RiskWatch

Timothy O’Toole discusses the Treasury Department’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding an Executive Order focused on regulating certain outbound US investments that could pose a national security threat. This would be known as the Outbound Investment Security Program. Tim is a Member at the law firm Miller & Chevalier and is the Practice Lead of Economic Sanctions and Export Controls. Tim’s white collar defense practice focuses on high-stakes cases involving economic sanctions, export controls, foreign investment, cybersecurity, and anti-money laundering laws. You can find a link here to the Trade Compliance Flash that Tim and his colleagues published on this topic as well as a link to his bio on the Miller & Chevalier website.

Andrew Balthazor discusses the SEC’s growing focus on the problem of ‘AI washing’ and the threat it poses to investors. Andrew is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Miami office practicing in the firm's Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section. His practice focuses on solving problems born of digital-era innovations and other high-stakes complex commercial litigation. Here is a link to a recent blog Andrew and his colleagues published on ‘AI Washing’ as well as a link to his bio. 

Tiffany Campion discusses some recent trends in the takeover defense and shareholder activism space. Tiffany is a senior attorney in the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins, where she focuses on takeover defense and shareholder activism. Here is a link to her bio and contact information.

Amy Caizza, a Partner at Wilson Sonsini, discusses new proposed rules by FinCEN that would see a significant expansion of AML / CFT obligations for Registered Investment Advisers, Venture Capital Advisers, and Private Fund Advisers. This could mean a significant addition to advisers’ obligations when screening potential investors. Here is a link to the recent alert that the firm published on the proposed rule as well as a link to Amy’s bio and contact information.

Amy is leader of the firm’s fintech and financial services group, which is recognized as a leading U.S. fintech practice by Chambers FinTech. 

Daniel Wendt, a member at Miller & Chevalier, discusses the new Foreign Extortion Prevention Act that was signed into law by President Biden in December 2023.  FEPA was designed to prevent extortion by foreign officials and criminalizes the act of foreign officials demanding bribes addressing a potential gap in the FCPA. Here is a link to a recent alert that Miller & Chevalier published on FEPA as well as a link to Daniel’s bio and contact information. 

Evan Abrams is an Associate at Steptoe & Johnson and advises clients on issues related to anti-money laundering and anti-corruption, among others. He came on the show to discuss FinCEN’s recent proposed rule targeting digital asset mixers. The proposed rule is part of an effort by the Department of Treasury to crackdown on cryptocurrency anonymity services such as digital asset mixers which can be used as a money laundering tool by rogue states, terrorist organizations, and criminals. The issuance of the proposed rule comes on the heels of the October 7 Hamas attack as the group has been accused of using digital asset mixers. You can get in touch with Evan at this link and a link to the related piece he co-authored on the Steptoe website is here.

David Rybicki and Neil Smith of the law firm K&L Gates discuss the new Department of Justice Safe Harbor Policy for voluntary self-disclosure made in connection with M&A. The discussion covers several different focus points, including concerns that need to be top of mind for acquirers, key industries to watch, and the growing importance of deeper due diligence, both pre and post deal. You can find links to David and Neils’ contact information here (David) and here (Neil) as well as the US Policy and Regulatory Alert on the Safe Harbor Policy that the firm published on their website. 

David Rybicki and Neil Smith is co-lead K&L Gates’ White Collar Defense and Investigations practice Group that focuses on government investigations, securities enforcement, internal investigations, and white collar defense representations. 

Ann Sultan and Alexandra Beaulieu of the law firm Miller & Chevalier came on the show to discuss recent enforcement developments and trends concerning the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ann is a Partner and Vice Chair of the International Department at the firm and provides public companies and private organizations with advice on a wide range of enforcement, ethics and compliance topics. Alexandra is an Associate at the firm and focuses her practice on the design and implementation of risk-based corporate compliance programs and internal and government investigations. You can find a link to a recent review of FCPA enforcement trends and developments published by the firm here. 

Mike Blankenship came back on the show to discuss the IPO underwriting process, the role of due diligence and the state of the IPO market. Mike is a Managing Partner at the Houston office of Winston & Strawn and focuses his practice on corporate finance and securities law, including securities offerings, public company advisory, special purpose company offerings, among others.  You can find a link to Mike's bio and contact information on the Winston & Strawn website here as well as a link to the Underwriting Process presentation that the firm published in May here.

Carrie LeRoy and Charles Walker of the lawfirm Gibson Dunn discuss key takeaways from a bulletin they published on the Gibson Dunn website titled M&A Report: Top Technology Sector-Specific Legal Diligence Concerns in Acquisitions. They discussed the pitfalls that exist for technology acquisitions from intellectual property ownership to cyber security to bribery and corruption risks from third parties. Below is a link to the bulletin as well as links to their bios on the Gibson Dunn website to get in touch.

Gibson Dunn Bulletin

Carrie LeRoy Bio

Charles Walker Bio