Expert Analysis

• 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.

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  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.

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  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.

• A Lender's Guide To Fraud: Safeguarding Collateral

  

  Recent bankruptcies illustrate that lenders should strengthen credit covenants, collateral field exams and third-party verification in order to detect double-pledging, fabricated assets and documentation fraud enabled by artificial intelligence before losses become unrecoverable, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

• AG Watch: Oregon Targets Consumer Costs

  

  Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's challenges to bank interest rate and escrow preemption signal heightened scrutiny of consumer costs for lending services, requiring financial institutions serving Oregon and other states with opt-out laws to reassess compliance risk, says Keturah Taylor at Cozen O'Connor.

• Money Transmission Issue Looms For Prediction Markets

  

  The circuit split recently created by the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Kalshi v. Assad has implications reaching beyond gaming regulation as, depending on the ultimate characterization of prediction market event contracts, platforms may face differing obligations under federal and state money transmission laws, say attorneys at Manatt.

• AI And AML: Governance Plays Critical Role In Innovation

  

  Financial institutions adopting artificial intelligence for anti-money laundering compliance should implement governance specific to individual use cases, testing, documentation and human oversight to manage regulatory and enforcement risks as agentic tools expand, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

• Lessons For Banks When A Fintech Partner Fails

  

  Recent fintech bankruptcies highlight best practices for how banks can strengthen third-party oversight, data-access rights, wind-down planning and customer communications to limit regulatory exposure and consumer harm when a fintech partner collapses, say attorneys at Barack Ferrazzano.

• Attorneys Using AI May Have Ethical Duty To Redact Docs

  

  The trajectory of legal ethics guidance in recent years strongly suggests that as redaction technology becomes more accessible, the failure to use it when uploading highly confidential materials into artificial intelligence tools will become increasingly difficult to defend as reasonable, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.

• AI And AML: Rulemakings Lean Into Responsible Innovation

  

  Recent federal rulemaking increasingly supports deployment of artificial intelligence tools for anti-money laundering compliance purposes, and institutions that build clear use and governance frameworks will be best positioned to defend programs when AI systems err, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.