Expect Focus - Volume III, September 2026

Since 1972, the SEC has run the same play on settlement: defendants resolved enforcement actions on a “neither admit nor deny” basis and, under the SEC’s Rule of Procedure 202.5(e), they agreed not to publicly deny the allegations in the complaint or administrative order. Critics labeled the defendants’ inability to challenge those allegations the “gag rule.” On May 18, 2026, the SEC tore that page from its playbook, rescinding the policy and ending a 50-year procedural rule....
By: Carlton Fields