TheCorporateCounsel.net

SecuritiesDocket.com recently flagged a Capitol Account article about a new public interest law firm called the “Investor Choice Advocates Network.”  ICAN was formed by former SEC enforcement lawyers & first caught the public’s eye when it persuaded Elon Musk & Mark Cuban to join in an amicus brief seeking SCOTUS review of the SEC’s “neither admit nor deny” settlement policy.  This excerpt from the article summarizes ICAN’s purpose:

Despite the innocuous name, they plan to use the group to shine a spotlight on what they see as SEC overreach – partly by weighing in on important appellate cases, but also by offering free legal services to defendants caught up in investigations. A number of those probes could be in the cryptocurrency area where the SEC has been busy.

ICAN is the brainchild of Nick Morgan, a partner at Paul Hastings in Los Angeles. The idea was spurred, he says, by watching numerous people being railroaded into settling cases with the SEC rather than taking them to court where they had a decent shot at winning. For those of limited financial means, and no company or insurance firm picking up the tab, there’s really no choice, he says.

The Division of Enforcement has a job to do, but I think it’s hard to argue that there’s not a need for quality pro bono representation to help level the playing field in enforcement actions targeting individuals and businesses with limited resources. The article compared ICAN’s teaming up with Musk & Cuban on the SCOTUS brief to “the teaming up of the Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman and the Joker – with a mission of going after the regulator.”  Given ICAN’s purpose, comparing this team of SEC enforcement alums to legendary comic book characters seems to be right on the money – but I have a very different set of those characters in mind.

– John Jenkins