This will be the last time I address you as the Chair of the Financial Services Committee. I have enjoyed working with so many of you over this past year and am hopeful that we can further increase your involvement. There are still opportunities to get involved in the 2016-2017 committee leadership – so please reach out if you are interested.
As you may recall from the last newsletter, the FSC was very involved in working with the Compliance & Ethics Committee and ACC Advocacy to submit a comment letter to the NY DFS addressing its rule which would impose criminal penalties to legal and compliance gatekeepers for certain AML breaches. We are happy to report that the final rule reflects many of the recommendations that ACC advocated. Please see the ACC press release about this. http://www.acc.com/aboutacc/newsroom/ny-finance-rules.cfm.
"The US Department of Labor's Fiduciary Rule, What Do You Need to Know?" presented by Marcia Wagner of the Wagner Law Group in May. The focus was on how the long-awaited DOL rule will impact firms that provide advice to IRA account owners.
"DOL's Final Rule Regarding Salary Levels for Exempt Employees" which focused on the revised white collar exemptions to the FLSA, presented by Jim Coleman at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP in July.
"Independent Contractors: Be Careful You May Own Them" presented by Peter Anderson, Lew Wiener and Carol McClarnon of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. This is the topic for the August LQH and will address concerns raised by the use of independent contractors by financial services firms.
These have been particularly well received and a number of FSC members who were not able to attend have reached out to listen to the recordings. Did you know that ACC records all of the LQHs? In case you miss the monthly calls, you can still access them by going to that event on the committee page and clicking on the "view archive" green button at the top right corner.
Although a great back up plan, you will still miss Pete Michaels from Greenberg Traurig, FSC's sponsor, who presents an excellent and very brief overview of significant regulatory developments each month. He includes a page of links to primary and some excellent secondary resources which I have found very valuable (if occasionally terrifying!) Those presentations are not recorded – so please join our calls so you do not miss out.
If you haven't visited our committee page lately – remember to check it out! It always shows the 20 most recent financial services related job opportunities. There are more than 750 jobs posted for all in-house fields, at all levels of experience and throughout the US and a few beyond. There are also listings of new resources and links to many useful tools and open discussions on the eGroups.
I want to thank all of the members of the FSC leadership this past year for all of their efforts in putting together such high quality and relevant programming. I have enjoyed working with each of them and look forward to seeing them bring the committee to new heights in the years to come!
And a special shout-out to Greenberg Traurig, FSC's sponsor, for all of their efforts this year. I think that Pete Michaels was the de facto Regulatory Updates chair of the FSC. The collection of links and his color on industry updates, including key enforcement decisions, regulatory trends and new rule releases was among the most valuable aspects of my ACC membership over the ten+ years that I have been an active member. No small accomplishment!
Thank you for your continuing interest and support for ACC and the Financial Services Committee. Please continue to suggest topics that would be important to you and other members of the committee so we can all contribute to worthwhile database of material to benefit all of us.
A panel comprised of Supreme Court experts will highlight current key issues and cases for the U.S. Supreme Court. Join these esteemed faculty as they delve into significant legal topics that are relevant across the spectrum of in-house lawyers.
The ACC Financial Services Committee, in conjunction with the Real Estate Committee and the SoCal Chapter, held a CLO Regulatory Roundtable in Los Angeles, California on July 28. The CLO Roundtable featured the Honorable Eileen Decker, US Attorney for the Central District of California, the Honorable Michele Layne, Regional Director of the SEC Los Angeles Regional Office, and the Honorable Thomas O'Brien, former United States Attorney for the Central District of Los Angeles and current litigation partner at Paul Hastings. Laura Dorman, Managing Director and Associate General Counsel of the Berkeley Research Group and immediate past Chair of the Financial Services Committee, and Dawn Haghighi, General Counsel of PCV Murcor Real Estate Services and Chair of the Real Estate Committee, co-chaired the event.
The CLO Regulatory Roundtables, which have taken place in DC, New York City, Boston, and Phoenix, allow for candid conversation on items of mutual importance. The event drew over 40 CLOs, including members of both sponsoring committees and of the SoCal Chapter of the ACC. The CLOs came from a wide range of industries, including retail, healthcare, banking, private equity, aerospace, title insurance, mortgage lending, aviation, government contractors, and food and beverage. The evening began with a cocktail reception followed by a dinner hosted by Paul Hastings. The Roundtable featured a lively question-and-answer session that addressed a variety of topics, including pending legislation, regulatory reform, governance, challenges and consequences of regulations. The speakers discussed the Yates memo and responded to our members' concerns as to its practical application. The speakers also discussed best practices for CLOs in interacting with the SEC and DOJ, appropriate data management and cybersecurity practices, and other issues of significance to the in-house community.
ACC's Financial Services and Real Estate Committees formed the Regulatory Working Group Roundtable Series to provide opportunities for ACC members to interact with law enforcement, regulators, and legislators including CFPB, DOJ, SEC, OCC, FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office, and state and local regulators. The Regulatory Working Group is co-chaired by Laura Dorman and Dawn Haghighi. Upcoming Roundtables will be held in Dallas and Washington, DC, and will be sponsored by Wilmer Hale through its partner the Honorable Ronald Machen, former US Attorney for the District of Columbia. A Meet The Regulator Roundtable session will also take place at the ACC Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Session 209: Who's the Regulator in the Room? Regulations on Kickbacks, Money Laundering, and More. The panel will include the Honorable Brian Stretch, US Attorney, Northern District of California, the Honorable Erin Schneider, Associate Regional Director for Enforcement, SEC, San Francisco Regional Office, and a representative from the CFPB.
If you are interested in joing the Regulatory Working Group, please contact LaToya Tapscott at tapscott@acc.com.
If you are interested in organizing a Roundtable in your area please contact Laura Dorman at ldorman@thinkbrg.com.
The ACC Financial Services Committee will be holding it's annual business meeting on Tuesday October 18, 2016 from 1: 00 - 2:15 PM PST.
We will be hosting an event in the San Francisco area towards the end of September. Keep your eye out for this and other exciting events to come!
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is the 2015 sponsor of the FSC. Greenberg Traurig is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1800 attorneys serving clients from 37 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is among the "Power Elite" in the 2014 BTI Client Relationship Scorecard report, which assesses the nature and strength of law firms' client relationships. For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com or follow Greenberg Traurig on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.