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Alexis Collins’ practice focuses on litigation, including criminal and regulatory enforcement matters and complex civil and antitrust litigation.

As the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement signaled in its recent annual report, policing the asset management industry will be a key priority in its continuing focus on protecting retail investors.[1]  This renewed emphasis reaffirms the view that if a significant error or misconduct is detected, firms generally should not wait for SEC scrutiny to take corrective steps and mitigate investor harm.  Voluntary remediation must be considered as part of any strategy for managing regulatory exposure as well as reputational and litigation risk.  Where a firm does decide to remediate, it must proceed carefully to avoid pitfalls that could lead to fresh scrutiny from regulators or even private civil litigation.

This post provides guidance to regulated firms on managing risks once they determine to voluntarily remediate – as distinct from the fact-specific issue of whether to “self-report” errors or misconduct – in the SEC context.  It begins with an overview of the benefits and risks of voluntary remediation and common types of remedial measures.  It then identifies potential issues that can arise when undertaking remediation.  Finally, it advises on structuring and implementing remedial measures to minimize risks of regulatory or litigation exposure.
Continue Reading Voluntary Remediation in the SEC Context: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

In December 2017, the US Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (“DOJ”) released guidance for law enforcement to follow when seeking data stored by an entity with a cloud service provider.[1]  In short, DOJ suggests that prosecutors should seek data directly from the company, rather than its cloud service provider, so long as doing so will not compromise the investigation.
Continue Reading New DOJ Guidelines on Collecting Cloud–Based Data

On November 15, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement released its annual report detailing its priorities for the coming year and evaluating enforcement actions that occurred during Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2017. The Report captures the SEC during a period of transition—Chairman Jay Clayton assumed the helm of the Commission in May 20172