Joint Statement By Monetary Authority Of Singapore And Securities And Exchange Commission Of Thailand

Joint Statement By Monetary Authority Of Singapore And Securities And Exchange Commission Of Thailand – MAS And SEC Thailand Welcome The Launch Of The Thailand-Singapore DR Linkage
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC Thailand) welcome the launch of the Thailand-Singapore Depositary Receipts (DR) Linkage by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).

2 Under the DR Linkage, depositary receipts representing securities listed on one market will be issued for trading on the other. The enhanced connectivity between the two markets will increase cross-border investment opportunities for investors.3 “To promote development of cross-border products, the SEC Thailand has put considerable efforts to revise rules and regulations related to Depositary Receipt (DR) issuance in Thailand, entered into force on 16 June 2021, to enhance flexibility for DR issuers and to increase investment options for investors. This initial collaboration between SGX and SET is a welcome addition to Thailand and Singapore cross-border development. SEC Thailand looks forward to the successive implementation and participation from market stakeholders. Meanwhile, we will continue to explore further collaborations with MAS in order to advance our capital markets development in the future,” said Ms Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, SEC Thailand’s Secretary-General.
4 “This initiative demonstrates the collaborative efforts between Thailand and Singapore to improve the inter-connectivity between our two markets and provide investors access to a wider range of investment opportunities. We look forward to the successful introduction of DRs under the DR Linkage, and will continue to work closely with SEC Thailand to further enhance mutual connectivity and broaden investment selections for our investors,” said Mr Lim Tuang Lee, Assistant Managing Director (Capital Markets), MAS.

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GOP Sens. Chide SEC’s Gensler On Disclosure Rules, Crypto – Law360

By Dean Seal (September 14, 2021, 10:39 PM EDT) — Gary Gensler’s aggressive regulatory agenda for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was met Tuesday with sharp criticisms from Republican senators ruffled by the agency’s approach to disclosures, cryptocurrency and retail investing.In his first appearance before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee as chairman of the SEC, Gensler was repeatedly grilled on hot-button issues that have come to dominate the conversation around SEC rulemaking and enforcement in the months since his confirmation.

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Counsel Conundrum Trips Up SEC Bid For $12M Judgment – Law360

By Nathan Hale (September 14, 2021, 10:08 PM EDT) — A Florida federal judge denied the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s request for a $12 million final judgment against Chilean fugitive Alberto Chang-Rajii, who is accused of bilking investors out of $7.4 million, after issues arose about the defendant’s legal representation.The Zoom hearing before Miami-based U.S. District Court Judge Marcia G. Cooke was docketed to cover the SEC’s motion for final judgment against Chang-Rajii, who had consented to entry of a permanent injunction against him in 2017.

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Academy Sports + Outdoors Announces Pricing of Secondary Offering of Common Stock …

KATY, Texas, Sept. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (“Academy” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: ASO) today announced the pricing of the previously announced underwritten secondary offering by certain of its stockholders that are affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (the “Selling Stockholders”), of 18,645,602 shares of common stock of Academy at the public offering price of $44.75 per share, pursuant to a registration statement filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). No shares are being sold by Academy. The Selling Stockholders will receive all of the proceeds from this offering.
Academy announced that, subject to the completion of the offering, it intends to repurchase 4,500,000 shares out of the 18,645,602 shares of common stock from the Selling Stockholders at a price per share of approximately $43.52, which is equal to the price at which the underwriters will purchase the shares from the Selling Stockholders, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $200 million. Any shares repurchased by Academy will be pursuant to its recently announced $500 million share repurchase program and will be retired. The closing of the share repurchase is conditioned on, and expected to occur simultaneously with, the closing of the offering, subject to the satisfaction of other customary conditions. The offering is expected to close on September 17, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. The offering is not conditioned upon the completion of the share repurchase.
Credit Suisse, KKR Capital Markets LLC, J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities are acting as joint bookrunning managers for the proposed offering.

