Expert Analysis

• What Comes Next For Digital Asset Regs After Clarity Act Flop

  

  After the U.S. Senate recently blocked the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, agency rulemaking could still offer a near-term remedy, and companies meanwhile should monitor the existing framework assembled from enforcement precedent and case law in the absence of a purpose-built statute, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• Negotiating The Scope Of The Stablecoin Customer ID Rule

  

  Though comments on bank regulators’ proposed rule for stablecoin issuers under the Genius Act generally agree that oversight would help prevent illicit activity, agencies must reconcile disagreement over whether to extend customer identification requirements from issuers' primary-market relationships to secondary-markets activity, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

• Series

  Playing Bid Whist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  As a child, I viewed bid whist as a family tradition and a source of friendly card game competition, but as a lawyer, I see it as a tool that has helped me cultivate skills like communication, teamwork, risk assessment and composure, says Keyonn Pope at Riley Safer.

• AML Takes Center Stage In Financial Crime Enforcement

  

  Financial Crimes Enforcement Network actions, including its recent anti-money-laundering penalty against UBS, signal that companies should align sanctions and anti-corruption controls with documented risk assessments, quickly escalate and investigate red flags, and test remediation as enforcement intensifies, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

• Banks Should Stay Disciplined As OCC, FDIC Ease Oversight

  

  Despite a newly issued Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. rule that narrows the range of conduct that regulators may require institutions to remediate, prudent risk management suggests banks should still document how they arrive at their risk determinations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Opinion

  Calif. Bill Goes Too Far In Trying To Regulate Attorney AI Use

  

  California’s first-in-the-nation act regulating how attorneys and arbitrators use generative artificial intelligence will likely soon become law, but read broadly, the provisions may dissuade lawyers from employing AI at all, thereby depriving them of key work tools, says Joshua Wurtzel at Schlam Stone.

• The Preemption Gap In Prediction Market High Court Petitions

  

  The Supreme Court is considering three certiorari petitions following a split in prediction market litigation between the Third and Ninth circuits, but one of the petitions would not allow the court to reach the express preemption question, which would leave the dispute half-resolved, says Jordan Garman at Withers.

• Tips From Apex Ruling On Handling Workers' Public Criticism

  

  A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent finding that Apex Fintech Services illegally reined in an employee’s public criticism on LinkedIn should caution employers that overbroad policies and reflexive responses may not only fail to defend the company’s reputation, but compound risks of federal labor charges, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

• Series

  Fintech Regulator Outlook: 5 Lessons From Minnesota

  

  Minnesota's recent cryptocurrency kiosk ban and virtual currency custody rules hold several broad compliance lessons: Digital asset companies must map regulated activities, strengthen third-party oversight and engage regulators early to innovate responsibly, says Deputy Commissioner of Financial Institutions Mike Crow at the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

• For Faster FDIC Review, Banks Must Front-Load Prep

  

  Banks seeking to benefit from the efficiency promised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s new two-phase review of deposit insurance applications must prioritize filing comprehensive submissions or risk the fate of applicants recently rejected by the Comptroller of the Currency, say attorneys at Skadden.

• How Prediction Markets Could Be Used In Securities Litigation

  

  Assuming there is enough liquidity, and insider trading concerns are properly addressed, prediction market prices could provide a valuable assessment of market consensus that adjusts faster than existing analysts' forecasts, which could be useful evidence to support securities class action claims, say analysts at Compass Lexecon.

• Time Is On Payment Processors' Side As Deal Dynamics Shift

  

  As payment processors increasingly use timing and volume to gain leverage, merchants should negotiate payment processing agreements well before renewal or migration deadlines, ensuring proper benchmarking, reserve, data, termination and transition terms are in place, says James Alexander at Reed Smith.

• How AI Fraud Alerts May Raise Banks' Elder Exploitation Risk

  

  As banks deploy artificial intelligence fraud detection, documented alerts and review decisions may shape elder exploitation claims, discovery disputes and defenses over what institutions knew before releasing suspect payments, say Michael Gilfix and Benjamin Gicqueau at Gilfix & La Poll.

• 4 Words In A 1980 Law Could Redraw Bank Lending

  

  The Tenth Circuit's interpretation of a single phrase in the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act could reshape interstate bank lending, requiring banks and fintechs to document loan-making functions, monitor repayment triggers, and reassess true lender and contractual risks, say attorneys at Sheppard.

• Series

  Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

  

  Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.