Lawrence E. Ritchie

Charges Laid for $1 Billion Investment Fraud – Although Red Flags Existed for Years

Hedge fund founder Mark Nordlicht was charged last December by both the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission...

Divisional Court Upholds Significant OSC Insider Trading Case

Recently, we provided a brief update on the release of the Finkelstein v. Ontario (Securities Commission) appeal decision (update available here),...

Significant insider trading cases on both sides of the border

The first week of December 2016 has proven to be a big one for pursuers of alleged insider traders on both sides of the border. On December 2,...

Plaintiffs drive to overcome Securities Act protections for issuer and underwriter class actions

In 2016, plaintiffs continued their attempts to circumvent the protections offered to defendants under the Ontario Securities Act against secondary...

Securities enforcement: Regulators’ enforcement capabilities continue to grow

With the new tools recently given to securities regulators in Ontario and Québec to help combat capital market abuses, regulators are hoping for...

SEC Agrees to $11.8 Million Settlement with Auditor for Alleged Audit Failures

In October 2016, the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced Ernst & Young LLP agreed to pay $11.8 million...

‘A New Day Has Arrived’: Continued Focus on Individual Wrongdoing

The “Yates Memo,” which instructs United States prosecutors to focus on individual wrongdoers when investigating or prosecuting alleged...

Newly Introduced OSC Whistleblower Program Receives Over 30 Tips Since Coming into Effect

The Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC”) has now reported that in the month and a half since its rollout, its Office of the...

Canadian government publishes consultation paper for a review of the legislative and regulatory framework of Canada’s financial sector

BackgroundOfficers, Directors of regulated businesses and advisors must keep up with evolving regulatory and other policy priorities as a matter of...

DOJ’s Major Insider Trading Victory: a Blueprint for post-Newman Convictions?

Improper disclosure of confidential information and insider trading remains very much a focal point for regulators and prosecutors on both sides of...