Expert Analysis

• Wells Process Reforms Serve SEC Chair's Transparency Goals

  

  Enforcement policy changes U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins recently set forth will help fulfill his stated goal of making Division of Enforcement investigations more fair and transparent by changing the Wells process to provide recipients earlier consultations with SEC staff, greater evidence access and more time to file responses, say attorneys at Dechert.

• The Ins And Outs Of Decentralized Digital Asset Exchanges

  

  As decentralized digital asset exchanges lack intermediaries, and so remain susceptible to fraud and market manipulation, ​​​​​​​an understanding of their design is crucial to help market participants avoid fraudulent practices such as liquidity rug pulls, says Swati Kanoria at Charles River.

• Contradictory Rulings Show Complexity Of Swaps Regulation

  

  Recent divergent rulings, including two by the same Nevada judge, on whether the Commodity Exchange Act preempts state gambling laws when applied to event contracts traded on U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated markets illustrate the uncertainty regarding the legality of prediction markets, say attorneys at Akin.

• Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

  

  Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

• Series

  My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

• Evaluating Nasdaq Tokenization Rule's Potential Impact

  

  Nasdaq's recently proposed rule would enable settlement of tokenized equity securities and exchange-traded products using blockchain technology, which could lead to dramatic improvements in market efficiency, settlement speed and market access, but prudent skepticism about timelines and implementation capabilities is warranted, says James Brady at Katten.

• Litigation Funding Could Create Ethics Issues For Attorneys

  

  A litigation investor’s recent complaint claiming a New York mass torts lawyer effectively ran a Ponzi scheme illustrates how litigation funding arrangements can subject attorneys to legal ethics dilemmas and potential liability, so engagement letters must have very clear terms, says Matthew Feinberg at Goldberg Segalla.

• SEC's Dual Share Class Approval Signals New Era For ETFs

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent approval of the dual share class structure marks a landmark moment for the U.S. fund industry, opening the door for asset managers to benefit from combining mutual fund and exchange-traded fund share classes under a single portfolio, say Ilan Guedj at Bates White and Brian Henderson at George Washington University.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: November Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five recent rulings and identifies practice tips from cases involving claims related to oil and gas royalty payments, consumer fraud, life insurance, automobile insurance, and securities violations.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Dynamic Databases

  

  Several recent federal court decisions illustrate how parties continue to grapple with the discovery of data in dynamic databases, so counsel involved in these disputes must consider how structured data should be produced consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Assessing The SEC's Changing Approach To NFT Regulation

  

  Early U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission actions on nonfungible tokens pushed for broad regulation, but subsequent court decisions — including a recent California federal court ruling in Adonis Real v. Yuga Labs — and SEC commissioners' statements have narrowed the regulatory focus toward a more fact-specific approach, say attorneys at Wilson Elser.

• Where Crypto Mixing Enforcement Is Headed From Here

  

  Recent developments involving crypto mixers, particularly the Tornado Cash verdict, demonstrate that the Justice Department's shift away from regulation by prosecution does not mean total immunity, rather reflecting an approach that prioritizes both innovation and accountability, says David Tarras at Tarras Defense.

• Why Foreign Cos. Should Prep For Increased SEC Oversight

  

  With the recent trading suspensions of 10 foreign-based issuers listed on the Nasdaq, an enforcement action against a U.K. security-based swap dealer and the announcement of a cross-border task force, it's clear that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will expand oversight on foreign companies participating in the U.S. capital markets, says Tejal Shah at Cooley.

• What Narrower FinCEN Reporting Spells For Industry

  

  As compliance costs soar, the potential slimming down of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regime is welcome news for banks, and would allow a shift in resources to ever-evolving cybercrime threats, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

• Revisiting Jury Trial Right May Upend State Regulatory Power

  

  Justice Neil Gorsuch’s recent use of a denial of certiorari to call for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit whether the Seventh Amendment jury trial right extends to states, building off last year's Jarkesy ruling, could foretell a profound change in state regulators' ability to enforce penalties against regulated companies, say attorneys at Sidley.