On December 20, 2018, President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (popularly known as the 2018 Farm Bill) into law.
- Among the broad-ranging provisions included in the law, it legalizes the cultivation and sale of hemp at the
White Collar Briefly
Insights into Developments in White Collar Law
White Collar Briefly, published by Perkins Coie LLP, focuses on legal developments and issues related to white-collar crime and investigations. The blog covers topics such as federal mail and wire fraud statutes, fraudulent inducement theories, enforcement authority of regulatory agencies like the SEC and FERC, whistleblower and self-disclosure programs, securities fraud rulings, and compliance with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulations. It provides analysis of significant court decisions, regulatory changes, and government enforcement trends affecting corporate and individual liability in white-collar criminal law and regulatory investigations.
Latest from White Collar Briefly - Page 14
Preparing Your Company to Respond to Unannounced Government Visits (Part 1)
This series, written by recent in-house counsel and former federal prosecutors, takes a practical approach to helping in-house legal and compliance teams operating in a world of complex regulatory schemes and increased whistleblower activity. It specifically aims to address how…
SEC May Limit “Game Changing” Whistleblower Bounties
On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed three rule changes to the Commission’s Whistleblower Program, including one that would authorize the SEC to “downward adjust” monetary awards in large actions for which an award might…
SCOTUS Finds SEC ALJ Appointments Unconstitutional
On June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated opinion in Lucia v. SEC, finding that the manner in which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) selects its “in-house” administrative law judges (ALJs) violates the Appointments…
Monitoring the Monitors: DOJ Ordered to Disclose Info on Monitor Selections
By Perkins Coie
Last month, a D.C. federal judge ordered the Department of Justice to turn over the names of prospective monitors nominated to oversee the corporate compliance programs of fifteen companies found to be in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act…
SCOTUS Speaks: Guilty Pleas Don’t Waive All Appellate Claims
By Perkins Coie
On February 21, 2018, in Class v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that a defendant who pleads guilty can still raise on appeal any constitutional claim that does not depend on challenging his or her “factual guilt.” …
Supreme Court Ruling Narrows Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Protections
Perhaps no part of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) has garnered as much attention as its whistleblower provisions, which pay corporate whistleblowers bounties under some circumstances, and prevent employers from retaliating against whistleblowing employees. Often…
Former Colorado Chief Justice and Colleagues Examine Broader Implications Of Sessions’ Marijuana Move
There will be little debate that this has been a bad day for the state-sanctioned (and regulated) marijuana industry. The Obama-era directives that significantly fettered the discretion of U.S. attorneys to bring federal narcotics charges against marijuana growers, distributors and…
DOJ’s FCPA Policy Puts Companies on Notice Regarding Electronic Communications
As cybersecurity concerns move more companies to batten down employee use of external email accounts and other websites through blocking software and other measures, the DOJ’s recently issued FCPA Corporate Enforcement Policy—now incorporated in the U.S. Attorneys’ Manual—unequivocally…
Foreign Whistleblowers Continue to Collect Lucrative Bounties under Dodd-Frank
On December 5, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order awarding more than $4.1 million to a whistleblower who voluntarily provided original information to the agency concerning a widespread, multi-year securities-law violation. The award was paid…