Historically, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled cases without requiring corporations to admit wrongdoing. Eventually, public pressure caused the SEC to force admissions and yet despite that shift, the "neither admit nor deny" language continues to dominate SEC settlements.

Verity Winship recently spoke to the Corporate Crime Reporter about this shifting landscape, which is the theme of a new article she co-authored with Professor Jennifer Robbennolt titled "Admissions of Guilt in Civil Enforcement."

When asked how she became interested in admissions and denials, Winship responded:

“My interest in securities enforcement started when I was at Wilmer Hale,” Winship told Corporate Crime Reporter in an interview last week. “I noticed the disconnect between what I learned in law school about what law looks like when you are actually practicing in the securities area. In particular, I was interested in the role of settlements and research into prior settlements — that was striking for someone recently out of law school. I became interested in what was agreed to in the underlying documents. At the time, they were less available. They have become increasingly available for people to look. I thought it would be a worthwhile enterprise to look closely at the terms of the agreements.”

Full interview at Corporate Crime Reporter