Junaid A. Zubairi, a Shareholder in Vedder Price's Chicago office and Chair of the firm's Government Enforcement & Special Investigations group, was recently quoted in the article, "SEC to Focus More on Data in Examinations, Inspections," by Compliance Week. Data-based initiatives and processes that promote more efficient risk-based examinations and investigations were key topics that were addressed at the SEC's annual SEC Speaks conference in Washington, DC last month. The article discusses these topics as well as the SEC's desire to pursue a wide variety of cases by implementing new data and technology tools and enforcing infrequently used rules and statutes.

These changes in investigations and enforcement actions set forth by the SEC have the potential to greatly affect companies and individuals, specifically in relation to the expected increase in SEC administrative proceedings as opposed to district court cases, and the implementation of seldom-used sections of the Securities Exchange Act. "There is expedited discovery in an administrative proceeding process, and the speed of the process is certainly a challenge for both sides," Mr. Zubairi states. "Some of these secondary liability tools may not have been in vogue historically, but now the SEC is trying to identify ways to use them as possible enforcement tools."

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