The SEC instituted settlement proceedings against Kim Kardashian on Monday, alleging that the reality television star and entrepreneur violated the SEC’s anti-touting statute when she failed to disclose compensation that she received in exchange for an Instagram post endorsing cryptocurrency tokens.
Continue Reading Kim Kardashian Ordered to Pay Over $1.26 Million for Securities Violation Arising Out of Crypto Endorsement

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on the retail industry across the United States, as many retailers grapple with government mandates that either require closure or impose stringent restrictions on being open, employment and supply chain disruptions, and an overall decline in consumer demand as market conditions remain volatile and unemployment rates continue to rise.
Continue Reading Trends in Retailer SEC Disclosures in Light of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unique and novel challenges to publicly-traded retailers, particularly with respect to design and testing of both internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. We recommend that retailers assess what has changed in the current financial reporting environment, consider whether existing controls are sufficient to prepare financial statements and disclosure documents at the reasonable assurance level, and determine what new controls (if any) are necessary to reduce the risk of errors and fraud.
Continue Reading COVID-19: Considerations for Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

As reported in our previous client alert, on September 6, 2019, the staff in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (the Division) announced important changes to the Division’s process for administering Rule 14a-8 no-action requests regarding shareholder proposals. Specifically, the staff may respond orally rather than in writing to no-action requests. Moreover, the staff may decide not to take a position on the merits of certain requests, thus leaving to the company the decision of whether to include or exclude the shareholder proposal.
Continue Reading Corp Fin Announcement Regarding Rule 14a-8 No-Action Requests

On August 8, 2019, the SEC proposed rules that would revise disclosures for Regulation S-K Item 101 (description of business), Item 103 (legal proceedings) and Item 105 (risk factors), in an effort to make disclosures more useful for investors and make compliance easier for registrants.
Continue Reading SEC Proposes Modernized Business, Legal Proceedings and Risk Factor Disclosures Under Regulation S-K