Nevada Secretary Of State Unveils Proposed Broker-Dealer Fiduciary Rules

NRS 628A.020 imposes a fiduciary duty on financial planners.  In 2017, the Nevada legislature enacted legislation prohibiting broker-dealers and sales representatives from violating the fiduciary duty imposed by NRS 628A.020. NRS 90.575(1). This same...

Court Allows Whistleblower Case To Proceed Even Without Access To Tax Returns

Several prior posts have discussed California's whistleblower protection statute - Labor Code Section 1102.5.  See Court Extends California Whistleblower Protection To Third Party ViolationsCan A Whistleblower Disclose What Has Already Been...

SEC Enforcement Action Demonstrates That Timing Is Everything

Rule 506 is a non-exclusive safe harbor from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. If an offering meets the conditions of either Rule 506(b) or 506(c), it is deemed to not involve a public offering within the meaning of...

Does Voluntary Disclosure Reduce Or Increase Litigation Risk?

When disclosure is not mandated, companies must confront the question whether to disclose or not disclose. Some may hold that issuers minimize the risk of securities litigation by making early and voluntary disclosures. By doing so, they cabin a...

DBO Issues BDIA Report

The 2014 Budget Act requires the Department of Business Oversight to provide a report on its broker-dealer/investment adviser program to the the Legislature and the Department of Finance by January 10 of each year. While not exactly scintillating...

When A Corporation Is A U.S. Government Agency

One doesn't normally think of corporations as being agencies of the United States government. However, the California Corporations Code conclusively presumes that some corporations are agencies and instrumentalities of the United States. To qualify...

Is It Deceptive To Lie To A Machine?

John Jenkins at TheCorporateCounsel.net writes this morning about the Securities and Exchange Commission's announcement that it has filed a civil complaint against nine defendants for hacking the EDGAR system.  The SEC's complaint alleges that these...

Can You Name Our Neighbor To The North?

Brett Kissel's mic died when he began to sing the national anthem at a 2017 Ducks/Oilers game in Edmonton.  The local fans, however, pitched in and loudly finished the U.S. national anthem. It seems that Canadians have concluded that their burning of...

Who May Adjourn A Shareholders' Meeting?

"Adjourn" is derived from the Latin words "ad" and "diurnus", meaning "to" and "daily" (a diurnal flower opens only during the day). The word came into the English language through Old French "ajorner" ("soup du jour" is the soup of the day). Based...