For decades, insider trading investigations relied heavily on whistleblowers, referrals from regulatory organizations, and obvious patterns of suspicious, red-flag activity.  Today, the landscape has radically changed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now utilizes advanced market surveillance technology to identify highly suspicious trading patterns across millions of transactions — including a sophisticated analytical platform known...Read More

By David R. Chase, Former SEC Enforcement Attorney and Now SEC Insider Trading Defense Lawyer For many executives, traders, investment advisers, and finance professionals, the first sign of trouble arrives unexpectedly: a subpoena, a call from compliance, a request for documents, or an out-of-the blue contact from SEC enforcement staff itself. By that point, the...Read More

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement recently made significant substantive revisions to its Enforcement Manual, marking the first major update since 2017.  For those staring down a potential SEC enforcement action, these changes to the Wells Notification Process are the proverbial “double-edged sword” in that they provide arguably unprecedented transparency but also create new procedural “traps” for...Read More

What It Means, The Risks, Defenses Against, and Real-World Examples What Is a Relief Defendant in an SEC Case? A Relief Defendant (also called a nominal defendant) is: A person or entity named in an SEC enforcement action on the grounds that they received or currently hold funds derived from, or traced to, federal securities law violations,...Read More

When faced with an insider trading investigation, you are now in potentially perilous waters confronting a federal civil, law-enforcement agency with dedicated resources, institutional knowledge and a “playbook” on how it will conduct its inquiry to determine whether you traded on material, non-public information. David R. Chase spent several years serving as Senior Counsel in the...Read More

Short answer: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can obtain email metadata and account information without your knowledge—but generally cannot access the actual content of your emails without a criminal search warrant, which it does not have the legal authority to issue. Why This Matters in an SEC Investigation As an SEC investigation lawyer, a common...Read More

Introduction There are few legal situations that create more stress and uncertainty for investors, corporate insiders, pharma employees, investment bankers, or securities professionals than learning that securities regulators are investigating you for insider trading.  Federal regulators, including the SEC and DOJ, aggressively pursue insider trading cases, and that historical trend appears to be continuing without...Read More

How does the SEC define “AI-Washing” in 2026? Under the direction of Chairman Paul Atkins, the SEC has defined AI-washing as a materially false or misleading statement concerning a firm’s use of artificial intelligence to manage financial assets and/or to predict market trends.  If a firm claims its returns are generated by a “proprietary neural...Read More

When individuals or companies receive a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoena, the first and most critical decisions to be made is choosing the right SEC investigation lawyer. An SEC investigation can lead to serious life-changing consequences, including civil enforcement actions, financial penalties, industry bars, and reputational damage.  In some cases, it may cause a...Read More

You open an overnight envelope and your stomach drops. It’s a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You are required to produce documents and appear for sworn testimony. After the initial shock fades, reality sets in: this is serious. Your finances, career, professional licenses, and reputation may all be at risk. Your next...Read More