RIA Compliance Blog
This can be a crucial question. U.S. Securities laws are manageable with guidance from an experienced U. S. Securities lawyer, but if you are involved in a transaction and do not realize it is subject to the U. S. Securities laws, you are headed for big trouble.
Recent Cases Provide Insight Into Applicability of United States Securities Laws to International Transactions
In recent years, the question of when the United States’ securities laws may apply to international transactions has been a prominent topic for various United States courts. Until a few years ago, questions of whether United States Securities laws apply to international transactions were primarily determined by two tests:
(1) the “effects test,” which asked whether any wrongful conduct, like fraud, had a substantial effect in the United States or upon United States citizens; and
(2) the “conduct test,” which asked whether the wrongful conduct had taken place in the United States.
In 2010, however, the Supreme Court of the United States propounded entirely new methodology for determining whether United States Securities laws are applicable to international transactions in Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd.[1] Continue reading ›