15 U.S.C. § 78D
Section 78d · Appearance and practice before the Commission
This is § 4c of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 13 court decisions — leading case 134 S. Ct. 1158 - Lawson v. FMR LLC (2014)
Most recently applied in In the Matter of John B. Kern (June 2018)
The Commission may censure any person, or deny, temporarily or permanently, to any person the privilege of appearing or practicing before the Commission in any way, if that person is found by the Commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing in the matter—
(1) not to possess the requisite qualifications to represent others;
(2) to be lacking in character or integrity, or to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct; or
(3) to have willfully violated, or willfully aided and abetted the violation of, any provision of the securities laws or the rules and regulations issued thereunder.
With respect to any registered public accounting firm or associated person, for purposes of this section, the term “improper professional conduct” means—
(1) intentional or knowing conduct, including reckless conduct, that results in a violation of applicable professional standards; and
(2) negligent conduct in the form of—
(A) a single instance of highly unreasonable conduct that results in a violation of applicable professional standards in circumstances in which the registered public accounting firm or associated person knows, or should know, that heightened scrutiny is warranted; or
(B) repeated instances of unreasonable conduct, each resulting in a violation of applicable professional standards, that indicate a lack of competence to practice before the Commission.