAA requires that any firms listed on U.S. stock exchanges be subject to inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) or face delisting, aiming to eliminate historic regulatory disparities. The paper begins by highlighting the historic regulatory gap in oversight resulting from China’s lack of cooperation with U.S. regulators and continues by discussing the investor harm from various scandals that could …

The Eu’S Struggles With Collective Action For Securities Fraud: An American Perspective, Dan Morrissey

Texas A&M Law Review

Notwithstanding the apparent exit of the United Kingdom, the European Union (“EU”) has grown in membership and power since its modest beginnings after World War II, now rivaling the U.S. in economic strength. With the goal of promoting the security and prosperity of all the citizens of the countries that belong to it, the EU is pressing ahead to adopt laws that will promote their political and financial integration. Along those lines, it has also recently acknowledged a deficiency in the legal systems of its member states when it comes to allowing collective actions for victims of various types of …

Reconceptualizing The Whistleblower’S Dilemma, Miriam H. Baer

Faculty Scholarship

Since its inception in August 2011, the SEC’s whistleblowing program has received over 18,000 tips and has distributed over thirty awards. The Commission’s Enforcement Division has lauded the program, emphasizing its recoveries (over $500 million in the aggregate) as well as its generous bounties (over $100 million total). Nevertheless, an agency focused on deterrence must pay attention to the volume of credible reports it receives from insiders, particularly because deterrence has been shown to rest so strongly on the putative wrongdoer’s perceived probability of detection. From that perspective, the program’s success is more ambiguous: twenty-six covered actions (some involving more …

Extraterritorial Criminal Enforcement Of Securities Fraud Regulations After United States V. Vilar, Edgardo Rotman

University of Miami Law Review

In August 2013, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of United States v. Vilar denied extraterritorial application of the criminal law antifraud provisions contained in the Securities Exchange Act. The specific object of this paper is to criticize this decision and negate its premises.

After delving in depth into the notion of extraterritoriality, the paper offers a dynamic interpretation of the 1922 Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Bowman, which is still the governing precedent on extraterritorial application of criminal laws. Furthermore, the paper criticizes the application of the 2010 Supreme Court’s decision …

Is The Price Right? An Empirical Study Of Fee-Setting In Securities Class Actions, Michael A. Perino, Lynn A. Baker, Charles Silver

Faculty Publications

Every year, fee awards enable millions of people to obtain access to justice and strengthen the deterrent effect of the law by motivating lawyers to handle class actions. But little research exists on why judges award the amounts they do or whether they size fee awards correctly. The process remains a black box. Through a detailed study of 431 securities class actions that settled in federal district courts from 2007 through 2012, this Article presents the first empirical study to peer inside that black box. In contrast to prior analyses, this study relies on the actual court filings in each …

Culture Wars: Rate Manipulation, Institutional Corruption, And The Lost Normative Foundations Of Market Conduct Regulation, Justin O'Brien

Seattle University Law Review

The global investigations into the manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) have raised significant questions about how conflicts of interest are managed for regulated entities contributing to benchmarks. An alternative framework, which brings the management of the rate process under direct regulatory supervision, is under consideration, coordinated by the International Organization of Securities Commissions taskforce. The articulation of global principles builds on a review commissioned by the British government that suggests rates calculated by submission can be reformed. This paper argues that this approach is predestined to fail, precisely because it ignores the lessons of history. In revisiting …

The Fourteenth Annual A.A. Sommer, Jr. Lecture On Corporate, Securities, And Financial Law At The Fordham Corporate Law Center, Michael M. Martin, Ben A. Indek, Chair Mary Jo White

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Texas Annual Survey: Securities Regulation, George Lee Flint Jr

Faculty Articles

The Fifth Circuit’s determination of a passive investor’s equity interest in a limited liability company as “securities” brings this class of investors under the protection of the Texas Securities Act (“TSA”). The TSA recognizes vicarious liability theories of aiding and abetting liability and control person liability, which hold secondary parties accountable for their actions. During the Survey period, several cases found secondary parties with positions of control or who met the elements of common law fraud culpable. In Fernea v. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith, Inc., the court found that a business could be liable for an employee’s actions …

The Extraterritorial Application Of U.S. Securities Fraud Prohibitions In An Increasingly Global Transactional World, Joan Macleod Heminway

Scholarly Works

This draft working paper, prepared for a French academic forum entitled “American Law Today: Identity, Mutations, and Debate,” is a brief essay on the current and potential future extraterritorial reach of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 10(b). The essay does three principal things. First, it summarizes the key antifraud rules in context. Next, it describes (in brief) the history and current state of the academic and political debate on the extraterritoriality of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 (including commentary on the …

