Insider trading and the potential for misuse of confidential information should be top-of-mind for investment professionals.  With the prevalence of insider trading cases brought over the last five years, the government’s initiative to stamp the practice out has been persistent, aggressive and fruitful, even after the Second Circuit dealt the government a setback in U. S. v. Newman.  See “The Newman/Chiasson Decision Continues to Have Implications for Insider Trading Compliance,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 8, No. 17 (Apr. 30, 2015).  Nonetheless, it appears the temptations and incentives to find an edge in a highly competitive trading environment remain as strong as ever.  Against this backdrop, it is all the more critical for compliance departments to monitor information inflows.  In this guest article, Eugene Ingoglia, Partner at Morvillo; Laurence Herman, General Counsel and Managing Director at Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG); and Patrick Gordon, Senior Counsel at GLG, focus on how chaperoning primary research calls can help compliance officers meet these obligations.  This first article in a three-part series provides background on chaperoning, including a discussion of the statutory landscape, primary research and SEC guidance.  The second article will address the potential scope of a chaperoning policy, as well as offer practical guidance in implementing that policy.  The third article will cover specific challenges to chaperoning.  For more on chaperoning, see “RCA Symposium Offers Perspectives from Regulators and Industry Experts on 2014 Examination and Enforcement Priorities, Fund Distribution Challenges, Conducting Risk Assessments, Compliance Best Practices and Administrator Shadowing (Part Three of Three),” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan. 9, 2014).