The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from: Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Attn: Prospectus Department, 6933 Louis Stephens Drive, Morrisville, North Carolina 27560, by telephone at 800-221-1037.
A registration statement, including a prospectus, relating to these securities has been declared effective by the SEC. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Academy Academy is a leading full-line sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer in the United States. Originally founded in 1938 as a family business in Texas, Academy has grown to 259 stores across 16 contiguous states. Academy’s mission is to provide “Fun for All” and Academy fulfills this mission with a localized merchandising strategy and value proposition that strongly connects with a broad range of consumers. Academy’s product assortment focuses on key categories of outdoor, apparel, footwear and sports & recreation through both leading national brands and a portfolio of 19 private label brands, which go well beyond traditional sporting goods and apparel offerings.
Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on Academy’s current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “projects,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. The forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties, assumptions or changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict or quantify. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, regional or local economic, business, competitive, market, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond Academy’s control. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in Academy’s filings with the SEC, including its registration statement on Form S-1 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021, under the caption “Risk Factors,” as may be updated from time to time in Academy’s periodic filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date of this release. Academy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.
Media inquiries: Elise Hasbrook, Vice President Communications 281.253.8200 [email protected]
Investor inquiries: Matt Hodges, Vice President Investor Relations 281.646.5362 matt.hodges@academy.

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TPG Pace Tech Opportunities Stockholders Approve Merger With Nerdy

SAN FRANCISCO & Remote-First-Company / ST. LOUIS, September 15, 2021–(BUSINESS WIRE)–TPG Pace Tech Opportunities (NYSE:PACE), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced that TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ stockholders voted to approve its proposed business combination with Nerdy (the “Business Combination”), a leading platform for delivering live online learning, with the Business Combination supported by approximately 95% of the shares of TPG Pace Tech Opportunities voted at the general extraordinary meeting of TPG Pace Tech Opportunities stockholders (the “Special Meeting”).The Business Combination is scheduled to close on September 20, 2021 and the common stock and warrants of the combined company are set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on September 21, 2021 under the ticker symbol “NRDY” and “NRDY WS”, respectively.Thirteen proposals were approved by TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ stockholders at the Special Meeting. The formal results of the vote will be included in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by TPG Pace Tech Opportunities with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Important InformationNeither the SEC or any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities to be issued in connection with the Business Combination, or determined if the Registration Statement is accurate or adequate.About TPGTPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with approximately $96 billion of assets under management and offices in Beijing, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, and Washington, DC. TPG’s investment platforms are across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate, secondaries, and public equity. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its investors while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio. For more information, visit www.tpg.com or Twitter @TPG.Story continuesAbout TPG Pace Group and TPG Pace Tech Opportunities TPG Pace Group is TPG’s dedicated permanent capital platform. TPG Pace Group has a long-term, patient and highly flexible investor base, allowing it to seek compelling opportunities that will thrive in the public markets. TPG Pace Group has sponsored seven special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) and raised more than $4.4 billion since 2015.TPG Pace Tech Opportunities is a publicly listed (NYSE:PACE) special purpose acquisition company, and the expected completion of the business combination with Nerdy will represent TPG Pace Group’s fourth successfully completed business combination since 2017. PACE raised $450 million in its October 2020 IPO along with $150 million of forward