Lawrence E. Ritchie

U.S. court limits application of FCPA for non-resident foreign nationals

A U.S. court has found the jurisdictional reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) does not extend to non-resident foreign nationals when...

IIROC’s enforcement authority gets a stronger legal backbone

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) recently released its 2017 Enforcement Report. Chief among this past...

200 tips in two years: The continued progress of the OSC’s Whistleblower Program

On June 29, 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) released an update detailing the progress of its Whistleblower Program. As we...

Confronting cultures of harassment: Class actions on the rise in the wake of #MeToo?

The last year has seen a swell of class actions alleging bullying, harassment and other systemic misconduct in the workplace. Mostly recently, on...

CSA publishes harmonized response to concerns regarding client-registrant relationship

On June 21, 2018, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released two published notices concerning investor protection initiatives.  The...

“Wake-up call” for Australian Boards: Regulator identifies shortcomings in Bank’s practices

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and revelations concerning Wells Fargo’s sales practices, numerous reviews have been launched by...

U.S. financial industry “eagerly” awaits SEC’s best interest standard

While in Canada division continues over the issue of “best interest” in the financial advisory industry the U.S. national securities...

Compliance update – deferred prosecution agreements finally come to Canada

The Canadian federal government released Bill C-74 on March 27, 2018. Bill C-74 (a 500-page plus document) proposes amendments to several statutes to...

SEC announces $82-million in whistleblower awards

On March 19, 2018 the SEC announced its largest whistleblower award to-date, awarding $49,000,000 jointly to two claimants and $33,000,000 to a third...

Regulators on both sides of the border pursue initiatives focused on investment adviser conflicts of interest

On February 12, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a new self-reporting initiative that seeks to protect...