MVA White Collar Defense, Investigations, and Regulatory Advice Blog

Neil Bloomfield and Ed O’Keefe are coordinating a panel titled "LIBOR and the Potential Replacement Reference Rates: Where Do We Go from Here?" for the UNC Banking Institute on March 22 at the Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, NC. Speakers on the panel include Ann Battle of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., David Bloom of SunTrust Banks, Inc., Raymond Check of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Harriet Hunnable of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and Joaquin M. Sena of Bank of America.

The panel will discuss how the potential transition away from LIBOR has ...

Charlotte Litigation Member Ed O’Keefe will be presenting at the 2018 Financial Markets Association Conference on April 18, 2018. His presentation will discuss key legislative and regulatory initiatives affecting financial services companies, the rulemaking agenda for the SEC and the CFTC, and regulatory burden relief initiatives undertaken by the banking agencies to date.

For additional information on this event, click here.

Moore & Van Allen PLLC is pleased to announce that Kristina (“Kris”) B. Whittaker, former Deputy Comptroller for Special Supervision in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), has joined the firm’s Charlotte office as Counsel. Whittaker will practice on Moore and Van Allen’s growing Financial Regulatory Advice and Response team. *

“Kris’ valuable experience and longstanding esteem within the OCC will greatly benefit our clients and increase our practice capabilities,” said Charlotte Member Edward P. O’Keefe. “Kris brings more ...

As government authorities around the world create a constantly evolving regulatory environment, conduct overlapping investigations, and bring parallel proceedings, companies are facing perhaps the most challenging regulatory and criminal enforcement environment. Our goal is to serve as a leading-edge resource for companies navigating these waters. Moore & Van Allen’s WCIRA News Clips is a complement to our White Collar Defense, Investigations, and Regulatory Advice Blog’s in-depth individual treatment of critical emerging issues. WCIRA News Clips hits the ...

Neil Bloomfield, Rob Kenny, and Zack King joined with Jim Blair from WCM Global Wealth for a presentation to the Association of Corporate Counsel on a future of the markets where LIBOR may no longer exist. In a speech on July 27, 2017, Andrew Bailey, the Chief Executive of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), discussed the future of LIBOR. Mr. Bailey explained that work must begin in earnest to plan for the transition away from LIBOR. He explained that the FCA had spoken to “current panel banks about agreeing voluntarily to sustain LIBOR for a four to five-year period, i.e ...

With the official announcement that Charles Cain will replace Kara Brockmeyer as head of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit, it is more likely that we will see a return to the enforcement trends and outcomes of recent years. Mr. Cain has served as Acting Chief of the FCPA Unit since April 2017, and directly supervised recent enforcement actions, including the $965 million global settlement with Sweden-based telecommunications provider Telia Company AB announced in September this year.

Mr. Cain helped write the book on the SEC and DOJ's enforcement views and ...

By Neil Bloomfield and Nathan White. After the Panama Papers exposed efforts by wealthy individuals and government officials to hide funds offshore, government authorities around the world have responded with new legislation, regulations and enforcement actions that are beginning to reshape the landscape for anti-money laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations.  This post will be the first in a series of updates as the world begins to redefine these issues and what that means for companies that need to comply with the new standards. 

United States

In some areas, the ...

One of the most problematic questions facing companies simultaneously undergoing a review by external counsel and responding to a government inquiry is whether the information shared with or created by counsel will be protected from discovery in follow on civil litigation.  Unfortunately, despite significant efforts to shield this information, the answer often depends on where the litigation is brought and this fact has only been crystalized by recent decisions from courts in the Second Circuit and the U.K.

Second Circuit

Judge Batts in In re: Ex Parte Application of ...

James P. McLoughlin, Jr., Neil T. Bloomfield, and Elena F. Mitchell issued a Client Advisory Update titled "Judge Refuses to Dismiss SEC Action Against RPM International and Its General Counsel Alleging Loss Contingency Disclosure Failures." On Friday September 29, 2017, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson denied the motions to dismiss filed by RPM International, Inc. and its general counsel, Edward Moore, discussed in our previous Client Advisory. Judge Jackson concluded the SEC’s allegations stated plausible fraud claims against RPM and Moore and RPM and Moore had ...

By Neil Bloomfield and Lindsey Frye.  This will be our first in a series of updates on the status of regulation and enforcement in the context of cybersecurity related issues.  Regulation and liability in the context of a cyber attack present complex questions.  The easy target is the individual or organization that committed that attack—the criminal hacker.  Unfortunately, the easy target is often beyond the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, and even if they are not, they lack the resources to provide a meaningful recovery.  Secondary targets, which have become the focus of ...