Jacob Frenkel to Testify on Capitol Hill for Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets Congressional Subcommittee

Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Jacob Frenkel (Member, Chair of Government Investigations and Securities Enforcement Practice) will be testifying in front of the United States House of Representative’s Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020.

“I am honored to have received this invitation to testify before the Subcommittee and look forward to addressing capital markets activity and corporate actions impacting investor confidence and regulatory considerations relating to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Frenkel said. “Our markets and investors place a premium on transparency and an expectation of legal and ethical compliance.  Investor protection and market integrity are central to public trust and confidence in our markets, and important to maintaining a strong economy during these turbulent times. I thank the Committee and the Subcommittee for giving me this unique opportunity to share my experience and perspective -- and to contribute substantively to its assessment of new legislation.”

Mr. Frenkel will appear at a virtual hearing on “Insider Trading and Stock Option Grants: An Examination of Corporate Integrity in the Covid-19 Pandemic.” He will appear alongside Jill Fisch, distinguished professor of business law and co-director of the Institute of Law and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Rick Claypool, research director for the President’s office of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.

Mr. Frenkel brings to the Subcommittee hearing more than 32 years of experience with the issues about which the United States Congress has invited his input.  Mr. Frenkel served with the SEC’s Division of Enforcement for 9 ½ years, was a federal criminal prosecutor of public corruption and securities for 3 ½ years, and has advised corporations and individuals in SEC, DOJ, PCAOB and FINRA investigations for more than 20 years. He is a vice president and a director of the International Association of Independent Corporate Monitors, and continues to serve as outside independent counsel to corporate monitors. Many of the issues before the Subcommittee have been the subject of Mr. Frenkel’s commentary for CNBC, the Washington Post, ABC News Investigations and ABC News’ Start Here Podcast, as well as his blog at Forbes.com.

The Subcommittee will discuss investor protection and overall market integrity, including issues related to insider trading, “spring loading,” executive compensation schemes (including stock options), and profiteering by certain pharmaceutical companies. The Subcommittee’s hearing is in connection with the following legislation:

• H.R. 624, the “Promoting Transparent Standards for Corporate Insiders Act.”
• H.R. 2534, the “Insider Trading Prohibition Act of 2019.”
• H.R. 4335, the “8-K Trading Gap Act of 2019.”
• H.R. ____, To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit issuers from granting stock options if the grantor or recipient are in possession of certain nonpublic information, and for other purposes.

To learn more about the Subcommittee hearing or to watch the virtual hearing, please click here. 

Dickinson Wright’s Government Investigations and Securities Enforcement practice encompasses all investigations, knowledgeably spanning securities enforcement (SEC, FINRA, PCAOB and states), white-collar (DOJ and state investigations, including grand jury investigations, and prosecutions), bribery and corruption (FCPA, FPOA (Canada), UK Bribery Act), and government contracts. We have represented individuals and companies in government investigations and civil and criminal litigation involving the SEC, FINRA, the DOJ, other regulatory and criminal authorities, and the World Bank. To learn more about Dickinson Wright’s Government Investigations and Securities Enforcement practice, please click here.