Capital Markets

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  The Ill-Fated Emergence Of The Bitcoin Balance Sheet

  

  Other corporations may follow MicroStrategy's lead and invest in problematic Bitcoin, in what appears to be a new chapter of irresponsible corporate behavior, says cybersecurity consultant John Reed Stark.

• Ethics Reminders As Employees Move To Or From Gov't

  

  Many organizations are making plans for executives to go into government jobs, or for government officials to join a private sector team, but they must understand the many ethics rules that can put a damper on just how valuable the former employee or new hire can be, say Scott Thomas and Jennifer Carrier at Blank Rome.

• Expect 2021 SEC To Turn Hawkish On Auditor Enforcement

  

  President-elect Joe Biden's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will almost certainly usher in a reversal of recent years' slow pace of auditor enforcement — just 11 actions this year — back up toward the levels of the Obama administration's Operation Broken Gate, say Charles Smith and Andrew Fuchs at Skadden.

• A Key To Helping Clients Make Better Decisions During Crisis

  

  As the pandemic brings a variety of legal stresses for businesses, lawyers must understand the emotional dynamic of a crisis and the particular energy it produces to effectively fulfill their role as advisers, say Meredith Parfet and Aaron Solomon at Ravenyard Group.

• Ethics Considerations For Law Firms Implementing AI

  

  Richard Finkelman and Yihua Astle at Berkeley Research Group discuss the ethical and bias concerns law firms must address when implementing artificial intelligence-powered applications for recruiting, conflict identification and client counseling.

• Tech Cos. Could Face Stiffer SEC Enforcement Under Biden

  

  Ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's appointment of a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair, Silicon Valley should expect greater scrutiny of whistleblowers, earnings management, risk disclosures and insider trading — all potentially influenced by the federal courts in serving as a check on the agency's enforcement, say attorneys at MoFo.

• Picking The Right Location And Tools For Virtual Courtrooms

  

  Attorneys should consider the pros and cons of participating in virtual court proceedings from home versus their law firm offices, and whether they have the right audio, video and team communication tools for their particular setup, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• Beware Atty Ethics Rules When Reporting COVID-19 Fraud

  

  Attorneys considering blowing the whistle on False Claims Act violations by recipients of COVID-19 relief may face a number of ethical constraints on their ability to disclose client information and file qui tam actions, say Breon Peace and Jennifer Kennedy Park at Cleary.

• Looking For Judicial Activists? Check The Footnotes

  

  U.S. Supreme Court nominees typically face intense questioning over potential judicial activism, but a better way to gauge judges' activist tendencies may be to look at the footnotes in their opinions, say Christopher Collier at Hawkins Parnell and Michael Arndt at Rohan Law.

• Best Practices For Legal Technology Adoption

  

  The pandemic has accelerated the need to improve the practice of law through technology, but law firms and in-house legal departments must first ensure they have employee buy-in and well-defined processes for new digital tools, say Dan Broderick at BlackBoiler and Daryl Shetterly at Orrick.

• Valuation Uncertainty Could Prompt Increased Litigation

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has increased volatility around forward-looking cash flows and discount rates, which may lead to more business valuation disputes, particularly in the M&A and bankruptcy litigation contexts, say analysts at Cornerstone Research.

• What The Biden-Harris Win Means For Securities Regulation

  

  In this brief video, Amy Greer and Valerie Mirko at Baker McKenzie examine what a government led by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris could mean for the securities industry, regulatory leadership and financial policy.

• The Pandemic's Long-Term Impact On Law Firm Operations

  

  Brian Burlant at Major Lindsey looks at how pandemic-era remote work has changed the way law firms operate — from shifts in secretarial functions to associate professional development — and explains why some alterations may be here to stay.

• Treasury Stance On Ransomware Payment Could Hurt Targets

  

  Recent statements from two U.S. Department of the Treasury offices indicate that paying off ransomware with cryptocurrency may trigger certain registration requirements and U.S. sanctions scrutiny, placing a significant regulatory burden on cybervictims and their incident response consultants, say attorneys at McDermott.

• How Biden Might Dismantle Trump-Era Regulations

  

  The Biden administration will likely take swift action to undo regulatory actions from the past four years with a variety of tools, including executive orders, the Congressional Review Act and legal challenges under the Administrative Procedure Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.