Banking

Expert Analysis

• New Money Laundering Regs Will Aid Art Market Transparency

  

  The privacy and anonymity of art and antiquities transactions can enable criminal activity to go undetected — so recent updates to the Anti-Money Laundering Act covering art market participants are an important step forward, says Andrea Perez at Carrington Coleman.

• Opinion

  Justices Should Clarify Securities Fraud Loss Causation

  

  At its May conference, the U.S. Supreme Court should agree to review BofI Securities Litigation, to clear up a circuit split on how to assess loss causation in securities fraud cases, as shareholder class actions increasingly focus on external events that led to a stock drop, says Lyle Roberts at Shearman & Sterling.

• How Gov't FCPA Hiring Practices Theory May Pan Out In Court

  

  In recent settlements with banks, U.S. authorities have taken the position that providing a job or even an unpaid internship to relatives or friends of foreign officials is a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but it is worth assessing how this theory would fare in individual prosecutions, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• New Markets Credit Will Aid Recovery In Low-Income Areas

  

  The recently extended New Markets Tax Credit is a critical tool for economic development in low-income communities, which have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, so public finance attorneys should consider its benefits when advising clients on projects, says Julia Fendler at Butler Snow.

• FDCPA Ruling Has Privacy Implications For Financial Services

  

  In Hunstein v. Preferred Collection, the Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision to allow claims against a debt collector who shared customer information with a vendor is concerning for financial services companies in its potential to broaden the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other consumer protection laws to include privacy rights, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Opinion

  US Needs Better, Nonpunitive Approach To Greening Trade

  

  Instead of imposing tariffs on goods produced where foreign governments have assisted in cleaning up the environment, the U.S. should make trade policy green by helping industries reduce their environmental impact and encouraging every foreign government to do the same, say Elliot Feldman and Michael Snarr at BakerHostetler.

• What Kan. Bankruptcy Ruling Means For Junior Lenders

  

  Following a Kansas bankruptcy court's recent decision in Fencepost, junior lenders should be aware that voting provisions in subordination agreements may not be enforceable, say Laura Appleby and Elizabeth Little at Faegre Drinker.

• The Pandemic's Bright Spots For Lawyers Who Are Parents

  

  The COVID-19 crisis has allowed lawyers to hone remote advocacy strategies and effectively represent clients with minimal travel — abilities that have benefited working parents and should be utilized long after the pandemic is over, says Chelsea Loughran at Wolf Greenfield.

• How Tuna Antitrust Ruling Affects Job Bias Class Actions

  

  Employment discrimination class actions that rely on statistical representations could look different following the recent Olean v. Bumble Bee antitrust ruling, due to the Ninth Circuit's scrutiny of models that obscure the extent of uninjured plaintiff membership, say attorneys at Orrick.

• Economic Sanctions And Export Controls: A Q1 Update

  

  Attorneys at Kirkland discuss first-quarter developments in U.S. export controls and economic sanctions and what they may indicate about the Biden administration's national security and foreign policy agenda. 

• Opinion

  Revise Mansfield Diversity Mandates To Also Benefit Veterans

  

  The well-intentioned efforts and salutary purposes of the legal industry's Mansfield Rule diversity metric are tainted by the Diversity Lab initiative's omission of veterans, who are underrepresented at large law firms and entitled to advantageous treatment based on more than 200 years of public policy, says Robert Redmond at McGuireWoods.

• Practical Considerations For NY Cannabis Licensing

  

  Danielle Tricolla at Forchelli Deegan discusses the opportunities and pitfalls to watch for as applicants navigate the licensing process established by the recently passed New York Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

• Rebuttal

  Class Action Access At Stake In High Court TransUnion Case

  

  The biggest risk in the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming TransUnion v. Ramirez opinion is that it could shut courthouse doors to would-be consumer class action plaintiffs with an overly cramped and narrow interpretation of standing, not that it could "open the floodgates," as a recent Law360 guest article claimed, says Chi Chi Wu at the National Consumer Law Center.

• Opinion

  OFAC Should Issue SDN Payment Licenses that Don't Expire

  

  To mitigate unintended financial harm to U.S. companies that have lawful preexisting contracts with newly named specially designated nationals, the Office of Foreign Assets Control should permanently authorize wind-down payments from sanctioned parties, says Alexandre Lamy at Baker McKenzie.

• Crypto Bills Show Consensus On Need For Federal Oversight

  

  Several new legislative proposals attempting to clarify the legal framework governing the digital asset space reflect the recognition that cryptocurrencies' rising popularity, rapid pace of change and volatility make federal regulation crucial for protecting investors and promoting innovation, say Jonathan Marcus and Stephanie Cannuli at Skadden.