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Six Things You Want To Know About Dodd-Frank
Sweeping financial reform arrived on July 15, 2010 when President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. For six quick-and-dirty enforcement-related takeaways of the 848 page bill, click here.
But I Didn't Know. Really.
Convictions resting on a conscious-avoidance-of-knowledge theory might be harder to come by. The Second Circuit has held that the jury charge must include precise language to convey to the jury that conscious avoidance is only possible if the defendant had a "high probability" of knowing a fact, unless the defendant "actually believed" that the fact was untrue.
Win Some, Lose Some
The SEC won a victory when a district judge in the Southern District of New York held that it had jurisdiction to enforce insider-trading laws for mischief with credit default swaps. Unfortunately, the victory came with a hefty price for the SEC as the court ruled against the agency after a bench trial. For an analysis of the ruling, click here.
This for, Well, Not Necessarily That
Bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 666 requires corruption, but nothing more. The Eleventh Circuit held that public officials can be convicted on federal bribery charges even without a quid pro quo arrangement as long as the bribes were made "corruptly."
What We've Got Here Is a Failure To Cooperate
Failed cooperation attempts cannot hamstring defendants quite as much at trial, according to the Second Circuit. In a recent opinion, the court limited the government's ability to argue that a defendant "opened the door" to allow the admission of statements made under the protection of a proffer agreement.
To Waive, or Not To Waive: It's the Company's Privilege
Company consultants fall within the ambit of the company's privilege, and the company can waive the privilege on the consultant's behalf, the Ninth Circuit held. The crucial factor for the court was that the consultant worked as a "functional employee" of the company, bringing him within its—and not his—attorney-client privilege.
No Fiduciary Necessary
The First Circuit (with a cameo by Justice Souter) rejected a defendant's attempt to apply Skilling to limit honest-services fraud convictions only to those who owe the public a fiduciary duty. The court rejected this claim out of hand, noting that Skilling made no such distinction between fiduciaries and non-fiduciaries involved in bribery schemes.
(Ethical) Culture Club
Companies with strong ethical cultures that are both promoted through policies and procedures and emphasized by employee actions tend to have low misconduct rates, according to a recent report by the Ethics Resource Center.
Judge Christopher Droney (ret.) and Matthew Austin co-authored the article, "The Investigation and Enforcement Landscape Under the Garland Department of Justice," for the New York Law Journal.
Judge Christopher Droney presented a webinar, "Perspectives on Practicing in the Age of COVID-19" for the Holy Cross Lawyers Association (HCLA).
Day Pitney Press Release
DC Counsel Steven A. Cash was quoted in the Reuters article, "Exclusive: Venezuelan intelligence monitored Citgo executives in U.S. - court testimony."
Day Pitney Press Release
Stan Twardy was quoted in the Law360 article, "Barr's Special Counsel Pick Known For Not Caving To Politics."
Judge Christopher Droney (ret.) appeared on the WFSB 3 News program "Face the State" on Sunday, October 24, to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court nomination process and the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
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This website may use cookies, pixel tags and other passive tracking technologies, including Google Analytics, to improve functionality and performance. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. By using our website, you are consenting to our use of these tracking technologies. You can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but if you do so, it is possible that some areas of web sites that use cookies will not function properly when you view them. To learn more about how to delete and manage cookies, refer to the support instructions for each browser (e.g., see AllAboutCookies.org). You may locate Google Analytics' currently available opt-outs for the web here.