inSecurities

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt visit again with George Wilson, Director of PLI’s SEC Institute, to discuss highlights from the SECI Quarterly Newsletter. George highlights key takeaways from PCAOB’s 2023 inspection reports, CorpFin’s statements on cybersecurity incident disclosures, litigation challenging the SEC’s climate-related disclosure rules, recent SEC whistleblower developments, and the decades-in-the-making completion of the so-called “conceptual framework.” Tune in to learn more, or go to pli.edu/programs/seci to explore all of the SEC Institute’s helpful content.

With Kurt absent this week, Chris discusses current developments at the SEC with Sandra Hanna, who leads the securities enforcement practice at Steptoe. They discuss the short term impacts of Jarkesy, how 102(e) actions are evolving in real-time, the state of ESG enforcement after the disbanding of the Task Force, and what the SEC might look like in 2025.

Chris and Kurt sit down with Erica Williams, Chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Chair Williams talks about her journey to the Chair’s office, the PCAOB’s rulemaking agenda, and the role of PCAOB inspections and enforcement. She also shares key takeaways from the PCAOB’s Sign up for email updates on the inSecurities podcast as well as PLI’s securities related programs and publications

In this special crossover episode with PLI’s Pursuing Justice podcast, hear about how pro bono clinics can help vulnerable investors protect their hard-earned retirement funds and nest eggs. Chris and Kurt are joined by Alicia Aiken, Director of the Danu Center’s Confidentiality Institute and host of PLI’s podcast Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files, for an informative conversation with law professors, a recent law school grad, and an SEC attorney about their work aiding underserved retirees.

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt sit down with Cliff Kirsch, a partner at Eversheds Sutherland and Chair of the PLI program “The SEC at 90: A Celebration and Retrospective.” Cliff shares some of his key takeaways from this half-day PLI program aimed at celebrating the past, examining the present, and looking to the future of the SEC. Among other topics, Chris, Kurt, and Cliff discuss SEC Commissioner Peirce’s call for a retroactive look at rules on the books and a refocusing on the SEC’s core competencies.

You can watch “The SEC at 90” on-demand on the PLI website: https://www.pli.edu/programs/the-sec-at-90?t=ondemand&tCode=GTZ4_ONDMD

On this episode of the inSecurities podcast, Chris and Kurt discuss recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that will have profound impacts for the SEC and other agencies. First, our co-hosts discuss the Jarkesy case, which held that defendants in SEC enforcement proceedings have a Constitutional right to have fraud cases heard by a jury. Next, Chris and Kurt discuss Loper Bright, which overrules the decades-old Chevron doctrine, ending the presumption that courts must rely on agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

This episode of the inSecurities podcast features a roundtable with pro bono experts who discuss the need for law school clinics that represent retail investors in FINRA arbitrations.

Nicole Iannarone, Associate Professor of Law at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, and Christine Lazaro, Professor of Clinical Legal Education and Director of the Securities Arbitration Clinic at St. John’s University School of Law, join the podcast, along with Alicia Aiken, Director of the Danu Center’s Confidentiality Institute and host of PLI’s podcast Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files, who steps in as a special guest co-host.

Keep an eye out for a forthcoming episode of Pursuing Justice that will feature interviews with past clinic participants.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler joins the inSecurities podcast to talk about how he and the Commission engage with the public, his efforts to build trust in the US capital markets, and the role of the SEC in protecting investors. Chair Gensler also discusses the SEC’s role with respect to cryptocurrencies (or “digital asset securities”) and tells us why US investors should be wary of “AI washing.”

Erik Hotmire, Co-Founder of the consulting firm Watermark Strategies, joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss key characteristics of successful corporate affairs strategies. Erik tells Chris and Kurt how he draws on his experience as former spokesperson and Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the SEC in developing bespoke strategies for clients, and how the game has changed from a stakeholder engagement perspective.

Alex Platt, an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, joins the inSecurities podcast to discuss his latest research paper, which documents the involvement of activist short sellers in the SEC whistleblower bounty program. Professor Platt explains why this phenomenon may undermine the SEC’s goal of rooting out and deterring misconduct, and he proposes modest tweaks to the whistleblower rules to address the issue.

On the episode, Chris and Kurt also chat with Professor Platt about his past whistleblower research, including his papers “The Whistleblower Industrial Complex” and “Going Dark(er): The SEC Whistleblower Program’s Least Transparent Annual Report in Agency History.”