Welcome to SEC Roundup, a bimonthly video collection by former Securities and Change Fee senior trial counsels Nick Morgan and Tom Zaccaro, founders of the nonprofit advocacy group Investor Selection Advocates Community.
A extremely uncommon SEC administrative continuing presided over by an administrative regulation decide has emerged. Simply the truth that an ALJ is actively presiding over a contested continuing is information, approaching the one-year anniversary of SEC v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court docket choice that appeared to spell the top of ALJs.
However current developments on this case are unprecedented for one more cause: the Enforcement Division filed a federal court docket motion to implement a subpoena issued within the administrative continuing with out first acquiring the required permission from the fee. When protection counsel known as foul, the division rapidly backpedaled and withdrew the federal court docket motion. On the identical time, the division despatched emails in regards to the case to an legal professional in SEC Chairman Paul Atkins’ workplace, the identical form of severe breach that induced the SEC to dismiss 42 pending administrative proceedings final yr.
Regardless of a brand new chair, and regardless of three Supreme Court docket opinions trimming administrative proceedings (Lucia, Cochran and Jarkesy), SEC administrative proceedings are persevering with with the identical flaws and an Enforcement Division apparently emboldened to behave with out SEC authorization.
Two former senior SEC attorneys, Sarah Heaton Concannon of Quinn Emanuel and Russ Ryan of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, focus on the problem.
