Expert Analysis

• How Banks Can Better Prepare For Wire Fraud Risks

  

  Recent schemes serve as a reminder that banks can better limit liability for fraudulent wire transfers by documenting commercially reasonable security procedures, following them consistently, and addressing beneficiary name and account number discrepancies, says Shelli Clarkston at Spencer Fane.

• FINRA Disputes Highlight Timeliness In Arbitrator Bias Claims

  

  Recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority litigation over arbitrator neutrality shows that the strength of challenges depends not only on what counsel discovers, but also on how early it is uncovered and how concretely it can be demonstrated, says Dax White at White Law.

• Opinion

  A Capital Markets Agenda For The New Congress

  

  When the 120th Congress convenes in January, it should place capital markets issues near the top of its to-do list, with a focus on legislation that can make the public company model more competitive, says David Kaufman at Thompson Coburn.

• FinCEN Scam Alerts Push Banks To Rethink AML Monitoring

  

  Recent Financial Crimes Enforcement Network guidance on digital asset scams suggests that future anti-money laundering examinations may focus less on whether institutions detect the movement of criminal proceeds and more on whether they can identify fraud schemes before victims suffer catastrophic losses, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• How AI Could Help Judges Spot Their Own Biases

  

  In close cases where there’s room for discretion, artificial intelligence could challenge judges’ implicit biases by running counterfactual tests at scale — but any judicial use of such tools would need guardrails, say Arnold Peter at Peter Law and Nancy Rapoport at University of Nevada.

• Assessing Hidden Risk Of Administrative Agency Settlements

  

  Though administrative resolutions of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations may seem preferable to settled federal court actions, the possibility that private plaintiffs may use commission orders in follow-on litigation poses an extra risk, increasing the importance of negotiating the settlement's form and language, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• How Shift In Ohio Foreclosure Appeals Alters Lenders' Risk

  

  In a series of recent decisions, the Ohio Supreme Court changed who bears the risk of an erroneous foreclosure judgment while an appeal is pending, which means lenders should now budget for merits briefing, and underwriters should expect indemnity and escrow demands, says Terry Posey at Porter Wright.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Bait-And-Switch, Scope, Performance

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Michael Ols at MoFo offers takeaways from recent decisions examining bait-and-switch protest claims, the scope of a contractor teaming agreement and the use of an affiliate’s past performance.

• Midterm Elections Outlook For Financial Services

  

  A change in congressional control after the upcoming midterm elections could bring about slower regulatory approvals, intensified oversight and shifting enforcement priorities for the financial services industry, say attorneys at Covington.

• 3 Strategies To Reduce AI Sycophancy In Legal Work

  

  The tendency of generative artificial intelligence models to tell users what they want to hear can reinforce attorneys’ confirmation bias when testing the strength of arguments, and it can’t simply be prompted away — but a few practices can help mitigate it, says Michael Ott at Ice Miller.

• DOJ Directive Gives Contractors A Fraud Risk Road Map

  

  For government contractors, the 10 factors described in the U.S. Department of Justice's recent corporate fraud enforcement directive function as a de facto scoring rubric for internal audits that mirrors what prosecutors will prioritize, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

• Key Risk Assessment Gaps To Note From NY Cyber Guidance

  

  Covered entities should take a fresh look at the compliance gaps flagged in recent New York State Department of Financial Services guidance on "deficient cybersecurity programs," particularly around scope, asset inventories and documentation, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• 2nd Circ. EFAA Ruling Shifts Employer Litigation Strategy

  

  In Diaz-Roa v. Hermes Law, the Second Circuit recently held that, under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, employers can't carve out nonharassment claims and send them to arbitration, which has implications for discovery, litigation costs and resolution strategy in EFAA-covered disputes, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

• Uniting BSA, Sanctions Compliance As Treasury Targets Iran

  

  The past 18 months of Treasury Department policies demonstrate expectations that financial institutions not merely obey sanctions against Iran, but also help expose how it moves money, making it essential that banks eliminate silos between their Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance teams for an integrated response, says Jonathan Harrington at Bradley Arant.

• How Bank Lobby's Suit Tests OCC's Crypto Charter Powers

  

  The Independent Community Bankers of America’s recent lawsuit challenging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s ability to charter cryptocurrency companies marks another chapter in the struggle over the appropriate regulatory framework for digital assets, while raising a classic administrative law question at its most basic level, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.