In this episode, Paul Hirose, former president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and co-chair of Perkins Coie’s Supply Chain Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility practice, speaks with Leyla Seka about her leadership in confronting gender equality and racial equity issues in the tech industry.

Leyla Seka is a partner with Operator Collective, a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, and co-founder of the Black Venture Institute. She was one of the most senior female executives at Salesforce when she tackled pay equity. 

Listen to “Leyla Seka: The Next Right Action for Gender Equality and Racial Equity in Tech – Episode 20” on Spreaker.

In this episode, Perkins Coie partner and former dean of the University of San Diego School of Law, Stephen Ferruolo, speaks with Pradeep Khosla, chancellor of the University of California San Diego (UCSD), and Kurt Schmoke, president of the University of Baltimore, about how they, and the universities they lead, have confronted the challenges posed by the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism. President Schmoke and Chancellor Khosla speak compellingly about the important role universities can play in combatting both of these pandemics, as well as about their visions for the future of higher education in a post-pandemic world.

Listen to “Two University Leaders Confronting the Twin Pandemics of COVID-19 and Racism – Episode 19” on Spreaker.

What does military policy have to do with the SEC? Tucked into the 1,480 page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a provision expanding the SEC’s disgorgement authority. The NDAA, specifying the budget and expenditures for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2021 (H.R. 6395), was passed on December 11, 2020 by both chambers of Congress. Despite any obvious connection between the national defense and the SEC, the bill would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to give the SEC authority to seek disgorgement in enforcement actions brought in federal court.  These amendments would also increase the statute of limitations for disgorgement from five to ten years.

Continue Reading Congress Sneaks in Expansion of SEC Disgorgement Authority in Annual Defense Bill

In this episode, we discuss management’s view of compliance and legal functions with Jim Stutelberg, president of primary products at Tate & Lyle, PLC, a U.K.-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients. Partners Markus Funk and Gina LaMonica talk to Jim about his experience at Tate & Lyle and discuss how white collar practitioners can collaborate with management to foster a compliance-oriented atmosphere, while helping business units to accomplish their goals.

Listen to “Compliance Perspectives From the Management Suite” on Spreaker.

Note that all episodes are available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

Markus Funk and Kevin Feldis speak with Corey Norton, Vice President for Supply Chain Legality at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), about the important role that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can play in corporate supply chain compliance. NGOs have both outside credibility and an insiders on-the-ground understanding of local supply chain issues that can be invaluable to companies when it comes to understanding and protecting their supply chains for everything from raw materials to commodities to finished consumer products. Corey explains how WWF and other NGOs engage with corporations to help them improve traceability and better understand and mitigate risks related to forced labor, environmental degradation, and more. While some have traditionally viewed NGOs and corporations as acting with very different interests in mind, this podcast explores the many areas of overlap and mutual interest, and suggests that NGOs, corporations, and corporate outside counsel can, and should, actively work together on these important, complex, and still-evolving areas of corporate compliance.

Listen to “World Wildlife Fund VP Discusses Corporate Supply Chain Compliance” on Spreaker.

Note that all episodes are available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

Using the power of music and videos to make math fun and accessible, the Nashville-based education technology (edtech) company Muzology challenges students to learn and retain the math concepts critical to their progress.  In this podcast, Muzology co-founders Lana Israel, Ph.D. and Bob Doyle join host Markus Funk to discuss their disruptive platform, the significant impact Muzology has had on the lives of children and young adults, and how COVID-19 has affected schooling, education, and edtech, specifically.

Listen to “The Influence of Edtech: Muzology’s Pioneering Founders Discuss Their Company’s Past, Present, and Future” on Spreaker.

Note that all episodes are available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

In this episode of White Collar Briefly, Perkins Coie’s David Biderman, firmwide chair of the Consumer Products & Services Litigation group, sits down with Craig Lackey, general counsel of Rushmore Loan Management Services, a major servicer of residential mortgages nationwide. Their discussion covers topics such as the COVID-19-related downturn on the economy and mortgage servicer responses to COVID-19 and the CARES act. Craig and David also discuss what to expect from enforcement arising from COVID-19 and how to best respond, as well as the likely changes to the enforcement environment in the event of a change in administration.

Listen to “COVID-19 Impacts on the Mortgage Industry: Response to Crisis and What to Expect in Enforcement, a Discussion With Craig Lackey” on Spreaker.

Note that all episodes are available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.

Prosecutors have scored a win in their latest criminal spoofing trial, United States v. Vorley.  After three days of deliberation—during which time the jury repeatedly informed the court that it was deadlocked—the jury has convicted precious metals traders James Vorley and Cedric Chanu of committing wire fraud.  At the same time, the jury rejected the government’s allegations that the defendants had participated in a criminal conspiracy by allegedly coordinating spoofed trades with other market participants.

The inconsistent verdicts on wire fraud and conspiracy will almost certainly put the defendants on the path to an appeal before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.  To convict Vorley and Chanu on the wire fraud counts, the government was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they knowingly and intentionally participated in a scheme to defraud other market participants by making materially false representations. And at a high level, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to accomplish an unlawful purpose.  The jury’s split verdict suggests there could have been some confusion surrounding the intent requirements for the charges at issue.  This could further implicate the manner in which the government presented its evidence at trial and the instructions provided to jurors before they went into deliberations. Continue Reading Jury Convicts on Wire Fraud Charges in Criminal Spoofing Case

The criminal spoofing trial in United States v. Vorley kicked off in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on September 14, 2020.  Less than 10 days later, on the first full day of deliberations, jurors sent a note to the court indicating they had reached an impasse, with two jurors holding out against a consensus on the verdict.  Following this development, the court denied the defendants’ request to declare a mistrial and instructed the jury to continue deliberations.

The jury’s difficulty in reaching a verdict on the complicated charges may foreshadow a similar outcome that occurred last year in the criminal trial of software developer Jitesh Thakkar.  In that case, Jitesh faced spoofing charges stemming from his company’s development of software that was later used by a London-based trader to spoof E-Mini S&P 500 futures contracts, which allegedly led to the “flash crash” of 2010.  The trial judge granted Thakkar’s mid-trial motion for a judgment of acquittal on a conspiracy charge based on the lack of evidence of any agreement between Thakkar and the London trader, but the judge allowed the spoofing counts to proceed to the jury.  The jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of Thakkar on those charges and the government eventually dropped its case. Continue Reading Latest Criminal Spoofing Trial Hampered by Obstacles

This podcast provides rare insight from a retired FBI agent regarding how to add science into the art of interviewing. Perkins Coie partner Kevin Feldis, a former federal prosecutor, talks with retired FBI Special Agent Colton Seale about recent research on conducting more effective witness interviews. Colton spent 22 years with the FBI, including serving as a member of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), interviewing suspects around the world.

Kevin and Colton discuss what it really means to build rapport and how to get in sync with the person in a way that opens the door for meaningful factfinding.

The goal of any interview is to learn accurate and complete information, but rigid approaches and common misconceptions about how to conduct interviews can go nowhere and lead to incomplete and inaccurate answers.

Listen to “Witness Interview Tips From Retired FBI Agent: Building Rapport and Getting in Sync” on Spreaker.

Note that all episodes are available on Apple, Google, and Spotify.