New SEC Guidance on Cooperation in Investigations and Enforcement Actions

Corporate Strategies to Prepare for and Respond to More Aggressive Agency Enforcement

Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar/teleconference with Q&A


Conducted on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Recorded event now available


This CLE webinar will prepare public companies, their officers, directors and employees to respond to more aggressive SEC enforcement. The panel will analyze new SEC guidance on individual cooperation in investigations and discuss the resulting legal concerns for corporations.

Description

In its continuing effort to detect and stamp out securities law violations, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued on January 13—for the first time ever—guidance on how it will evaluate the value of an individual’s cooperation in corporate investigations.

The new guidelines complement existing cooperation guidelines for companies first announced in the SEC’s 2001 Seabord Report. Together, the two sets of cooperation guidance promise to change dramatically the conduct of civil and criminal securities investigations.

The January 13 guidance was accompanied by a revision to the SEC Enforcement Manual, which sets forth new “cooperation tools” the SEC will use to encourage cooperation, including proffer agreements, deferred and non-deferred prosecution agreements and immunity requests.

Listen as our panel of attorneys with experience representing clients before the SEC examines the new guidance and shares their insights on lingering questions and legal concerns for corporations. The panel will explain how public companies, their officers, directors and employees should respond to more aggressive agency enforcement.

Outline

  1. Criteria for evaluating individual cooperation
    1. Assistance provided by individual
    2. Importance of underlying matter
    3. Interest in holding individual accountable
    4. Profile of individual
  2. New cooperation tools
    1. Cooperation agreements
    2. Deferred prosecution agreements
    3. Non-prosecution agreements
    4. Expedited immunity requests
    5. Proffer agreements
  3. Corporate response strategies
    1. Before an investigation
    2. During an investigation
  4. Lingering questions for corporations

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key questions:

  • What is the significance of the new SEC guidance for companies currently under SEC investigation or potentially facing investigation in the future?
  • What factors will the SEC consider in deciding whether an individual is sufficiently cooperating in an investigation?
  • What immediate actions should a company take when it learns that the SEC is investigating its activities?
  • How will attorney-client privilege and work-product protection concerns factor into the cooperation process?

Faculty

John J. Carney, Partner
Baker Hostetler, New York

He represents public companies, their officers, directors and employees, regulated entities and others in SEC investigations and criminal law enforcement investigations, as well as in related civil litigation. He works with audit committees, corporations, and senior officers of public companies to advise them during investigations and to design remedial compliance and corporate governance measures.

James R. Doty, Partner
Baker Botts, Washington, D.C.

He represents clients before the Securities and Exchange Commission in a full range of regulatory, enforcement and compliance matters. His clients include publicly traded corporations, as well as investment banking and securities firms both in the United States and in other countries. From May 1990 through 1992, he served as the general counsel of the SEC.

Linda Chatman Thomsen, Partner
Davis Polk & Wardwell, Washington, D.C.

She concentrates in matters related to the enforcement of the federal securities laws. She joined the SEC staff in 1995 as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel. In 1997, she was named Assistant Director of the Enforcement Division. She became an Associate Director in 2000, Deputy Director in 2002 and Director of the Enforcement Division in 2005, a position she held until 2009.

Ordering

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CLE: Pre-approved for self-study credit in: AK, AZ, CA, CT, FL, HI, MO, MT, NY, TX, VT, WA, WV. Upon request, self-study credit is also available in: CO, GA, ID, KY, ME, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OR, UT, WI, WY. If you are applying for self-study credit in one of these states, contact Strafford CLE at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 35 or CLE@straffordpub.com.

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Program Materials

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Program Materials

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Corporate Law Advisory Board

Stuart M. Altman

Partner

Hogan Lovells

Mark H. Hain

General Counsel

Assurance America Corporation

Michael Hermsen

Partner

Mayer Brown

Matthew A. Karlyn

Partner

Foley & Lardner

Kathleen Mayton

General Counsel

Rollins, Inc.

Michael J. Missal

Partner

K&L Gates

G. Thomas Stromberg

Partner

Kaye Scholer

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