Expert Analysis

• Challenges Remain In Financing Energy Transition Minerals

  

  COP28, the latest U.N. climate conference, reached a consensus on a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but more action and funding will be needed to ensure that developed countries responsibly source the minerals that will be critical for this process, say attorneys at Watson Farley.

• $32.4M Fine For Info Disclosure Is A Stark Warning For Banks

  

  The New York State Department of Financial Services and the Federal Reserve's fining of a Chinese state-owned bank $32.4 million last month underscores the need for financial institutions to have policies and procedures in place to handle confidential supervisory information, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Loan Transparency Proposals May Bring Some Clarity

  

  U.S. banking regulators' proposed revisions to rules that would require banks to disclose more granular information about loans made to nondepository financial institutions would somewhat clarify the size of the fund finance market, though full enlightenment does not look likely in the near future, says Chris van Heerden at Cadwalader.

• Series

  Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

• Debt Collector Compliance Takeaways From An FDCPA Appeal

  

  A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau amicus brief last month in an ongoing First Circuit appeal focusing on an interpretation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can serve as a reminder for debt collectors to understand how their technologies, like bankruptcy scrubs and letter logic, can prevent litigation, says Justin Bradley at Womble Bond.

• SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

  

  As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

• A Closer Look At Novel Jury Instruction In Forex Rigging Case

  

  After the recent commodities fraud conviction of a U.K.-based hedge fund executive in U.S. v. Phillips, post-trial briefing has focused on whether the New York federal court’s jury instruction incorrectly defined the requisite level of intent, which should inform defense counsel in future open market manipulation cases, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert.

• How Proposed Bipartisan Bill Would Reform Bank Exams

  

  If the Fair Audits and Inspections for Regulators’ Exams Act, which was recently introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, were to be enacted, it would particularly benefit small lenders and bank-fintech partnerships by promoting transparency, appellate rights and examiner accountability, say attorneys at Latham.

• Opinion

  CFPB Shouldn't Ditch Prior Earned Wage Access Precedent

  

  Recent statements from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau general counsel Seth Frotman indicate the CFPB may be concluding that some or all earned wage access products are credit under federal law, but doing so would threaten the existence of the products and cause consumers to turn back to costly alternatives, says Eric Goldberg at Akerman.

• The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues

  

  The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

• Crypto Issues To Watch Amid Evolving Legal Landscape

  

  This year will likely be a momentous one for crypto in the U.S., but whether it is successful or disastrous will depend on the outcome of high-profile court decisions and key regulatory actions, say attorneys at Venable.

• Navigating The Sunset Of Sibor And Other Key Benchmarks

  

  Similar to the recent transition away from Libor, the expected cessation deadlines of the Canadian Dollar Offered Rate and Singapore Interbank Offered Rate are nigh, so Canadian and Singapore dollar-denominated credit facilities will likely need to be amended, say attorneys at Cadwalader.

• Stay Ruling Challenges Sovereign Debt Dynamics

  

  The Southern District of New York’s recent ruling in Hamilton Reserve Bank v. Sri Lanka, which provides sovereigns with a de facto bankruptcy stay in restructuring scenarios, may create uncertain consequences for sovereign creditors and borrowers alike, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.

• Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

  

  While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

• Series

  ESG Around The World: Brazil

  

  Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.