Everyone generally agrees that people and organizations should be able to protect their proprietary and valuable information. But one area where we’ve seen legislative fretting is when that principle potentially impedes reporting wrongdoing to the government. As we have previously blogged, Congress and many state legislatures are exploring (or, in some cases, already enacted) legislative protections for reporting suspected misconduct to the government. And, at the federal level, Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which provides immunity for the disclosure of a trade secret if made in confidence to an attorney or government official for the purpose of investigating a suspected violation of law.
Continue Reading Recent SEC Order Reiterates Need for Affirmative Whistleblower Exclusion
Upcoming Webinar! Cybesecurity: Securities Laws and Governance Considerations for Public Companies
On May 7 at 12 p.m. Central, Seyfarth attorneys Blake Hornick, Scott Carlson, and Michael Dunn are presenting a cybersecurity CLE webinar.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is promoting more robust disclosures regarding cybersecurity risks, controls, and incidents for investors, placing increased responsibility on public companies due to the “grave threats” cyber poses on the markets. With cyber high
Five Easy Tips for Improving Your Company’s Non-Compete and Confidentiality Agreements and Related Practices Now
As January quickly passed by and new projects increase by the day, there is still a golden opportunity to capitalize on some low-hanging fruit to immediately improve your company’s practices and add immediate value to your company. The opportunity lies in improving your company’s restrictive covenant and confidentiality agreements and confidentiality policies. Below are five tips that you can employ
Continue Reading Five Easy Tips for Improving Your Company’s Non-Compete and Confidentiality Agreements and Related Practices Now
Aggressive SEC Enforcement Efforts Regarding Confidentiality Agreements Will Continue
In a post-script to the SEC’s April 1 cease and desist order penalizing KBR, Inc. for a confidentiality statement that failed to carve out protected federal whistleblower complaints (our alert on it here), SEC Office of the Whistleblower Chief Sean McKessy today made additional comments that suggest public companies as well as private companies that
Continue Reading Aggressive SEC Enforcement Efforts Regarding Confidentiality Agreements Will Continue
SEC Cracks Down On Confidentiality Agreements Chilling Employees’ Rights to Report Potential Securities Law Violations
By Ada Dolph, Christopher Robertson, and Robert Milligan
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that it had made good on its prior promises to take a hard look at employment agreements and policies that could be viewed as attempting to keep securities fraud complaints in-house. In KBR, Inc., Exchange Act Release No. 74619 (April 1, 2015),
Continue Reading SEC Cracks Down On Confidentiality Agreements Chilling Employees’ Rights to Report Potential Securities Law Violations
Time to Party Like It’s 1999… Again: Information Technology Returns to Center Stage
With the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attention again returning to cybersecurity issues, many registrants are recalling the Commission’s intense focus on “Year 2000” issues over a decade ago.
Commissioner Luis Aguilar, in remarks at the SEC’s cybersecurity roundtable held on March 26, 2014, made a special point of discussing the SEC’s growing concerns about cybersecurity and observed
Continue Reading Time to Party Like It’s 1999… Again: Information Technology Returns to Center Stage