Securities Law Prof Blogtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-6166242013-05-17T06:09:09-07:00A Member of the Law Professor Blogs NetworkTypePadSecuritiesLawProfBloghttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSchwab Eliminate Class Action Waiver in Customers' Agreements -- At Least For Nowtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef0191023cd4f9970c2013-05-17T06:09:09-07:002013-05-17T06:09:09-07:00As regular readers of this Blog know, Charles Schwab includes in its brokerage agreements with its customer a provision that purports to prohibit customers from bringing class actions against the firm. This class action waiver violates FINRA rules, but recently...Securites LawprofSEC Chair White Testifies on Oversight of the SEC before House Committeetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef01901c422280970b2013-05-16T14:12:01-07:002013-05-16T14:12:01-07:00SEC Chair White testified today on Oversight of the SEC before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services.Securites LawprofSEC Charges Chicago Investment Advisers with Cherry-Picking Tradestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019102382665970c2013-05-16T14:09:07-07:002013-05-16T14:09:07-07:00The SEC charged Charles J. Dushek and his son Charles S. Dushek and their Chicago-area investment advisory firm with defrauding clients through a cherry-picking scheme that garnered them nearly $2 million in illicit profits, which they spent on luxury homes,...Securites LawprofMaryland Court Upholds Arbitration Bylaw in Publicly Traded REITtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019102381bc6970c2013-05-16T14:03:14-07:002013-05-16T14:03:14-07:00Last month Steven Davidoff (the New York Times' Deal Professor) wrote a column on the hostile takeover bid for CommonWealth REIT by two hedge funds: What’s at Stake in the Fight Over a REIT (Apr. 18, 2013). He highlighted the...Securites LawprofGAO Releases Testimony on Elder Fraudtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef017eeb3e9f21970d2013-05-16T11:48:45-07:002013-05-16T11:48:45-07:00The GAO released recent testimony on Federal Government Has Taken Some Steps but Could Do More to Combat Elder Financial Exploitation (GAO-13-626T, May 16, 2013). Here is what the GAO found: Older adults are being financially exploited by strangers who...Securites LawprofExecutives of China-Based Company Settle SEC Charges of Using Offering Proceeds to Buy Housetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef0191022c3107970c2013-05-15T11:35:31-07:002013-05-15T11:35:31-07:00The SEC charged China-based RINO International Corporation’s chief executive officer Dejun “David” Zou and chairman of the board Jianping “Amy” Qiu with engaging in a scheme to overstate the company’s revenues and divert proceeds from a securities offering for their...Securites LawprofSen. Warren Asks Fed, DOJ & SEC for Analysis on Settling without Admission of Guilttag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef017eeb3384e1970d2013-05-15T11:24:27-07:002013-05-15T11:24:27-07:00Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posed this question to Ben Bernanke, Eric Holder and Mary Jo White in a May 14 letter: Have you conducted any internal research or analysis on trade-offs to the public between settling an enforcement action without...Securites LawprofSenator Franken Introduces Arbitration Fairness Act tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef0191021fc14e970c2013-05-14T06:13:10-07:002013-05-14T06:13:10-07:00Once again an Arbitration Fairness Act (S. 878) has been introduced into Congress to prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses in disputes involving antitrust claims, civil rights claims, consumer claims (including services related to securities and other investments), and employment claims. While...Securites LawprofKlausner et alia on D&O Insurance in Securities Class Actionstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef017eeb0ef971970d2013-05-11T13:25:27-07:002013-05-11T13:25:27-07:00How Protective is D&O Insurance in Securities Class Actions? — An Update, by Michael Klausner, Stanford Law School; Jason Hegland, Stanford Law School; and Matthew Goforth, Stanford Law School, was recently posted on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Nearly all...Securites LawprofBranson on Proposals for Corporate Governance Reformtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019102077420970c2013-05-11T13:20:35-07:002013-05-11T13:20:35-07:00Proposals for Corporate Governance Reform: Six Decades of Ineptitude and Counting, by Douglas M. Branson, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, was recently posted