OCC Says Banks Can Transact In Crypto As Intermediaries

By Jon Hill

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Tuesday that banks under its oversight may buy and sell digital assets for customers as "riskless principals," clearing this broker-stye activity as an extension of established banking practices.

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CFPB Eyes 'Interim' Open Banking Rule As Funds Run Low

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it plans to issue an "interim final" revamp of its open banking rule now that its funding is on the verge of running out, the latest move by the agency to prepare for a possible shutdown in the coming weeks.

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Trump's CFPB Says It Can't Be Forced To Take Fed Money

By Hailey Konnath

The Trump administration said Monday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not obligated to take funding from the Federal Reserve, and a D.C. federal judge can't order it to do so, pushing back against a request from the labor union challenging the agency's dismantling.

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10th Circ. Greenlights Arbitration In Chase Bank Racism Suit

By Katryna Perera

The Tenth Circuit on Monday reversed a lower court ruling that blocked JP Morgan Chase & Co. from taking to arbitration a lawsuit brought by a customer who alleges a Colorado branch manager racially discriminated against her. 

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Sens. Propose NIL Accounts To Help Students Grow Earnings

By Tom Lotshaw

Two U.S. senators introduced legislation Monday to allow the growing number of college student-athletes inking name, image and likeness deals with companies to create tax-advantaged investment accounts to save some of their earnings.

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Ex-NY Gov. Aide 'All About The Money,' FARA Jury Hears

By Stewart Bishop

A Brooklyn federal prosecutor on Tuesday told jurors that a top former aide to two New York governors raked in millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for secretly working on behalf of China's government, saying she betrayed New Yorkers to enrich herself and her husband.

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OFAC Inks $1M Russian Sanctions Deal With Ex-Gov't Official

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Tuesday that an unidentified attorney and former government official has agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle allegations the individual violated Russian sanctions by acting as a fiduciary for the family trust of a blocked Russian oligarch.

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Crypto Co. Paxful To Pay $4M For Money Laundering Failures

By Gina Kim

Paxful Holdings will pay $4 million over claims it failed to enforce anti-money laundering policies on its now-defunct, peer-to-peer bitcoin exchange that allegedly facilitated illicit transactions involving funds derived from criminal activity, including prostitution and distribution of child sex abuse material, according to a plea agreement filed Monday in California federal court. 

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Amex Inks Deal After $12M Antisteering Rule Verdict In NY

By Katryna Perera

American Express Co. has reached a settlement with consumers who claim the credit card company's so-called antisteering rules cause non-Amex cardholders to pay higher charges, signaling a potential end to a class action suit after a New York federal jury ordered Amex to pay $12 million to one class of consumers.

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Trustee Says Winston & Strawn Is Liable For $1.7B Fintech Bust

By Lynn LaRowe

The trustee of the bankrupt self-styled "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi said Winston & Strawn LLP shouldn't be allowed to escape a malpractice lawsuit over the company's $1.7 billion failure, saying the firm was a knowing participant in the allegedly unlawful activities of its then-CEO.

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FTX Customers Seek Final OK For $10M Deal With Silvergate

By Sydney Price

Customers of failed crypto exchange FTX asked a California federal judge to give final approval to a $10 million settlement resolving claims that Silvergate Bank and its parent company enabled the multibillion-dollar FTX fraud, saying the deal represents the best, and likely only, meaningful recovery available from the now-bankrupt lender.

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Brief

Wells Fargo $84M ERISA Stock Option Suit Deal Initially OK'd

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Minnesota federal court gave its initial sign-off to an $84 million settlement that Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay to end a class action alleging that the bank ran afoul of federal benefits law when it used dividends earned by its employee stock ownership plan to meet its 401(k) matching obligations.

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Recent Proposals May Spell Supervision Overhaul For Banks

A slew of rules recently proposed by the federal banking agencies with approaching comment deadlines would rewrite supervision standards to be further tailored to banks' size and activities, while prioritizing financial risks over process, documentation and other nonfinancial risks, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

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AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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Bonus Spotlight

MoFo, Kellogg Hansen Exceed Prevailing BigLaw Bonus Scale

By Anna Sanders

Morrison Foerster LLP and boutique law firm Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC both recently unveiled above-market bonuses, according to a MoFo in-house memo and a media report. 

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Analysis

Hagens Berman's Novel DOJ Referral May Have Chilling Effect

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge's unusual decision to refer prominent plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman LLP to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation over its pursuit of claims related to morning sickness drug thalidomide could have a chilling effect on lawyers' advocacy, law professors and attorneys said.

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Consulting Co. Says Law Firms' Malpractice Cost It $10M

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado consulting company told a state court that an Am Law 200 firm and a now-dissolved law firm committed legal malpractice that cost the company $10 million in a lending transaction. 

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Uber May Win Sanctions On Atty Who Disclosed MDL Docs

By Bonnie Eslinger and Mike Curley

A California federal judge said Tuesday it appeared an attorney for plaintiffs claiming Uber failed to protect passengers from sexual assault "acted in a cavalier manner" with a protective order in the multidistrict litigation, but didn't rule on Uber's requests for monetary sanctions nor its bid to kick the attorney off the plaintiff steering committee.

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Brief

Democrats Push For $1.76B To Fix Defender Budget Shortfall

By Courtney Bublé

Almost 50 Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional appropriators to fix the long-standing budget shortfall for federal defenders in the upcoming full-year budget.

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DOJ Says It Could Indict Comey Again

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it may once again seek charges against ex-FBI Director James Comey, asking a D.C. federal judge to dissolve a temporary restraining order that bars prosecutors from using evidence seized from Comey's former attorney.

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Analysis

FERC's Fate Uncertain As Humphrey's Executor Teeters

By Keith Goldberg

The future of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may hinge on whether the U.S. Supreme Court will remake its 90-year-old precedent that protects members of independent agencies from being fired at will by the president.

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Senate Confirms 3 Judges For La., Miss.

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed three judicial nominees Tuesday for federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

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