purchase agreements in order to seek a business combination with a leading technology company that complements the experience and expertise of our management team and TPG and is a business that TPG’s transformative operating skills and strategic advice can help improve. For more information, visit https://www.tpg.com/pace-tech-opportunities.About NerdyNerdy is a leading curated direct-to-consumer platform for live online learning. Nerdy’s mission is to transform the way people learn through technology. The Company’s purpose-built proprietary platform leverages technology, including AI, to connect learners of all ages to experts, delivering superior value on both sides of the network. Nerdy’s comprehensive learning destination provides learning experiences across 3,000+ subjects and multiple formats—including one-on-one instruction, small group classes, large format group classes, and adaptive self-study. Nerdy’s flagship business, Varsity Tutors, is one of the nation’s largest platforms for live online tutoring and classes. Learn more about Nerdy at https://www.nerdy.com/.No Offer or SolicitationThis communication is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase, nor a solicitation of an offer to sell, subscribe for or buy any securities or the solicitation of any vote in any jurisdiction pursuant to the proposed Business Combination between Nerdy and TPG Pace Tech Opportunities or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer or securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except in a transaction exempt from registration under the Securities Act or by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, and applicable regulations in the Cayman Islands.Forward-Looking StatementsThe information included herein and in any oral statements made in connection herewith include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included herein, regarding the proposed business combination, TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ ability to consummate the transaction, the benefits of the transaction and TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ future financial performance following the transaction, as well as TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. When used herein, including any oral statements made in connection herewith, the words “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” the negative of such terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, TPG Pace Tech Opportunities disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements, all of which are expressly qualified by the statements in this section, to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or any new information. TPG Pace Tech Opportunities cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of TPG Pace Tech Opportunities. These risks include, but are not limited to, (1) the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the proposed business combination; (2) the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, and the ability of the combined business to grow and manage growth profitably; (3) any inability of Nerdy to adequately protect its intellectual property; (4) any security breaches, loss of data or other disruptions; (5) any loss of key employees, including Nerdy’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; (6) effects on TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ public securities’ liquidity and trading; (7) the market’s reaction to the proposed business combination; (8) the lack of a market for TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ securities; (9) TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ financial performance following the proposed business combination; (10) costs related to the proposed business combination; (11) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (12) the possibility that the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) may hinder TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ ability to consummate the business combination; (13) the possibility that COVID-19 may adversely affect the results of operations, financial position and cash flows of TPG Pace Tech Opportunities or Nerdy; (14) the possibility that TPG Pace Tech Opportunities or Nerdy may be adversely affected by other economic, business and/or competitive factors; and (15) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by TPG Pace Tech Opportunities. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described herein and in any oral statements made in connection therewith occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ expectations and projections can be found in TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ initial public offering prospectus, which was filed with the SEC on October 8, 2020, and the Registration Statement. In addition, TPG Pace Tech Opportunities’ periodic reports and other SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210914006230/en/ContactsMedia: Nerdy [email protected] Relations: TPG/TPG PaceLuke [email protected] [email protected] nerdy@icrinc.

