\t\t\t\tOn March 22, Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced S. 652, which would mandate that plaintiffs’ lawyers in private securities actions reveal via sworn certification any fees or other conflicts of interest that might have impacted their retention of clients. Dubbed the “Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act,” the bill would mandate that the courts review the certifications and disqualify any lawyers that had wielded such influence from the case. <\/p>\n
Some plaintiffs attorneys feel that S. 652 disregards the effect that Private Securities Litigation Reform Act has had on securities cases. The bill has been referred to the Senate Banking Committee. <\/p>\n
Meantime, another Texas lawmaker, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling , is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to account for how it used resources in Gabelli v. SEC<\/em>, a US Supreme Court case that affirmed the statute of limitations standard the regulator must abide by when bringing a civil penalty. Representatives Hensarling and Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), who chairs the HFSC’s Capital Markets subcommittee, wrote a letter to Commission chairman Elisse Walter expressing worry over how the regulator expends resources on “dubious legal theories” while failing to meet deadlines for rulemaking. <\/p>\n