Banking

Expert Analysis

• 3rd Circ. Introduces New Ascertainability Uncertainty

  

  Though the recent opinion in City Select Auto Sales v. BMW Bank of North America did not make any sweeping changes to the Third Circuit’s ascertainability jurisprudence, it did alter the relevant analysis slightly — and that may prove an important development in the court that created the two-pronged ascertainability standard, say attorneys with Pepper Hamilton LLP.

• Diversity In The Legal Profession — A Stubborn Vision

  

  At the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, we want to see, as founding member and Microsoft chief legal officer Brad Smith once stated, “a legal profession as diverse as the nation we serve.” We are not there yet — far from it — but we are beginning to put some numbers on the board, says Robert Grey, president of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

• Opinion

  New Salary History Laws Crimp Attorney Hiring Process

  

  In prohibiting employers from asking potential hires about their previous salaries, lawmakers seek to "level the playing field." But there are real problems with the practicality, legality and enforceability of many of the salary history laws, says Fredric Newman, a founding partner of Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney LLP.

• Legal Considerations After SEC's Warning Shot At ICOs

  

  In the midst of market excitement surrounding initial coin offerings, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently issued an investigative report warning that digital tokens may be securities. When a token is a security, a variety of legal considerations come into play, including the Investment Advisers Act, anti-money laundering and taxation, say attorneys with K&L Gates LLP.

• Credit Unions Face Tightening Bank Secrecy Act Scrutiny

  

  Recent Bank Secrecy Act enforcement underscores credit unions’ obligations not only to adhere to the rules and regulations, but also to possess a sufficient anti-money laundering compliance program of policies, training and reporting, says former federal prosecutor Timothy Westrick of Treliant Risk Advisors.

• 5 Tips For A Successful Legal Blog

  

  David Coale, leader of the appellate practice at Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst LLP, shares his insights into what works — and what does not — when setting up and maintaining a legal blog.

• OCC Opens The Debate On Volcker Rule Reform

  

  The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that represents the first concrete step toward reforming the regulations that implement the Volcker Rule. The OCC’s willingness to issue the ANPR reflects a forward-thinking approach that will have a significant long-term impact on financial market participants, say attorneys with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP.

• Personnel Is Policy: Succession Possibilities At The CFPB

  

  It is not entirely clear whether the Dodd-Frank Act or the Federal Vacancies Reform Act would control succession in the event of Director Richard Cordray’s resignation from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But there will be real and significant differences in the operation of the CFPB depending on which statute prevails, say Andrew Sandler and Benjamin Olson of Buckley Sandler LLP.

• Is The Hutchins Indictment Over Malware Unconstitutional?

  

  ​In a dramatic turn of events, the British security researcher who stopped the WannaCry malware attack has been indicted in the U.S. for creating and selling the Kronos malware. But it is an open question whether the indictment fails to allege a sufficient nexus between Marcus Hutchins and the U.S. for purposes of the Fifth Amendment, says Alex Berengaut of Covington & Burling LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Kopf Reviews Posner's 'Federal Judiciary'

  

  There is a wonderful sketch of Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner dressed in a black robe with arms outstretched as if they were the billowing wings of a lean vulture. He is kicking a human brain down a hallway and wearing a half-smile that looks for all the world like a sneer. That sketch is the perfect metaphor for both Judge Posner and his new book, "The Federal Judiciary: Strengths and Weaknesses," says U.S. District Judge Ri... (continued)