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SEC Seals $10M Deal With Firm That ‘Lied’ About Data Usage – Law360

By Al Barbarino (September 14, 2021, 7:55 PM EDT) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hit so-called alternative data provider App Annie with a $10 million fine Tuesday, claiming the company committed securities fraud when it allegedly lied to its product users about how it would use their information.Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said in a statement that App Annie and its former CEO Bertrand Schmitt — who was fined an additional $300,000 in connection to the alleged violations — “lied to companies” about how confidential data was being used in order to make more money when selling it to trading firms.

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Fidelity Pushed for Bitcoin ETF Approval in Private SEC Meeting

Fidelity Investments urged the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in a private meeting, listing the virtues of an idea that the regulator has been slow to embrace. 
Executives including Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, met with SEC officials in a Sept. 8 video call, filings show. They laid out reasons why the regulator should approve the proposed product, including increased investor appetite for virtual currencies, the growth of Bitcoin holders and the existence of similar funds in other countries, according to a presentation from the meeting.

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App Annie and co-founder charged with securities fraud, will pay $10M+ settlement – TechCrunch

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged App Annie, a leading mobile data and analytics firm, as well as its co-founder and former CEO and Chairman Bertrand Schmitt, with securities fraud. App Annie and Schmitt have agreed to pay over $10 million to settle the fraud charges which are related to “deceptive practices and making material misrepresentations about how App Annie’s alternative data was derived,” the SEC said.
App Annie is one of the largest sellers of mobile app performance data, offering details that are useful to developers, publishers, advertisers and marketers — like how many times an app is downloaded, how often it’s used, the revenue it generates and other competitive analysis and insights. This is what trading firms call “alternative data,” because it’s not detailed in their financial statements or other traditional data sources, the SEC explains. App Annie told app makers it would not disclose their data to third parties directly, but would rather use the data in an aggregated and anonymized way to provide app insights. Specifically, companies were told the data would be used to build a statistical model to generate estimates of app performance.
However, the SEC says from late 2014 through mid-2018, App Annie used non-aggregated and non-anonymized data to alter its model-generated estimates in order to make them more valuable to sell to trading firms. It also says that the company and Schmitt then misrepresented to its customers how it was able to generate the data, saying it did so with the appropriate consent from customers, and that it had effective internal controls to prevent the misuse of confidential data, ensuring it was in compliance with federal securities laws. Trading firms were making investment decisions based on this data and App Annie had even shared ideas as to how they could use the estimates to trade ahead of earnings announcements.
In the full complaint, the SEC further explains Schmitt had agreed to an internal policy where certain public company “Connect Data” — “Connect” being App Annies’ analytics product — would be excluded from its statistical model in late 2014. But he didn’t actually direct anyone at App Annie to document this policy until April 2017. And then when it was documented, it only said to exclude app revenue data from public companies whose app revenue exceeded 5% of the company’s total revenue. It never said to exclude app download or usage data.
The SEC says the documented policy was never properly enforced. It wasn’t until after App Annie learned of the SEC investigation in June 2018 that it amended the policy to exclude public company Connect Data from its estimate generation process, and began to fully implement the policy.
The investigation also discovered that App Annie engineers in Beijing, China were directed by Schmitt to manually alter estimates that would be of most interest to the company’s highest-paying customers. It did so by looking at the confidential Connect Data, which is one of the ways its estimates were able to be more accurate than rivals. Later, in 2016, it implemented a more automated way of adjusting its model-generated estimates to match up with the actual (and confidential) revenue and download numbers. When App Annie’s Chief Data Scientist refused to implement the method, believing adjustments should only be made to the statistical model itself, Schmitt had the Beijing engineers make the changes without informing other company executives, subscribers, users or employees.
“The federal securities laws prohibit deceptive conduct and material misrepresentations in connection with the purchase or sale of securities,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, in a statement. “Here, App Annie and Schmitt lied to companies about how their confidential data was being used and then not only sold the manipulated estimates to their trading firm customers, but also encouraged them to trade on those estimates—often touting how closely they correlated with the companies’ true performance and stock prices,” Grewal added.

The SEC says App Annie and Schmitt violated the anti-fraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. App Annie, without either admitting or denying the findings, consented to a cease-and-desist order and is paying a penalty. App Annie agreed to pay a penalty of $10 million. Meanwhile, Schmitt is ordered to pay a penalty of $300,000 and is prohibited from serving as an officer or director of a public company for three years.
Reached for comment, App Annie’s current CEO provided a statement:
“Since I have taken over as CEO, we have established a new standard of trust and transparency for the newly created alternative data market. App Annie is uniquely positioned to be the first to deliver on a unified data AI vision,” said Theodore Krantz, CEO at App Annie. “Many businesses may be unknowingly leveraging data reliant on confidential public company information without explicit consent which we believe puts companies using digital/mobile market data at significant risk. It is our opinion that the entire alternative data space needs to be regulated.”
In a newsroom post, the company also pointed out that the SEC investigation does not relate to its “current products,” nor did it relate to “our current relationships with customers.” And it says in the three years since the violating practices, it has appointed a new CEO and executive team, changed how it built its data estimates, and established a company-wide “culture of compliance,” which included the appointment of a Head of Global Compliance. It also documented its procedures for ensuring confidential data is excluded from its process of generating market estimates.
App Annie’s mobile market data solution was one of the first to serve the growing app ecosystem when it launched in 2010. Today, its firm counts more than 1,100 enterprise clients and over a million registered users, according to its corporate website. The company earlier this summer was said to be weighing a possible sale, IPO, or other options.
The details of the complaint and settlement are below.

