Corporate Responsibility - SEC Enforcement

The following illustrates the variety of matters our SEC Defense Group has recently handled:

Earnings Management and Other Financial Fraud Cases

Representation of a former executive of a Nasdaq company in an SEC investigation into various accounting issues and whether the company's earnings were wrongfully managed in an effort to meet analysts' expectations
Representation of a former officer of a Nasdaq company in an SEC federal injunction action involving allegations that the company recognized fraudulent, non-existent revenue
Representation of the controller of a Nasdaq company in an SEC investigation involving allegations that sales were booked in inappropriate quarters
Representation of a NYSE company in a SEC investigation relating to alleged false accounting entries; resulted in the investigation's close without any action being taken against our client
Representation of a portfolio manager of a public mutual fund concerning the timing and amount of reductions in the value of various securities owned by the mutual fund

Insider Trading Cases

Representation of a name partner in a law firm in an insider trading investigation, in which the law firm represented a corporation that was the target of an acquisition. The SEC is investigating the attorney's purchases and sales of common stock of the company. The U.S. Attorney's Office is investigating as well
Representation of relatives of a Nasdaq company CFO in an insider trading investigation, resulting in the investigation being closed with no action taken after we made a Wells submission to the SEC Division of Enforcement
Representation of a major public company in an SEC investigation into the sale of stock by the sons of the company's CEO three days before the company warned the market of lower than expected earnings, with the SEC also investigating the company's statements to analysts before the announcement that confirmed the company's comfort with First Call consensus

Audit Firms

Representation of a major accounting firm in an international SEC investigation arising out of the SEC's concerns with a public company's financial disclosures

Market Manipulation

Representation of a client charged in an SEC federal injunction action with masterminding a market manipulation of a Nasdaq small cap market stock
Representation of one of three UCLA students accused of using school computers to manipulate securities
Representation of a brokerage firm in a NYSE investigation, and in connection with a threatened Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) investigation, arising out of allegedly manipulative trading conducted by clients of the brokerage firm through the CBOE's RAES options trading system

Issuer Cases

Representation of the president of a broker-dealer in a federal civil injunction proceeding, in which the SEC sought emergency injunctive relief in the form of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, based on allegations of violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws
Representation of an investment adviser and its president in the appeal of an SEC administrative proceeding concerning its allocation of IPOs between and among its clients
Representation of a public company in a state Department of Corporations investigation involving the sale of unregistered securities

McDermott Will & Emery