It has been three and a half years since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Jan. 13, 2010, that it would begin using several types of cooperation agreements to resolve investigations under the then-newly implemented Cooperation Initiative. Since that time, information about these agreements has been scarce. The SEC has publicly released only three non-prosecution and two deferred prosecution agreements, all of which involve companies, not individuals.
While the SEC has issued press releases that highlight instances of cooperation, it is often difficult to ascertain lessons for potential cooperators from limited information in the releases. In some instances, the benefits of cooperation are relatively obvious. But for companies and individuals facing an SEC investigation and the critical decision of whether or not to cooperate, many important questions persist.
