Expert Analysis

• CFPB Vacatur Bid Sheds Light On Agency Decision-Making

  

  While the CFPB's joint motion to vacate the settlement it reached with Townstone Financial last year won't affect precedent on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act's scope, it serves as a road map to CFPB decisional processes and provides insight into how other regulators make similar decisions, says Jason McElroy at Saul Ewing.

• The Potential Efficiencies, Risks Of Folding PCAOB Into SEC

  

  Integrating the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board into the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers the potential for regulatory efficiencies, as well as a more streamlined and consistent enforcement approach, but it also presents constitutional and operational uncertainties, say attorneys at Hilgers Graben.

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  Adapting To Private Practice: From NY Fed To BigLaw

  

  While the move to private practice brings a learning curve, it also brings chances to learn new skills and grow your network, requiring a clear understanding of how your skills can complement and contribute to a firm's existing practice, and where you can add new value, says Meghann Donahue at Covington.

• Reviewing Trump Admin's Rapid Pro-Crypto Regulatory Pivot

  

  The digital asset industry has received a boost from the explicitly pro-crypto Trump administration, which in its first few months reversed Biden-era rules and installed industry proponents at regulatory agencies, marking one of the biggest regulatory about-faces by a government in recent memory, says Robert Appleton at Olshan Frome.

• Top 3 Litigation Finance Deal-Killers, And How To Avoid Them

  

  Like all transactions, litigation finance deals can sometimes collapse, but understanding the most common reasons for failure, including a lack of trust or a misunderstanding of deal terms, can help both parties avoid problems, say Rebecca Berrebi at Avenue 33 and Boris Ziser at Schulte Roth.

• How Attys Can Use A Therapy Model To Help Triggered Clients

  

  Attorneys can lean on key principles from a psychotherapeutic paradigm known as the "Internal Family Systems" model to help manage triggered clients and get settlement negotiations back on track, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.

• Tracking The Evolution Of Liability Management Exercises

  

  As liability management exercises face increasing legal scrutiny, understanding the history of these debt restructuring tools can help explain how the playbook keeps adapting — and why the next move is always just one ruling or transaction away, say attorneys at Weil.

• How Banks Can Manage Risk As AI Adoption Expands

  

  Following new, supportive comments from financial regulatory leaders about the use of artificial intelligence in the industry, banks may move toward wider, less-tentative adoption of the technology, but will also need to deploy important risk management measures, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• What Banks Must Do To Attract Gen Z Customers

  

  The young adults of Generation Z bank differently, so financial institutions must engage appropriately if they wish to attract this key population, including by leveraging savvy marketing, well-designed online interfaces and top-notch customer service, says Madeline Thieschafer at Fredrikson & Byron.

• Rebuttal

  Mass Arbitration Reform Must Focus On Justice

  

  A recent Law360 guest article argued that mass arbitration reform is needed to alleviate companies’ financial and administrative burdens, but any such reform must deliver real justice, not just cost savings for the powerful, says Eduard Korsinsky at Levi & Korsinsky.

• What Bank Regulator Consolidation Would Mean For Industry

  

  Speculation over the Trump administration’s potential plans to consolidate financial service regulators is intensifying uncertainty, but no matter the outcome for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the industry should expect continued policy changes, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

• 3 Steps For In-House Counsel To Assess Litigation Claims

  

  Before a potential economic downturn, in-house attorneys should investigate whether their company is sitting on hidden litigation claims that could unlock large recoveries to help the business withstand tough times, says Will Burgess at Hilgers Graben.

• Breaking Down Ill. Bellwether Case For Bank Preemption

  

  The banking industry's pending lawsuit against the state of Illinois stands to permanently enjoin state regulation of bank card processing, as well as clarify the outstanding and consequential issue of whether conflict preemption continues to cover third parties in certain circumstances, says Tom Witherspoon at Stinson.

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  Teaching College Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Serving as an adjunct college professor has taught me the importance of building rapport, communicating effectively, and persuading individuals to critically analyze the difference between what they think and what they know — principles that have helped to improve my practice of law, says Sheria Clarke at Nelson Mullins.

• Planning For Open Banking Despite CFPB Uncertainty

  

  Though pending litigation or new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leadership may reshape the Biden-era regulation governing access to consumer financial data, companies can use this uncertain period to take practical steps toward an open banking strategy that will work regardless of the rule’s ultimate form, says Adam Maarec at McGlinchey Stafford.