Tag Archives: Elizabeth L. Mitchell

CFTC Year in Review: 23 Takeaways From 2023 and Predictions for 2024

by Matthew B. Kulkin, Elizabeth L. Mitchell, Gretchen Passe Roin, Timothy F. Silva, Tiffany J. Smith, Dino Wu, Matthew Beville, and Joseph M. Toner

Photos of the authors

Top (left to right): Matthew B. Kulkin, Elizabeth L. Mitchell, Gretchen Passe Roin, and Timothy F. Silva
Bottom (left to right): Tiffany J. Smith, Dino Wu, Matthew Beville, and Joseph M. Toner (photos courtesy of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)

At an industry event in early 2023, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) Chairman Rostin Behnam set out a comprehensive agenda.[1] When Chairman Behnam detailed the CFTC’s 2023 work plan, the CFTC was building on its first year with a full slate of Commissioners, new Division Directors, and senior leadership. As we look back on the recently completed calendar year and turn our attention to the rapidly approaching 2024 presidential and congressional elections, the CFTC seems poised for another year packed with a flurry of regulatory, policy, and enforcement activity. This article lays out 23 of our key takeaways from the past year and offers insights on what might take place in the coming months.

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CFTC Releases Enforcement Manual in Hopes of Increasing Transparency

by Paul M. Architzel, Elizabeth L. Mitchell, Petal P. Walker, Matthew Beville, and Seth Davis

Intending to bring greater transparency to the operation of its enforcement program, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC or Commission) Division of Enforcement (the Division) recently, for the first time, made public its Enforcement Manual (Manual).[1] The Manual provides market participants, industry professionals and the enforcement bar with insights into the Division’s detections, investigations, and pursuit of violations (and potential violations) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the regulations thereunder. According to CFTC Director of Enforcement James McDonald, this move is intended to “promote fairness, increase predictability, and enhance respect for the rule of law.”

The public release of the Manual brings CFTC practice in line with those of other enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[2] The Manual provides a roadmap of the life cycle of a CFTC enforcement action, from the opening of an investigation through the Wells process to resolution. Although the Manual provides broad insight into the general policies and procedures that guide the work of the Division’s Staff, it does not provide concrete guidance on how those general policies may be applied in particular cases. 

Below, we highlight several of the Manual’s more significant provisions. Continue reading →