Another Madoff Masquerade?: Questioning “Securities Fraud” In The Crime And Its Cleanup, J. Scott Colesanti

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Maintaining And Regaining Organizational Legitimacy : The U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission, Karen R. Bryce

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Focusing on organizational legitimacy is an essential element to the survival of an organization. Suchman (1995) suggests that "Legitimacy is a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions" (p. 574). Legitimacy must first be gained and then maintained. If lost, legitimacy must be regained or the organization is unlikely to survive. Organizations can use both symbolic and substantive means of gaining, maintaining or regaining legitimacy. This dissertation explores organizational legitimacy by examining the case of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission …

The End Of The Internal Compliance World As We Know It, Or An Enhancement Of The Effectiveness Of Securities Law Enforcement? Bounty Hunting Under The Dodd-Frank Act's Whistleblower Provision, Justin Blount, Spencer Markel

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

In the wake of Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme and the recent economic crisis stemming largely from loosely regulated subprime lending and mortgage-backed securities, President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21, 2010, signaling loudly and clearly that change is coming to Wall Street. But Wall Street is not the only one receiving a message. Buried deep within the 2,319 pages of the Dodd-Frank Act, companies can find Section 922, the whistleblower provision, which provides a bounty for whistleblowers who report securities violations to the Securities and Exchange Commission.These bounty provisions and …

Investors And Employees As Relief Defendants In Investment Fraud Receiverships: Promoting Efficiency By Following The Plain Meaning Of "Legitimate Claim Or Ownership Interest", Jared A. Wilkerson

W&M Law Student Publications

Relief defendants are nominal, innocent parties who hold funds traceable to the receivership but have no legitimate claim or ownership interest in them. These nominal parties, as opposed to full or primary defendants, have no cause of action asserted against them, and if they show no legitimate claim to the funds traced to the receivership, the funds are disgorged — generally at summary judgment. This seemingly simple relief defendant tool is used by receivers and regulatory agencies to quickly recover receivership funds for ultimate distribution to creditors. Recently, however, conflict has arisen in federal courts concerning the meaning of “legitimate …

The Tenth Annual Albert A. Destefano Lecture On Corporate, Securities & Financial Law. Corporate Accountability: Governance And Compensation Issues, Stanley Sporkin, Todd Lang, Gary Naftalis, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Louise Story

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY: GOVERNANCE AND COMPENSATION ISSUES

Breaking Past The Parallax: Finding The True Place Of Lawyers In Securities Fraud, Marianne C. Adams

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Lawyers often play an integral part in business transactions and securities offerings. This puts lawyers on the sidelines of not only great business successes, but also, every so often, tremendous failures. Because they are viewed by many as gatekeepers, and in that role provide a degree of assurance (with their reputational capital) that gross illegalities will not occur, a series of questions arise in the minds of many when illegalities do happen on attorneys’ watch. This Note analyzes the legal standards that are in play and those that should be imposed when lawyers aid or abet a fraud. Part I …

The Lion Awakens: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - 1977 To 2010, Michael B. Bixby

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article discusses the history, purposes and provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and traces its use and enforcement activity from 1977 to the present. This once little-used law has in recent years become the focus of aggressive activity by both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The manuscript also includes numerous charts reporting on key cases and enforcement activities over the last thirty-three years by the DOJ and SEC, as well as other information and statistics regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Lying And Getting Caught: An Empirical Study Of The Effect Of Securities Class Action Settlements On Targeted Firms, Lin (Lynn) Bai, James D. Cox, Randall S. Thomas

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Private suits have long been championed as a necessary mechanism not only to compensate investors for harms they suffer from financial frauds but also to enhance the deterrence of wrongdoing. But many critics have claimed that there is a hidden dark side to the successful prosecution of a securities class action. In this paper, we shed light on these issues by examining whether the revelation of earlier misstatements, the initiation of private suit, and the payment of a substantial settlement, weaken the defendant firm so that the firm is permanently worse off as a consequence of the settlement.

We find …

Hedge Fund Fraud And The Public Good, Lydie N.C. Pierre-Louis

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

The current financial crisis resonates with every American, regardless of their connection to the securities markets. Many struggle to understand how and why the American financial and securities markets collapsed last year. In essence, why did the regulators fail to prevent the collapse? Government officials continue to analyze the relationship between the structural collapse of the markets and regulators' limited jurisdiction over a class of entities whose transactions substantially impact the markets: hedge funds. Congress can no longer deny hedge funds' detrimental impact on the financial and securities markets. The impetus for financial re-regulation has arrived. It is incumbent upon …

How Trust Is Abused In Free Markets: Enron’S 'Crooked 'E’', William K. Black

Faculty Works

A market can have a lemon's problem when one party to the transaction has far superior information to the other and defects are not obvious. The classic bad car, the "lemon" led to the name for this theory. A lemon's market is inefficient. Both consumers and reputable sellers of high quality goods are harmed by the consumer's inability to distinguish superior goods. Frauds, who sell poor quality goods by misrepresenting quality are the only winners. Markets beset by lemon's problems may be improved by government intervention, which can aid both consumers and honest sellers.

