Expert Analysis

• 5 Compliance Takeaways From FINRA's Oversight Report

  

  The priorities outlined in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's recently released annual oversight report focus on the organization's core mission of protecting investors, with AI being the sole new topic area, but financial firms can expect further reforms aimed at efficiency and modernization, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

• How SEC Civil Penalties Became Arbitrary: 3 Potential Fixes

  

  Data shows that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's seemingly unlimited authority to levy monetary penalties on market participants has diverged far from the federal securities laws' limitations, but three reforms can help reverse the trend, say David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher and Phil Lieberman at Vanderbilt Law.

• How Payments Law Landscape Will Evolve In 2026

  

  After a year of change across the payments landscape, financial services providers should expect more innovation and the pushing of regulatory boundaries, but should stay mindful that state regulators and litigation will continue to challenge the status quo, say attorneys at Troutman.

• How SEC Civil Penalties Became Arbitrary: The Data

  

  Data regarding how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adhered to its own civil penalty rules over the past 20 years reveals that awards are no longer determined in accordance with the guidelines imposed on the SEC by the securities laws, say David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher and Phil Lieberman at Vanderbilt Law.

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  Hosting Exchange Students Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Opening my home to foreign exchange students makes me a better lawyer not just because prioritizing visiting high schoolers forces me to hone my organization and time management skills but also because sharing the study-abroad experience with newcomers and locals reconnects me to my community, says Alison Lippa at Nicolaides Fink.

• How SEC Civil Penalties Became Arbitrary: The Framework

  

  An examination of how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has recently applied guidelines governing the imposition of monetary penalties in enforcement actions shows that civil penalty awards in many cases are inconsistent with the rules established to structure them, say David Slovick at Kopecky Schumacher and Phil Lieberman at Vanderbilt Law.

• 2026 Int'l Arbitration Trends: M&A And Securities Disputes

  

  Recent developments — such as the high-profile arbitration between ExxonMobil and Chevron, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shift on its long-standing opposition to mandatory arbitration clauses in registration statements — highlight key issues to consider when drafting relevant agreements and arbitrating M&A disputes, say attorneys at Cleary.

• How A 1947 Tugboat Ruling May Shape Work Product In AI Era

  

  Rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence test work-product principles first articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s nearly 80-year-old Hickman v. Taylor decision, as courts and ethics bodies confront whether disclosure of attorneys’ AI prompts and outputs would reveal their thought processes, say Larry Silver and Sasha Burton at Langsam Stevens.

• What Productivity EO May Mean For Defense Industrial Base

  

  President Donald Trump’s recent executive order barring stock buybacks and dividend payments by "underperforming" defense contractors represents a significant policy shift from traditional oversight of the defense industrial base toward direct intervention in corporate decision-making, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• What's New In ISS' Benchmark Voting Policy Updates For 2026

  

  Companies should audit their governance structures and disclosures to prepare for the upcoming proxy season in light of Institutional Shareholder Services' 2026 policy updates, which include tighter guardrails on capital structures and director compensation, and more disclosure-driven assessments of environmental and social shareholder proposals, say attorneys at Fenwick.

• Navigating Privilege Law Patchwork In Dual-Purpose Comms

  

  Three years after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to resolve a circuit split in In re: Grand Jury, federal courts remain split as to when attorney-client privilege applies to dual-purpose legal and business communications, and understanding the fragmented landscape is essential for managing risks, say attorneys at Covington.

• Decoding The SEC's Plans To Revitalize The US IPO Market

  

  Chairman Paul Atkins' recent speech showcased the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's plans to ease certain disclosure burdens, rein in politicized shareholder voting and mitigate litigation risk, which could encourage more U.S. companies to seek public listings stateside and make U.S. stock exchanges more competitive for foreign companies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

• Banking Regulation Themes To Anticipate In 2026

  

  The banking enforcement and rulemaking agenda for this year is likely to reflect a mix of targeted reform, deregulatory recalibration and new priorities aligned with supervisory modernization, says Kim Prior at King & Spalding.

• Easing Equity Research Firewall Shows SEC Open To Updates

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent agreement to modify a decades-old settlement meant to limit investment bankers’ influence over research analysts within major broker-dealer firms reflects a shift toward a commission that recognizes how rules can be modernized to lighten compliance burdens without eliminating core safeguards, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

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  Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

  

  The regulatory and litigation developments for California financial institutions in the fourth quarter of 2025 were incremental but consequential, with the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation relying on public enforcement actions to articulate expectations, and lawmakers and privacy regulators playing a role as well, says Stephen Britt at Stinson.