Expert Analysis

• Crypto, Audit Cases Dominate SEC's Enforcement Focus In '23

  

  Attorneys at Covington examine the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's fiscal year 2023 enforcement results, which marked the SEC's third consecutive year of increasing enforcement activity since Chair Gary Gensler took over in 2021 — this time driven by a focus on combating cryptocurrency-related scams and enforcing recordkeeping compliance.

• Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• 5 Steps To Meet CFTC Remediation Expectations

  

  After the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission recently updated its enforcement policies, organizations should implement elements of effective remediation — from root-cause analyses to design effectiveness tests — to mitigate the risk of penalties and third-party oversight, say Jonny Frank and Chris Hoyle at StoneTurn Group.

• An Informed Guide To Mastering Retirement Plan Forfeitures

  

  When considering how to allocate departing retirement plan participants’ forfeitures, sponsors should consider recently filed lawsuits that allege Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations for using such funds to offset employer contributions, as well as proposed IRS guidance concerning how and when they must be used, says Eric Gregory at Dickinson Wright.

• Asserting 'Presence-Of-Counsel' Defense In Securities Trials

  

  As illustrated by the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, defense attorneys in securities trials might consider arguing that counsel had some involvement in the conduct at issue — if the more formal advice-of-counsel defense is unavailable and circumstances allow for a privilege waiver, say Joseph Dever and Matthew Elkin at Cozen O'Connor.

• Series

  ESG Around The World: Mexico

  

  ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.

• Crypto Has Democratized Trading In Bankruptcy Claims

  

  Following the pandemic, there has been a wave of cryptocurrency bankruptcies and a related increase in access to information, allowing nontraditional bankruptcy investors to purchase claims and democratizing a once closed segment of alternative investing, says Joseph Sarachek at Strategic Liquidity.

• The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms

  

  In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.

• What SEC Retreat In Ripple Case Means For Crypto Regulation

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has chosen a regulation-by-enforcement approach to cryptocurrency policy rather than through rulemaking, but the agency's recently aborted enforcement action against two Ripple Labs executives for alleged securities law violations demonstrates the limits of this piecemeal tactic, says Keith Blackman at Bracewell.

• SEC Whistleblower Action Spotlights Risks For Private Cos.

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent whistleblower action against Monolith Resources holds important implications for private companies, who could face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny amid the agency's efforts to beef up environmental, social and governance reporting and enforcement, say attorneys at Wiley.

• Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary

  

  The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.

• DOL's Retirement Security Rule Muddies Definitional Waters

  

  The latest proposal changing how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act defines "investment advice," which the White House framed as a narrowly tailored regulation, would implement a sweeping regulatory overhaul that changes how the retirement services industry interacts with plans, participants and account owners, says Michael Kreps at Groom Law Group.

• A Deep Dive Into FSOC's Expansion Of Nonbank Oversight

  

  The Financial Stability Oversight Council's new nonbank guidance, designed to provide the council with added flexibility in risk response, not only modifies the process for designating nonbanks as systemically important institutions, but also sends a clear signal that the FSOC may assume a more active role in addressing financial stability risks across the economy, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• 9th Circ. ERISA Ruling Informs DOL's New Fiduciary Proposal

  

  The Ninth Circuit's reasoning in its recent Bugielski v. AT&T decision illustrates the importance of the U.S. Department of Labor's proposals to expand the reach of Employee Retirement Income Security Act third-party compensation disclosure rules and their effect on investment adviser fiduciaries, says Jeff Mamorsky at Cohen & Buckmann.

• AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier

  

  Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.