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ARTICLE · 29 OCTOBER 2013

SEC Enforcement Developments: Renewed Focus On Lawyers

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The Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division staff has a long history of scrutinizing lawyers’ conduct during its investigations.

United StatesCorporate/Commercial Law
William McLucas
William McLucas
Douglas J. Davison
Douglas J. Davison
Michael Lamson
Michael Lamson
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The Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Division staff has a long history of scrutinizing lawyers' conduct during its investigations. This scrutiny has tended to be cyclical—from the ''access theory'' that the staff favored during the 1970s, to emphasizing a lawyer's role as gatekeeper following the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There are times when the SEC's vigor in investigating the role of professionals in its inquiries poses a serious potential risk for the lawyers who practice before the agency.

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Reproduced with permission from Securities Regulation & Law Report, 45 SRLR 1987, 10/28/2013. Copyright 2013 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com.

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