on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article is a retrospective of corporate governance reforms various...Securites LawprofNominations Open for Tamar Frankel Fiduciary Prizetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef017eeb06482f970d2013-05-10T12:48:26-07:002013-05-10T12:48:26-07:00The Institute For The Fiduciary Standard, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., has created a prize—to be known as the Tamar Frankel Fiduciary Prize—which will be awarded annually to a person who has made a “significant contribution to the...Securites LawprofSEC Considers a NAV for Institutional Prime Fundstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019101fec059970c2013-05-10T12:42:10-07:002013-05-10T12:42:10-07:00There has been much anticipation about what, if anything, Chairman White will do about money market funds, a notable failure of the previous Chairman Schapiro. Several in the media are reporting that the Commissioners are considering a staff proposal that...Securites LawprofCouncil of Institutional Investors Urges SEC to Curb Abuses of 10b5-1 Trading Planstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019101feb1e2970c2013-05-10T12:32:26-07:002013-05-10T12:32:26-07:00The Council of Institutional Investors has written its second letter to the SEC calling for re-examination of Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, which allow corporate insiders to trade in their company's stock pursuant to advance plans, and issuance of guidance or...Securites LawprofNASAA Files Amicus Brief in Schwab Class Action Waiver Appealtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019101f54b2f970c2013-05-09T11:25:37-07:002013-05-09T11:25:37-07:00Several amicus briefs have been filed in the appeal of FINRA's disciplinary proceeding against Charles Schwab for including in its customer agreement a class action waiver, contrary to FINRA rules. A FINRA hearing panel ruled that the FINRA rules were...Securites LawprofSEC & FINRA Issue Alert on Pension or Settlement Income Streamstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019101f52b3c970c2013-05-09T11:14:57-07:002013-05-09T11:14:57-07:00The SEC and FINRA issued an investor alert, Pension or Settlement Income Streams – What You Need to Know Before Buying or Selling Them. The investor alert informs investors about the risks involved when selling their rights to an income...Securites LawprofFalcone Agrees to Two-Year Bar as Associated Person of Investment Advisertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef01901bff13e3970b2013-05-09T11:10:54-07:002013-05-09T11:10:54-07:00Philip A. Falcone, the CEO of Harbinger Group and Harbinger Capital, and the SEC's Enforcement Division have reached an agreement in principle to settle two SEC enforcement actions, according to a 10-Q filed by Harbinger Group. Under the terms of...Securites LawprofFINRA Fines 3 Firms for Failing to Establish AML Programstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef017eeaef9944970d2013-05-08T14:25:46-07:002013-05-08T14:25:46-07:00FINRA announced that it has fined three firms a total of $900,000 for failing to establish and implement adequate anti-money laundering (AML) programs and other supervisory systems to detect suspicious transactions. FINRA also fined and suspended four executives involved. FINRA...Securites LawprofSEC Charges Traders with Paying Kickbacks to Venezuelan Officialtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef017eeae74ab6970d2013-05-07T14:00:48-07:002013-05-07T14:00:48-07:00The SEC charged four individuals with ties to Direct Access Partners (DAP), a New York City brokerage firm, in a scheme involving millions of dollars in illicit bribes paid to a high-ranking Venezuelan finance official to secure the bond trading...Securites LawprofTreasury Announces Plan to Sell Remaining GM Sharestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef01901be17320970b2013-05-06T12:33:49-07:002013-05-06T12:33:49-07:00The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the next step in its plan to sell its approximately 241.7 million remaining shares of General Motors (GM) common stock with the initiation of a second pre-defined written trading plan. Treasury’s sale of...Securites LawprofNASAA Writes SEC About Class Action Waiverstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341bfae553ef019101d76c13970c2013-05-06T12:28:40-07:002013-05-06T12:28:40-07:00The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has addressed a letter to SEC Chair White to comment on Charles Schwab's class action waiver that it now includes in its brokerage agreements. Although the class action waiver violates FINRA Rules, a...Securites Lawprof