Expert Analysis

• Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing

  

  While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.

• Opinion

  Congress Must Pass CFTC Whistleblower Funding Law

  

  Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate to revamp the Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program's funding structure requires urgent attention so that the program can continue to be a remarkable success story, says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

• Lenders Should Study New York's Biz Loan Disclosure Rules

  

  Loan providers will need to dive deep into the detailed rules governing New York state’s new commercial financing disclosure requirements in order to successfully understand and comply with the recently implemented law, say Barry Hester and Gretchen von Dwingelo at BCLP.

• Series

  The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'

  

  Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.

• What Legal Personhood For DAOs Means For Crypto Industry

  

  A California federal court's recent ruling in U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Ooki DAO that a decentralized autonomous organization is a legal person, despite lacking a centralized coordinating authority, has several potentially significant implications for decentralized finance, say Jeffry Henderson and Douglas Arend at Greenberg Traurig.

• 4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

• Opinion

  3 Ways Justices' Disclosure Defenses Miss The Ethical Point

  

  The rule-bound interpretation of financial disclosures preferred by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — demonstrated in their respective statements defending their failure to disclose gifts from billionaires — show that they do not understand the ethical aspects of the public's concern, says Jim Moliterno at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

• Rare Reg A+ Fines Reflect New Era Of SEC Enforcement

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent announcement of civil penalties against 10 microcap companies for violations of Regulation A+ shows that as the SEC continues to expand its enforcement efforts, its focus remains on protecting investors of all sizes — including those investing in the historically less-scrutinized Reg A+ issuers, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• SEC Cybersecurity Rule Presents Burden For Health Care Cos.

  

  A new rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aims to increase cybersecurity resiliency, but may only force regulated entities — particularly those in the health care space — to face a far more complicated environment with increased strategic and litigation risks, say Bess Hinson and Angad Chopra at Holland & Knight.

• SEC Tech Proposal Would Vastly Expand Advisers' Duties

  

  Proposed rulemaking by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would cover the use of a wide range of technologies by investment advisers and broker-dealers represents a significant expansion of the applicable standard of care for financial services firms when interacting with current or potential clients, say attorneys at Eversheds Sutherland.

• Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention

  

  As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.

• The FTC May Be Expanding Its Monetary Relief Toolbox

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement with crypto exchange Celsius — which resolved a Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act pretexting count — reveals an attempt to significantly expand the FTC's authority to obtain monetary relief in ordinary matters regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices, says Nikhil Singhvi at Covington.

• 5th Circ. Ruling Will Spur Challenges To No-Action Letters

  

  The Fifth Circuit's recent Clarke v. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission decision that withdrawing no-action letters constitutes a final agency action subject to judicial review means federal agencies should expect more challenges to the practice, which has been criticized for failing to provide clear standards and enabling agencies to change course abruptly, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Leveraged Finance Market May Rebound After Cruel Summer

  

  It has been a challenging summer for the leveraged finance market due to the economic climate and tight credit conditions, but cooling inflation and signs of life in the syndicated loan market suggest brighter days ahead, say attorneys at Weil.

• 4 Ways Company Execs Can Prep For SEC Cybersecurity Rule

  

  In light of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent, and final, cybersecurity disclosure requirements, company leaders should undertake four factual assessments now to prepare their companies to respond quickly and agilely to the seemingly inevitable cyberattack, says Jennie Wang VonCannon at Crowell & Moring.