Schapiro Moves To Speed Up SEC Investigations

Schapiro Moves To Speed Up SEC Investigations - 2/6/2009

Home

Index of Filings

News and Press Releases

Filings

Decisions

Settlements

Litigation Activity Indices

Top Ten List

Annual/Quarterly Updates

Clearinghouse Research

Articles & Papers

Search

Related Sites

About Us

Local Rules

Sponsors

Register

_______________
Copyright © 2001
Stanford Law School

2009 News and Press Releases

SEARCH

News	News 2009
HEADLINES \| SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS \| COURT FILINGS LINKS TO OTHER NEWS \| NEWS ARCHIVE	HEADLINES ARCHIVED SETTLEMENTS AND DISMISSALS ARCHIVED

HEADLINE NEWS:

Schapiro Moves To Speed Up SEC Investigations
Evan Weinberger

Securities Law 360. February 6, 2009
_________________________________________________________________________

EXCERPT: In an effort to accelerate U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations, newly confirmed Chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro has put an end to a two-year pilot program that required enforcement attorneys to get approval from commissioners before negotiating fines and other penalties with companies accused of securities violations. In a speech at the Practicing Law Institute's “SEC Speaks In 2009” conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Schapiro said that bringing the “penalty pilot” experiment to an end would be a significant step in empowering the beleaguered securities regulator's enforcement staff. “In speaking to our enforcement staff, I've been told that these special procedures have introduced significant delays into the process of bringing a corporate penalty case, discouraged staff from arguing for a penalty in a case that might deserve a penalty, and sometimes resulted in reductions in the size of penalties imposed,” Schapiro said, according to the prepared text of the speech. Ending the experiment was not the only immediate change Schapiro announced in her first public appearance as head of the SEC. In an effort to pick up the pace, Schapiro also announced a plan to expedite the formal approval process for investigations. Schapiro said she had ordered the commission to return to an earlier policy that required approval for investigations by only one commissioner rather than the full commission. The chairwoman said that when she last served as an SEC commissioner, approval of investigations only required the signature of one commissioner or active duty officer. That policy changed over the years, to where investigations needed approval by all five SEC commissioners, thus requiring special hearings. That has caused SEC investigators to lose valuable time while waiting for full commission approval of subpoenas, Schapiro said.

Back to News page | Back to Archived News 2009 page | Back to Top

