Expert Analysis

• Series

  Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

• Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

  

  In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

• The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

  

  U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.

• Opinion

  Justices Rightly Corrected Course In Nvidia And Facebook

  

  By dismissing both the Nvidia and Facebook class actions, over investors' ability to hold corporations accountable for fraud, the U.S. Supreme Court was right in refusing to favor corporations over transparency, and reaffirmed its commitment to corporate accountability, investor protection and the rule of law, says Laura Posner at Cohen Milstein.

• Gov't Scrutiny Of Workplace Chat Apps Set To Keep Growing

  

  The incoming Trump administration and Republican majorities in Congress are poised to open numerous investigations that include increasing demands for entities to produce communications from workplace chat apps, so companies must evaluate their usage and retention policies, say attorneys at Orrick.

• 2024 Regulatory Developments For Bank-Fintech Partnerships

  

  Joseph Silvia at Duane Morris reviews a handful of particularly noteworthy 2024 updates regarding bank-fintech partnerships, including federal banking agencies issuing a number of important pieces of guidance that reiterate and update previous guidance in the area of third-party risk management.

• When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

  

  As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

• Why Asset-Based Loans May Suit PE Companies In 2025

  

  As the prospect of higher tariffs and interest rates expands the need for liquidity, private equity investors would do well to explore the timing and provisions of asset-based loans offered in the burgeoning credit-fund sector, say attorneys at McDermott.

• Changes To Expect From SEC Under Trump Nominee

  

  President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Paul Atkins for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair will likely lead to significant shifts in the Division of Enforcement's priorities, likely focused on protecting retail investors and the stability of the capital markets, say attorneys at Morrison Foerster.

• Executive Orders That Could Affect Financial Services In 2025

  

  The incoming Trump administration is likely to quickly revive or update a number of prior executive orders, and possibly issue new ones, that could affect financial services by emphasizing market discipline rather than regulatory initiatives to drive change in the industry, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• What To Know About FinCEN's Deepfake Warning

  

  A recent alert from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network warns about the increased use of deepfake media to target financial institutions and their customers, showing that what seems like futuristic technology is a current threat that requires diligent controls and awareness of red flags, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

• 'Minimal Participant' Bar Is Tough To Clear For Whistleblowers

  

  Under the U.S. Department of Justice’s corporate whistleblower pilot program, would-be whistleblowers will find it tough to show that they only minimally participated in criminal misconduct while still providing material information, but sentencing precedent shows how they might prove their eligibility for an award, say attorneys at MoloLamken.

• 2024 IPO Market Trends, And What To Expect Next Year

  

  The initial public offering market returned to historically typical levels on a deal count basis in 2024 but continued to lag based on proceeds raised due to a larger number of smaller IPOs this year, and signs point to continued ongoing momentum in the next year, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

• Impact Of Corporate Transparency Act Ambiguity On Banks

  

  Even though banks generally needn't file beneficial ownership information reports, financial institutions must continue to monitor the status of the Corporate Transparency Act and understand its requirements in case the nationwide injunction that was issued against the CTA earlier this month is overturned, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

• A Look At SEC, CFTC's Record Year For Whistleblower Awards

  

  Another banner year shows that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission have developed the gold standard for whistleblower award programs, but a CFTC funding crisis threatens to derail that program's success, say Andrew Feller and Geoff Schweller at Kohn Kohn.