Expert Analysis

• Framing Membership Filings To Anticipate FINRA's Concerns

  

  Recent updates to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s membership application program should remind firm management to treat the filing process not as a compliance chore, but as a test of operational and regulatory readiness where they can anticipate and address FINRA's concerns, says Andrew Mount at Eversheds Sutherland.

• 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

  

  The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

• Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

  

  The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• How Data Center Accounting May Draw Enforcement Scrutiny

  

  As public and media scrutiny of the data center industry intensifies, regulators, enforcement authorities and Congress will likely focus on accounting judgments that rely on aggressive assumptions, opaque financing structures or rapidly evolving collateral classes, heightening the risk of investigations and inquiries, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Main St. Bank Bill Could Spur Lending, Ease Barriers To Entry

  

  Recently approved by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, the Main Street Capital Access Act, if passed, would provide senior bank leadership with a framework that could influence how banks pursue growth, particularly at community and regional midsize institutions, says Melody Charlton at FBT Gibbons.

• DOJ Faces Key Hurdles In Proving SPLC Donor Fraud Theory

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center — on fraud and money laundering charges — illustrates the serious structural questions surrounding falsity, intent and materiality that prosecutors face when targeting donation-based fraud, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.

• Series

  Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

• How Banks And Fintechs Can Build COPPA-Ready Youth Apps

  

  Recent Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and state law activity expanding children's data protections underscore compliance considerations for bank-fintech partnerships offering digital financial tech products for youth, including age-gating, data minimization and parental control, says Erin Illman at Bradley Arant.

• Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

  

  An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

• Mapping Bank Exec Clawback Risk Ahead Of Revived Bill

  

  The reintroduction of the Failed Bank Executives Clawback Act would allow recovery of executive compensation after bank failures, making it important for executives and counsel to take steps such as mapping compensation, reviewing employment agreements, documenting decisions, and confirming D&O insurance, says Drew Jones at Diamond McCarthy.

• Small And Midsize Business Finance Faces More State Regs

  

  Recent developments in state credit disclosure, consumer debt collection, and lender licensing and registration requirements suggest that companies extending financing to small and midsize businesses are likely to encounter a significantly more stringent legal climate moving forward, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Structuring Bank-Fintech Ties To Avert Risk

  

  Bank-fintech relationships that can hold up to recent increased scrutiny must take into account a broad swath of structuring considerations including due diligence, compliance, documentation, and planning for a potential wind-down and termination, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.

• What DOL Proposal Signals For 401(k)s, Alternative Assets

  

  The U.S. Department of Labor recently published a highly anticipated proposed rule that could establish more defined pathways for 401(k) plan fiduciaries to consider investment options with greater alternative asset exposure, and help fund sponsors and investment managers develop such options, say attorneys at Cleary.

• DOJ's Superseding Policy Muddies Trade Crime Disclosures

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s first agencywide voluntary self-disclosure policy is intended to standardize approaches across DOJ components, but the shift may prove difficult in trade controls cases under the National Security Division, which has long viewed sanctions and export control offenses as uniquely serious, say attorneys at Covington.

• Contract Language Reigned Supreme In Bancorp Dismissal

  

  A Minnesota federal court's recent dismissal of claims over U.S. Bancorp's cash sweep program underscores that clear contractual disclosures hold weight in class actions, demonstrating the power of contract language that plainly indicates terms, fiduciary limits and institutional benefits to customers, says Quin Seiler at Winthrop & Weinstine.