Expert Analysis

• OCC Proposal Frames Key Genius Act Implementation Issues

  

  The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently proposed rule under the Genius Act previews federal expectations on permissible activities for stablecoin issuers, offering an early guide to potential compliance burdens and state-federal equivalency debates as the stablecoin regulatory regime continues to take shape, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Surveying The CFTC Campaign To Control Prediction Markets

  

  The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is simultaneously asserting exclusive jurisdiction over prediction markets and signaling aggressive enforcement within them, a combination that will reshape the regulatory landscape for event contract platforms — pending the outcome of several court cases throughout the country and a likely circuit split, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

• FinCEN Rule Could Reshape AML Priorities Across Finance

  

  Financial institutions should prepare for a proposed Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule that would heighten scrutiny of anti-money laundering requirements and encourage responsible use of technology, potentially reorienting compliance, governance decisions and enforcement exposure for organizations across the financial sector, not just banks, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

• Series

  Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

• Banks Face Cloudy Rate Horizons As Opt-Outs Spread

  

  Banks and fintechs are grappling with a fragmented, fast-changing consumer lending landscape as more states consider opting out of preemption under the Depository Institutions and Monetary Control Act, which may ultimately lead to a decrease in interstate lending and access to credit, says Marc Franson at Chapman and Cutler.

• Bet On Prediction Market Regulation To Accelerate

  

  Watershed developments concerning prediction markets — such as the first insider trading charges, major speeches from U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission leadership, and the introduction of rulemaking and legislation — dominated the first quarter of 2026, a trend that will likely continue throughout the rest of the year, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• Framing Membership Filings To Anticipate FINRA's Concerns

  

  Recent updates to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s membership application program should remind firm management to treat the filing process not as a compliance chore, but as a test of operational and regulatory readiness where they can anticipate and address FINRA's concerns, says Andrew Mount at Eversheds Sutherland.

• 2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

  

  The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

• Opinion

  Tribal Gaming Law Is Paramount In Prediction Market Cases

  

  Whatever the outcome of the preemption question in prediction market litigation involving states and the federal government, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act deals very specifically with gaming on Indian lands and almost certainly trumps the general federal laws at issue, says Kevin Washburn at the University of California, Berkeley.

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  Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

• How Banks And Fintechs Can Build COPPA-Ready Youth Apps

  

  Recent Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and state law activity expanding children's data protections underscore compliance considerations for bank-fintech partnerships offering digital financial tech products for youth, including age-gating, data minimization and parental control, says Erin Illman at Bradley Arant.

• Why The Wells Process Is No Longer A One-Sided Exercise

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently revamped Enforcement Manual rewrites the informational asymmetry that has defined SEC defense for decades, providing counsel with several new strategies to produce better submissions, give better advice and achieve better outcomes, says Ashwin Ram at Buchalter.

• Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

  

  An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

• Small And Midsize Business Finance Faces More State Regs

  

  Recent developments in state credit disclosure, consumer debt collection, and lender licensing and registration requirements suggest that companies extending financing to small and midsize businesses are likely to encounter a significantly more stringent legal climate moving forward, say attorneys at Manatt.

• Structuring Bank-Fintech Ties To Avert Risk

  

  Bank-fintech relationships that can hold up to recent increased scrutiny must take into account a broad swath of structuring considerations including due diligence, compliance, documentation, and planning for a potential wind-down and termination, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.