In his article "How Trust is …

Reinventing The Sec By Staring Into Its Past, James D. Cox

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Securities Class Actions, Cafa And A Countrywide Crisis: A Call For Clarity And Consistency, Denise Mazzeo

Fordham Law Review

The unfolding of the credit crisis raises novel issues in securities litigation. This Note explores the conflict between the nonremoval provision of the Securities Act of 1933 (’33 Act) and the removal provisions of the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), and their interplay in the context of class actions involving mortgage-backed securities. Circuits are currently split over whether or not such class actions are removable under CAFA. The Seventh Circuit and the Southern District of New York have held that class actions asserting only ’33 Act claims are removable under CAFA unless they fall within one of CAFA’s …

Codes Of Ethics And State Fiduciary Duties: Where Is The Line?, Z. Jill Barclift

Faculty Scholarship

The important function of disclosure under federal securities laws and regulations, and the role of management in running the affairs of the corporation consistent with state fiduciary principles have a history of discord. The recent mandates of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX Act” or “SOX”), and the Security and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) implementing regulations continue to increase the disclosure obligations of public companies. This article examines the implementation of code of ethics requirements under SOX. It examines the SEC’s regulations, which implement SOX requirements on the disclosure of codes of ethics, and self-regulatory agency (“SRO” or “listing agency”) rules on codes …

Class Action Criminality, Lisa L. Casey

Journal Articles

This paper examines the criminal prosecution of Milberg Weiss, formerly the most successful plaintiffs’ securities class action firm in the country, for allegedly making undisclosed incentive payments to class representatives. In particular, the article examines the government’s primary charge - that the firm’s practice violated the “honest services” theory of mail and wire fraud. The government’s application of this theory presumes a fiduciary relationship between the class representatives and the class which has never been clearly delineated and, indeed, is against the weight of case law and the realities of class action litigation.

The Article proceeds on two different levels. …

Foreward, Faith Stevelman

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bringing Coherence To Mens Rea Analysis For Securities-Related Offenses, Michael L. Seigel

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article has demonstrated that the failure of commentators and the courts to tackle mens rea analysis head-on has resulted in lasting incoherence in the law. Unintelligible legal doctrine does not simply upset individuals who strive for elegant solutions to legal problems; it also exacts a huge, real-life toll. Juries faced with incoherent legal instructions are likely to become disillusioned about the justice system. Citizens receive inadequate guidance as to acceptable and unacceptable behavior, hampering deterrence -- particularly in the securities-law arena, where one presumably finds mostly rational actors who would be deterred by clear legal rules. Securities regulation is …

Pslra, Slusa, And Defrauded Retirement Investors: Overlooked Side Effects Of A Potent Legislative Medicine, Michael J. Borden

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article highlights a harmful and far-reaching unintended consequence of two major pieces of securities litigation reform legislation that were passed as part of the Republican party's Contract with America in the mid-1990s. These reforms were justified, in part, on the grounds that they would benefit investors by improving disclosure of financial information by corporations. However, for many aggrieved investors, the effect of the legislation was just the opposite. Because of inadequate and misleading disclosures made by life insurance companies and their registered representatives, consumers were induced to purchase inappropriate investments carrying excessive fees that reduced the value of their …

Enron's Legislative Aftermath: Some Reflections On The Deterrence Aspects Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

Since Enron's implosion, an astounding string of accounting scandals have stunned the securities markets. Global Crossing, WorldCom, Adelphia, and a host of other companies have seen plummeting share prices and SEC and criminal investigations. Congress's reaction has been equally stunning and surprisingly swift. It passed with near unanimity the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "SOA" or the "Act"), and President Bush quickly signed it into law. The President billed the Act as one of the "the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt." While the SOA is certainly lengthy, with eleven titles and …

Deconstructing Section 11: Public Offering Liability In A Continuous Disclosure Environment, Donald C. Langevoort

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article is an effort to rethink civil liability in capital-raising transactions by large capitalization issuers. After a brief digression about who should set liability standards, the article then addresses two related questions. The first deals with a natural question: Should not the primary regulatory effort for large issuers be to assure continuous disclosure in the secondary marketplace, given the far larger volume of such trading in that market compared to that in primary transactions? Second, if we have developed a satisfactory regime of disclosure responsibilities for this setting, what more, if anything, in terms of liability protection, is needed …