Banking

Expert Analysis

• DOJ's Visa-Plaid Challenge Shows Email Can Imperil A Deal

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice used a trove of internal Visa email and other communications to show how the $5.3 billion Plaid merger might limit competition — providing a cautionary tale of how internal documents can endanger a transaction that shows few antitrust concerns on the surface, says Tammy Zhu at Medallia.

• 6 Best Practices For Banks Serving The Marijuana Industry

  

  As more states legalize marijuana, financial institutions with marijuana-related business customers should implement robust and nuanced compliance programs, and those that do not want to serve the industry should have policies in place for determining whether existing customers are engaged in marijuana-related activities, say attorneys at Venable.

• What To Expect From DOJ Enforcement Under Biden

  

  Companies shouldn't fear a rapid uptick in overall corporate enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Justice under a new Democratic administration, but should anticipate a shift in focus away from immigration cases toward COVID-19-related fraud and civil rights reform, say Sandra Moser and Kenneth Polite at Morgan Lewis.

• Ethics Considerations For Law Firms Implementing AI

  

  Richard Finkelman and Yihua Astle at Berkeley Research Group discuss the ethical and bias concerns law firms must address when implementing artificial intelligence-powered applications for recruiting, conflict identification and client counseling.

• What Calif.'s New Consumer Debt Law Means For Collectors

  

  Brett Watson at Cozen O’Connor explains what California's recently enacted Debt Collection Licensing Act means for debt collectors, including how they should prepare to comply, how the act interacts with existing state laws, and whether to expect forthcoming enforcement actions.

• Picking The Right Location And Tools For Virtual Courtrooms

  

  Attorneys should consider the pros and cons of participating in virtual court proceedings from home versus their law firm offices, and whether they have the right audio, video and team communication tools for their particular setup, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Beware Atty Ethics Rules When Reporting COVID-19 Fraud

  

  Attorneys considering blowing the whistle on False Claims Act violations by recipients of COVID-19 relief may face a number of ethical constraints on their ability to disclose client information and file qui tam actions, say Breon Peace and Jennifer Kennedy Park at Cleary.

• Looking For Judicial Activists? Check The Footnotes

  

  U.S. Supreme Court nominees typically face intense questioning over potential judicial activism, but a better way to gauge judges' activist tendencies may be to look at the footnotes in their opinions, say Christopher Collier at Hawkins Parnell and Michael Arndt at Rohan Law.

• Best Practices For Legal Technology Adoption

  

  The pandemic has accelerated the need to improve the practice of law through technology, but law firms and in-house legal departments must first ensure they have employee buy-in and well-defined processes for new digital tools, say Dan Broderick at BlackBoiler and Daryl Shetterly at Orrick.

• Valuation Uncertainty Could Prompt Increased Litigation

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has increased volatility around forward-looking cash flows and discount rates, which may lead to more business valuation disputes, particularly in the M&A and bankruptcy litigation contexts, say analysts at Cornerstone Research.

• State FCA Considerations For Cos. Seeking COVID-19 Relief

  

  Any business seeking funding from a state or local pandemic relief program should be cognizant of the significant legal exposure it could face under a state false claims act, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

• What The Biden-Harris Win Means For Securities Regulation

  

  In this brief video, Amy Greer and Valerie Mirko at Baker McKenzie examine what a government led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris could mean for the securities industry, regulatory leadership and financial policy.

• The Pandemic's Long-Term Impact On Law Firm Operations

  

  Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey looks at how pandemic-era remote work has changed the way law firms operate — from shifts in secretarial functions to associate professional development — and explains why some alterations may be here to stay.

• Treasury Stance On Ransomware Payment Could Hurt Targets

  

  Recent statements from two U.S. Department of the Treasury offices indicate that paying off ransomware with cryptocurrency may trigger certain registration requirements and U.S. sanctions scrutiny, placing a significant regulatory burden on cybervictims and their incident response consultants, say attorneys at McDermott.

• How Biden Might Dismantle Trump-Era Regulations

  

  The Biden administration will likely take swift action to undo regulatory actions from the past four years with a variety of tools, including executive orders, the Congressional Review Act and legal challenges under the Administrative Procedure Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.