Each year PLI presents, in cooperation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, The SEC Speaks program, which provides an essential update on the current initiatives as well as the priorities of the Commission for the coming year. On this episode, Chris and Kurt discuss their takeaways — and top tweets — from The SEC Speaks in 2020.

Chris and Kurt chat with John Ramsay of IEX and Dan Eisemann of MFS about algorithmic and high-frequency trading. John and Dan also tell us how technological innovations, new trading strategies, and regulatory changes are reshaping the U.S. equity markets.

Chris and Kurt sit down with several current 3Ls and recent grads to talk about their experiences looking for jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris and Kurt also have a wide-ranging conversation with career counselors from GW Law, Howard Law and the University of Richmond School of Law about how students can prepare for a different kind of recruiting cycle, and why there’s reason to be optimistic.

Kurt and Chris cover the past quarter’s developments in SEC, PCAOB, and FASB news with repeat guest George Wilson of PLI’s SEC Institute. They revisit their predictions from Episode 4 back in March, and George speaks to current developments in COVID relief, financial reporting disclosures, and proxy rules, as well as the state of the whistleblower environment, in conjunction with the publication of SEC Institute’s Quarterly Newsletter for September 2020.

Chris and Kurt discuss the legislation that created the SEC during the Great Depression, the evolution of the Commission in the decades since, and the increasingly prominent role of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. In addition, Jim Barratt, a Trustee at the SEC Historical Society, talks about the Society’s mission and shares resources available to practitioners in the securities industry.

It is well known that auditors play a key role in providing assurance regarding financial information presented by publicly traded companies. It is less well known, however, that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board — created under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 — is charged with regulating registered audit firms and ensuring that the audit function benefits the public and the profession. Join Kurt and Chris as they speak with Robert Peak, a PCAOB official, and Jovy Dedaj, a trial attorney with experience in accounting firm oversight issues, and delve into the details of auditors, PCAOB inspections, and sanctions and enforcement actions taken against accounting firms as the PCAOB performs its mission.

In January, Kurt and Chris served up their top five trends to watch in the securities regulatory and accounting space in 2020. (Check out Episode 2 for details!) Now that we are halfway through this unpredictable year, the inSecurities podcast co-hosts revisit their predictions and talk about how 2020 has taken shape so far. Kurt and Chris also take a peek around the corner, offering some tips on what to watch for in the second half of the year.

In this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt chat with cryptocurrency experts Teresa Goody Guillen, Usman Sheikh and Jason Somensatto about the ever-changing regulatory landscape for digital assets and distributed ledger technology.

Chris and Kurt talk about what the Fourth means to them, what the SEC usually gets up to on July 4th, and how Independence Day often signals the start of the summer slowdown for securities regulatory and enforcement practitioners.

On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt explore the wide-ranging universe of coronavirus-related fraud schemes with Fabio Leonardi, an Assistant United States Attorney and the Coronavirus Fraud Coordinator for the Northern District of Texas, and Lesley Brovner, a defense attorney in Manhattan and seasoned prosecutor who served as the former First Deputy Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Investigation.

In this episode of inSecurities, we’d like to spotlight an episode from PLI’s sister podcast, "Pursuing Justice: The Pro Bono Files." Listen as host, Alicia Aiken, is joined by guests Brad Karp, Jean McLoughlin and Robert Atkins from Paul, Weiss for an important dialogue, ‘Pro Bono in a Pandemic: A Law Firm Goes All In.’

Legal business development and marketing experts Deborah Farone and Stefanie Marrone talk with Chris and Kurt about the strategies and tactics they leverage to help law firms, individual attorneys and practitioners build thriving practices. From increasing revenues, to expanding networks, to improving the quality of client relationships, Deborah and Stefanie offer advice and experience on the simple things that can make a big difference in business development outcomes.

Public companies, investors, and financial services firms may be subject to state securities laws, sometimes called “Blue Sky Laws.” At the heart of the state regulatory system is the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), which represents state and provincial securities regulators in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. On this episode of inSecurities, we chat with NASAA’s General Counsel, Vince Martinez, about the role of NASAA, some of its members’ policy positions, and its relationship to the SEC and other securities regulatory agencies.

On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt chat with Dean Jessica Tillipman (GW Law) and Professor Andrew Spalding (UR Law) about Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement trends and policy, and about several noteworthy cases that test the bounds of FCPA jurisdiction.

Recording from home, in this episode Chris and Kurt have an informal conversation about COVID-19 and its impact on their personal and professional lives.  Listen as they discuss some of the issues they're confronting: how they've adjusted their working styles and schedules, challenges from a practice development perspective, and some unexpected silver linings.

PLI’s SEC Institute gathers and disseminates relevant SEC, PCAOB, FASB, and legal industry updates on a quarterly basis with the SEC Institute Newsletter. On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt discuss the most recent newsletter with George Wilson, Director of the SEC Institute, with a focus on new pronouncements regarding SEC Filings and Management’s Discussion & Analysis, Shareholder Proposal rulemaking, LIBOR transition, ESG disclosures, and a brief discussion of COVID-19 and its impact on the financial and legal world.

Kurt and Chris discuss whistleblower rules and the explosion of tips from whistleblowers to the SEC and other government agencies in recent years. Joining them on this episode is Matt Stock, a Washington, D.C. attorney who represents whistleblowers before the SEC and other regulatory agencies.

Equity market structure reform is largely a bipartisan issue. On this episode of inSecurities, Chris and Kurt take a look at the structure of our stock markets with special guests former SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson and George Mason Law Professor J.W. Verret.

This week on inSecurities we'll be doing the first of our 'Deep Dive' series. In this series, we’ll go in-depth on a single topic to provide an all-encompassing 360 degree view of it. In this episode, we take a look into the world of insider trading. Whether it's complex plans or simple ideas to trade against the market, insider trading impacts both the headlines and the securities markets across a variety of areas.

The SEC’s OCIE and FINRA recently released their 2020 exam priorities. Episode three of inSecurities will explore what the priorities tell us.

Kurt and Chris break down their top five securities, regulatory, and enforcement developments to expect in 2020, including blockbuster cases coming down the pike, SEC enforcement trends and more.

2019 was a remarkable year in the securities regulatory and enforcement space. During this episode of inSecurities, Kurt and Chris will break down record enforcement results, vigorous dissents to rulemaking packages and legislative fixes to thorny legal issues.