Jillian Berman joined a panel of expert practitioners at the Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) Insider Trading Law Program on October 21, 2021 to address pressing  topics including:

 

• What Is Insider Trading Law, Recent Enforcement Focus, and a New Statute?
• Advising Clients with Insider Trading Issues
• Enforcement Priorities: Now and the Future

 

Over the last decade, insider trading has been a critical area of criminal and civil enforcement, and it will likely remain so for some time to come. The Supreme Court’s caselaw in the 1980s and 1990s – including such important decisions as Chiarella, Dirks, and O’Hagan – appeared to establish a relatively predictable and consistent body of law.

But following the Second Circuit’s 2014 decision on tippee liability in Newman, the law’s contours were in flux. Then, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Salman appeal. And in December 2016, the Salman Court issued its first insider trading opinion in nearly twenty years, reaffirming Dirks in striking down part of Newman’s “personal benefit” test. Further, in August 2017, the Second Circuit issued another ground-breaking decision in Martoma, in which the Court applied Salman in rolling back more of Newman’s “personal benefit” test.

In June 2018, however, the Second Circuit issued an amended Martoma opinion, modifying the extent of its roll-back of Newman. To make matters more complicated, the Second Circuit’s 2019 decision in Blaszczak seemed to provide the government an alternate (arguably easier) route to enforce insider trading law, particularly in the area of “political intelligence.” But then in the wake of Kelly v. United States (the “Bridgegate” case), the property-based offenses in Blaszczak, including those implicating insider trading, have been put into question. Further, in 2021, the House of Representatives passed legislation establishing the first insider trading statute. Clearly, the last few years have been busy for insider trading law.

Audience members learn about:

• The law of insider trading
• Implications of Blaszczak, Martoma, Newman, Salman, and other recent decisions
• Title 15 versus Title 18 securities fraud charges
• A new insider trading statute?
• Investigating insider trading allegations
• Best compliance practices and avoiding enforcement actions
• Key strategies in defending criminal and civil insider trading actions
• Current and future criminal and civil enforcement priorities for insider trading cases

 

The presentation carries continuing legal education credits, and is available for streaming here.