Tag Archives: Jennifer K. Robbennolt

Admitting Wrongdoing to the SEC: An Empirical Study of Admissions in SEC Settlements

by Verity Winship and Jennifer K. Robbennolt

What is the connection between what the SEC actually does and what it says it will do? In 2013, the SEC unveiled a new policy requiring some enforcement targets to admit wrongdoing when they settled with the agency. In An Empirical Study of Admissions in SEC Settlements, we analyze settlements from before and after the introduction of this policy to determine how the SEC’s practice lines up with its new approach to admissions. We find an uptick of admissions following the policy announcement, with the highest number in FY2016.  Using an inclusive definition of admissions, we identify fewer than one hundred settlements containing admissions that were announced during the seven years of our study (FY2011-FY2017). Continue reading →

Denials and Admissions in Civil Enforcement – Looking Beyond the SEC

by Verity Winship and Jennifer K. Robbennolt

Should agencies require admissions of guilt from the targets of civil enforcement?  The SEC’s policy of letting enforcement targets settle while neither admitting nor denying allegations provoked judicial rebukes and a public debate. But the SEC is only the tip of the iceberg. Administrative agencies rely heavily on settlement as a key enforcement tool.  Admissions of guilt—or, more commonly, declarations that nothing is admitted—form part of these settlement agreements and the underlying negotiations.

Our recent article, Admissions of Guilt in Civil Enforcement, uses the explicit debate over the SEC’s practices to draw attention to the high (and mostly unexamined) stakes of admissions for civil enforcement throughout the administrative system. Continue reading →