Q3 marked an uptick in activity at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), at least until the federal government shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, effectively halting most enforcement investigative activity. During the quarter, the SEC finally saw the appointment of an Enforcement Director. Judge Margaret “Meg” Ryan was sworn in as Director on September 2, 2025. Acting Director Sam Waldon will stay at the Commission, returning to his former role as Chief Counsel for Enforcement. Judge Ryan had served as a senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces since 2006 and was also a lecturer on military law and justice at Harvard University Law School. While it remains unknown what mark Judge Ryan will make during her somewhat surprising turn at the Commission, the SEC has made clear its enforcement priorities lie in traditional areas such as disclosure fraud, insider trading and market manipulation, and breaches of duties by registrants.
In this special edition of our enforcement newsletter, we share key insights gained from the recent Securities Enforcement Forum Central in Chicago. The conference’s stellar faculty – including numerous senior SEC enforcement officials and more than 40 other luminaries in securities enforcement, such as recent lateral joiner and Global Regulatory Enforcement partner Rebecca Fike, who served as Program Chair and moderated the insider trading panel – discussed the most pressing and critical issues in securities enforcement. Topics included financial and accounting fraud, the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), advanced litigation and investigation strategies, managing SEC-related criminal matters, financial firms, cryptocurrency, whistleblowers, insider trading, and cybersecurity. We hope you find these key takeaways useful and enjoy this special feature; look out for our next update, where we will be taking a deeper dive.
Key takeaways
1. Shifting priorities and a focus on fraud
As discussed in our Q1 update, the SEC has signaled an entirely new approach to cryptocurrency regulation and FCPA enforcement, opting to pull from the conference any current SEC staff who were scheduled to speak on either topic. This move further confirms that the SEC is prioritizing a “back to basics” enforcement strategy that is focused on (1) insider trading; (2) accounting and disclosure fraud; (3) market manipulation; and (4) breaches of fiduciary duties by investment advisors.
Panelists noted that, given the recent structural and staff changes, enforcement activity seems to have slowed down as they wait for guidance from Chair Atkins and Judge Ryan on the agency’s enforcement priorities. Current SEC staff members referenced a renewed openness under the current administration for staff to engage in early conversations with corporations that have rooted out an error or bad actor and are seeking swift resolution. Private practitioners noted that under prior administrations, the benefits of cooperation and self-reporting were less clear.
While there have been far fewer actions brought under the Chair Atkins SEC so far, based on statements from the panelists, we anticipate that the SEC will remain focused on garden variety fraud. This prediction is supported by the SEC’s most recent actions announcing charges against individuals for alleged Ponzi schemes and material misstatements.
2. Social media risks and emerging technologies
Multiple panels highlighted both the use of, and the risks associated with, social media and emerging technologies such as AI, with respect to SEC enforcement.