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    Apr. 9, 2026

New Guiding Principles and Priorities of the SEC Enforcement Division

On February 11, 2026, Margaret Ryan, the new director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement (Division) at the time, gave a speech to the Los Angeles County Bar Association in which she articulated the principles and priorities the Division will follow and the types of violations it will focus on combating. The Division will walk a fine line – respecting the rights of respondents in enforcement matters and upholding fairness and due process, while pushing for timely resolution of enforcement cases. Crucial to that approach, Ryan said, will be use of the Wells process, in which the Division serves notice to a party of its intent to bring an enforcement case and the legal and factual basis for that case, allowing the party to submit evidence and arguments against proceeding with such action. This article summarizes the Division’s enforcement priorities as set forth in Ryan’s speech, explains her views on the Wells process, compares her regulatory stance with that of Chair Paul Atkins and provides practical takeaways from former SEC attorneys. See “What Can Hedge Fund Managers Expect From the SEC in 2026?” (Jan. 29, 2026).

Rethinking the Relationship Between GCs and Outside Counsel

The role of GC at an investment manager has evolved far beyond that of a back-office risk mitigator or escalations desk. The modern GC is a strategic executive who is deeply integrated into the firm’s business strategy, serving as both a risk architect across operational and investment lifecycles and as a credibility anchor with regulators and investors. GCs’ responsibilities typically encompass establishing the firm’s legal objectives – including the identification, assessment and prioritization of risks – which necessitates reconciling speed with quality and balancing privilege with transparency. GCs are also tasked with selecting and managing external legal resources to achieve their overall objectives. The approach an investment manager takes in managing its relationship with external counsel significantly influences its ability to realize its legal and business goals. Treating outside counsel as a strategic partner – rather than merely another third-party vendor – positions the firm to measure the relationship’s success in terms of business outcomes and regulatory resilience. In a guest article, Lowenstein Sandler partner Courtney B. Posner outlines the strategic value that outside counsel can provide, details metrics GCs can use to evaluate legal counsel and offers practical tools GCs can wield to optimize their relationship with external counsel. See “GCs’ Increasingly Critical Role in Managing Risk and Ensuring Compliance” (Oct. 23, 2025).

CCOs Remain on FINRA’s Radar

In Regulatory Notice 22‑10, FINRA clarified that a CCO’s role is fundamentally advisory – not supervisory. A FINRA member’s president or CEO is primarily responsible for the firm’s compliance with supervisory and other requirements. Thus, FINRA will not bring an enforcement action against a CCO unless a firm has “expressly or impliedly designated its CCO as having supervisory responsibility.” This article examines two 2026 FINRA settlements with broker-dealer CCOs who were alleged to have violated assigned responsibilities. One enforcement proceeding arose out of a broker-dealer’s alleged violation of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest as a result of certain securities sales by its registered representatives. The other involved the alleged filing of a false undertaking with FINRA and failing to preserve electronic communications relevant to the collapse of a “banking as a service” platform provider and its affiliated broker-dealer. See “FINRA Clarifies Stance on CCO Supervisory Liability” (Apr. 28, 2022).

Regulatory Approaches to “Greenwashing” and “Greenhushing”

Regulators in both Europe and the U.S. continue to take enforcement action against so-called “greenwashing” – the overstatement or misstatement of the extent to which a firm incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) and/or sustainability considerations into its investment processes and products. In light of the backlash against ESG in the U.S., some firms may want to downplay or omit their use of ESG criteria in investor-facing documents, but this so-called “greenhushing” is also risky. To help fund managers negotiate these murky waters, a Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer program held in Q4 of 2025 examined the current regulatory approaches to greenwashing and greenhushing in the U.S., U.K. and E.U.; how firms can craft compliant ESG and sustainability disclosures and marketing materials; and how regulators are using artificial intelligence in supervising these areas. The program featured Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer partners Yasho Lahiri and Heike Schmitz, as well as associates Nia Goodman, Sousan Gorji and Leonie Timmers. This article synthesizes their remarks. See “Key Developments & Considerations in ESG Regulations for Asset Managers Navigating Global Compliance Duties” (May 23, 2024); and “SEC Levies $19‑Million Fine on Deutsche Bank Subsidiary for Failing to Implement ESG Policies” (Jan. 4, 2024).

Managing Off-Channel Communications in Internal Investigations

In virtually any organization, employees sometimes conduct work-related communications through channels other than those that are officially condoned. However, off-channel communications can make collecting evidence in an internal investigation difficult, to say the least. At a panel during SCCE’s 24th Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute, David Carney, a partner at Robinson+Cole; Jeffrey Goldberg, vice president and CCO at CLEAR; Kenneth Koch, forensic market leader at BDO; and Tasneem Kalolwala, vice president for internal audit at Bridgestone Americas, shared advice on constraining and tracking off-channel communications. This article distills their insights. See “SEC Denies Motion to Amend and Stay Settled Orders Over Off-Channel Communications” (Jun. 19, 2025); and “SEC Penalizes Adviser for Failing to Preserve Off-Channel Communications” (Aug. 29, 2024).

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Trailblazing Women – Contributions, Achievements and Observations of Outstanding Leaders

To mark International Women’s Day, Law Report Group editors, along with our colleagues across ION Analytics’ products, interviewed outstanding women in the industries and jurisdictions we cover. In this article, Jill Abitbol, Robin Barton, Rorie Norton and Megan Zwiebel profile notable women in the data privacy, cybersecurity, AI, private funds and anti-corruption law fields, including (i) Paula Howell Anderson, (ii) Gwendolyn Lee Hassan, (iii) Audrey Koh, (iv) Stacy Feuer, (v) Heather Egan, (vi) Jeewon Serrato, (vii) Stephanie Breslow, (viii) Anne Choe, (ix) Heather Wyckoff, (x) Angie Batterson, (xi) Jacqueline Eaves, and (xii) C. Dabney O’Riordan.

Enjoy reading their inspiring remarks here.