Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources
In-House Counsel Committee - Newsletter Archive
Vol. 6, No. 2 - June 2003
Sarbanes-Oxley Act Impact on Environmental Issues
Jim Moore
Huntsman LLC
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act – the securities law passed in 2002 in response to the Enron scandal – affects many issues of concern to environmental lawyers advising public companies subject to SEC jurisdiction. Particularly, because it imposes special responsibilities on lawyers advising such companies on SEC disclosure issues, and because the SEC disclosure requirements relating to environmental issues are significant, it is important that corporate environmental lawyers become well versed in its requirements.
Areas of special concern include the following:
- Proposed SEC rules on improper influence of the conduct of audits.
- Rules on whistleblower encouragement and protection
- Rules on disclosure controls and inspections
- Rules relating to what information needs to be disclosed, including estimates of potential costs from contingent liabilities/foreseeable new regulatory requirements
- Rules relating to the responsibility of lawyers to make known to senior management and, potentially, to the SEC of the failure of the client to make a required disclosure.
We will address some or all of these issues in upcoming editions of this newsletter.
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This newsletter is a publication of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, and reports on the activities of the committee. All persons interested in joining the Section or one of its committees should contact the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654.