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App Annie Settles SEC Fraud Investigation Over Mobile-Data Product

WASHINGTON—A company that collects and sells mobile-app usage statistics agreed to pay $10 million to settle a fraud investigation over how it disclosed its data practices to trading clients.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday the enforcement action was the first against a provider of alternative data used by investors to make trading decisions. Alternative data describes a range of information that can help investors model the future performance of a company, including consumer transactions, social-media activity and internet search activity.

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SEC Seeks Win Against Cannabis Developers In Fraud Suit – Law360

By Katryna Perera (September 14, 2021, 5:11 PM EDT) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission moved to secure an early win against a group of cannabis developers who are the only remaining defendants in a suit over an alleged scheme to con marijuana business investors out of $25 million.The SEC filed a motion for summary judgment in California federal court on Monday against Mark Heckele, Charles Lloyd and Lloyd Marketing LLC.The agency alleges that Lloyd and Lloyd Marketing acted as unregistered broker-dealers in marijuana-related securities offerings and unlawfully earned more than $250,000 in commissions.

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Release No. 34-92907; File No. SR-NYSE-2021-47 – Federal Register

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Former SEC GC Stebbins heads back to Willkie

Willkie Farr & Gallagher offices in New York City. REUTERS/Andrew KellySummaryLaw firmsRobert Stebbins will head the firm’s corporate governance practiceHe previously practiced at Willkie for 24 yearsThe company and law firm names shown above are generated automatically based on the text of the article. We are improving this feature as we continue to test and develop in beta. We welcome feedback, which you can provide using the feedback tab on the right of the page.(Reuters) – Willkie Farr & Gallagher said on Tuesday that Robert Stebbins has returned to the firm following nearly four years as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission general counsel.Stebbins, who practiced at Willkie for 24 years before joining the SEC in 2017, will head up the firm’s corporate governance practice. He’ll be part of the 1,000-lawyer firm’s corporate and financial services department in New York.Stebbins began his earlier tenure at Willkie in 1993, and made partner in 2001, according to his firm bio. Willkie’s New York office, one of 13 for the firm, has about 400 lawyers, according to the firm’s website.”Bob is a skilled leader and talented practitioner who helped navigate numerous novel and complex issues faced by the SEC,” Thomas Cerabino, chairman of Willkie, said in a statement. “His direct experience and deep understanding of the regulatory and legal intricacies that companies face today will be a tremendous benefit to our clients.”Stebbins led the SEC general counsel’s office until January, through a period Willkie described in its announcement as “one of the most active and wide-ranging rule calendars in the agency’s history,” which included advising on 85 rules.Starting in the spring of 2020, he also helped guide the Treasury Department on its implementation of the CARES Act, the announcement said.Stebbins’ practice at Willkie will include advising on SEC compliance and enforcement, corporate governance, and internal and governmental investigations, according to the firm.”I look forward to further developing my practice and drawing upon my regulatory experience to help our clients,” Stebbins said in a statement.New York-founded Willkie has made a series of recent hires across practice areas and offices. Last week, the firm brought on former Paul Hastings partner Andres Mena in New York to co-chair its finance practice, and earlier this month launched an office in Los Angeles with three former Venable partners. The new L.A. office is the firm’s third in California, after opening outposts in Palo Alto in 2018 and San Francisco in 2019.Another former SEC official also landed in private practice this week. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom on Monday announced its hire of Daniel Michael, who was most recently chief of the complex financial instruments unit of the SEC’s enforcement division.Read more:Former head of SEC’s complex products group goes to private practicePaul Hastings dealmaker jumps to Willkie as finance co-chairWillkie launches Los Angeles office with three Venable hiresAnother privacy leader swaps firms as McDermott practice head jumps to WillkieSara MerkenSara Merken reports on privacy and data security, as well as the business of law, including legal innovation and key players in the legal services industry. Reach her at sara.merken@thomsonreuters.

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