Expert Analysis

• SEC Approach In Wahi Presents New Challenges For Crypto

  

  The outcome of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's civil action in U.S. v. Wahi, a parallel proceeding to the U.S. Department of Justice's first-ever crypto insider trading case, has the potential to broadly extend the commission's jurisdiction over crypto or upend the digital asset space, say attorneys at Proskauer.

• Privacy Lessons From FTC's BetterHelp Consent Decree

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement action against BetterHelp highlights the growing risk associated with the use of third-party cookies and pixels on websites for companies that offer health services, say Rachel Marmor and Shannon Hartsfield at Holland & Knight.

• What To Expect From A Litigation Finance Industry Recession

  

  There's little data on how litigation finance would fare in a recession, but a look at stakeholders' incentives suggests corporate demand for litigation finance would increase in a recessionary environment, while the number of funders could shrink, says Matthew Oxman at LexShares.

• Danske Bank Deal Offers Corporate Compensation Warning

  

  The recent Danske Bank settlement opens doors for aggressive prosecution of fraud committed against U.S. banks that maintain correspondent relationships and instructs companies to implement compensation systems restricting executive bonuses in response to misconduct, say Michael Volkov and Alexander Cotoia at The Volkov Law Group.

• McDonald's Harassment Ruling And 'Mission-Critical Risk'

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court's recent decision in the McDonald's case appears to have expanded the potential for Caremark liability beyond the parameters that many legal analysts had understood to apply, finding that maintaining workplace safety is a mission-critical risk for companies but also reinforcing the high bar for that liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• A Look At The Feds' Extraordinary Reaction To SVB Collapse

  

  With the receiverships of two banks in almost as many days, the emerging pattern of regulatory response holds the banking sector as a whole responsible for losses at individual institutions, a scenario that may not end with special assessments to cover Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• Del. Ruling Could Affect D&O Claims Beyond SPACs

  

  A Delaware state court recently held in Clover Health v. Berkley Insurance that directors and officers of a post-merger entity were insured persons under a special-purpose acquisition company's D&O; policy, a ruling that could have potential ramifications for future D&O; claims in Delaware outside of SPAC deals, say Geoffrey Fehling and Janine Hanrahan at Hunton.

• Opinion

  FCA Knowledge Element: NY Already Got It Right

  

  In April, when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in U.S. v. Supervalu and U.S. v. Safeway concerning the federal False Claims Act's knowledge component, it should consider the reasoning of a New York state court ruling that already reached the correct understanding, says Randall Fox at Kirby McInerney.

• Opinion

  SEC Needs To Support Crypto Gatekeepers

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a significant responsibility to create and maintain a regulatory environment governing the crypto industry, but currently, crypto businesses — and their lawyers — often are punished for seeking to comply, says retired Wilson Sonsini partner Rob Rosenblum.

• Enviro Justice Can Help Cos. With Regulators, Communities

  

  As policymakers increasingly prioritize environmental justice, businesses with corporate EJ policies in place and strong relationships with local stakeholders will be best positioned to respond in a meaningful way to regulatory scrutiny, while making a real difference in their communities, say consultants at Integral.

• Limiting BIPA Damages After Ill. Biometric Consent Violations

  

  In the wake of the Illinois Supreme Court's February ruling in Cothron v. White Castle, holding that an employer must pay damages for each time it violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act during a period of 10 years, companies should adopt specific strategies to mitigate the newly heightened risk of ruinous cumulative awards, say attorneys at Quinn Emanuel.

• Ahead Of The Oscars, A Look At Legal Fixes For Film Diversity

  

  As the Oscars approach, there remains a nagging diversity issue in the film industry — for which legal solutions, like inclusion riders and equitable corporate structures, exist — that should be called out, says Sekou Campbell at Culhane Meadows.

• Preparing For DOJ's Compensation Clawback Pilot Program

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s new pilot program incentivizes clawbacks and requires corporate resolutions to include compensation reform, effectuating the agency’s recent emphasis on individual accountability, so companies must take immediate steps to update their compliance programs, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• How S&P 100 Cos.' Human Capital Disclosures Are Evolving

  

  A survey of human capital resource disclosures shows that S&P; 100 companies are generally expanding the length of their disclosures, covering more topics and including slightly more quantitative information in some areas, say Mike Titera and Meghan Sherley at Gibson Dunn.

• Garland Memo May Curb A Powerful Prosecutorial Tool

  

  Attorney General Merrick Garland’s recent policy memo, instructing that proportionality should be the top consideration in charging decisions, may limit prosecutors’ increased use of the aggravated identity theft statute to induce guilty pleas in white collar cases, say Brandon Fox and Sasha Peters at Jenner & Block.