Posted: February 10th, 2017
By: Charity Barger*| Staff Writer
The last panel of the Symposium focused on consumer protection. The panelists spoke generally about consumer protection, referring often to Dodd Frank, an Act responsible for creating more stringent rules on consumer protection. The panelists also spoke about the role of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) and pointed out that the CFPB has three powers: rulemaking, supervision, and enforcement. The Bureau was described as being staffed by highly professional and energetic people, who are very committed to consumer protection. Continue reading »
Posted: February 10th, 2017
By: Katherine Escalante*| Staff Writer
The panelists on the Community Banking panel focused on the survival of Community Banking. The panelists discussed the Community Banking model and its viability by examining how technological advancements are affecting this model. More specifically the panel touched on issues such as the importance of community banks, the burdens placed on them, and the complex relationship with FinTech. Continue reading »
Posted: February 10th, 2017
By: Brandy Nickoloff*| Staff Writer
The panel for the “Life of an In-House Counsel” session at this year’s Banking Law Symposium featured practitioners from Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The panelists wanted the session to be interactive and encouraged the audience to ask questions throughout. That tactic did allow for the other attorneys in the room not only to ask questions but to offer sympathy for the role the panelists have daily. In their role as in-house attorneys, truly they have become counselors on how to comply with the law rather than advocating for their institutions’ interest regarding the law. As one panelist put it, sometimes the job requires convincing your client to “just get to the business of complying.” This angle comes about because clients do not understand the different rules or regulating bodies. Requirements vary from one department of the bank to the next. For example, one panelist who works within the cyber security and information security side of banking finds regulations stemming from The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI as a priority over common banking regulators. Continue reading »
Posted: February 10th, 2017
By: Libby Casale*| Staff Writer
Cybersecurity is an evolving and growing field, and one full of unknowns. Panelists discussed cybersecurity, cyber incidents, and cybersecurity breaches at the Cyber Security Panel during the 2017 JBIPL Banking Law: Current and Future Issues Symposium.
For breaches, it is often not a question of whether, but when, a breach will happen. Breaches can take multiple forms. They may be caused by hactivists, state sponsored theft, cyberterrorism, or could also be caused by malicious insiders. Additionally, breaches could be caused by something as simple as a self-populating email header or by sending your files to an unintended recipient. Continue reading »
Posted: February 9th, 2017
By: Cara Van Dorn*| Staff Writer
The Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law (JBIPL) is excited to host its Spring 2017 Symposium, Banking Law: Current & Future Issues, on Friday, February 10, 2017. The Symposium includes five panels of prominent attorneys and professors to share their experiences and expertise on some of the most pressing legal issues currently impacting the banking community. The morning kicks off with panel discussions focusing on cutting edge topics, such as cyber security and the quickly-evolving “FinTech” (financial technology) industry. The lunchtime panel centers on life as in-house counsel at nation-wide financial institutions. The afternoon includes a panel on the regulatory issues faced by community banks and the Symposium concludes with a hot button subject: consumer protection in the financial industry. The final panel is not to be missed, as the new administration and a conservative Congress begin their quest to dismantle the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and rollback key provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Continue reading »
Posted: February 8th, 2017
By: Thomas Gaffney*| Staff Writer
On Monday January 9th, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), which plays a major role in recording and reporting nearly every stock and bond trade in the United States, announced that it is replacing one of its central databases with a new blockchain style software inspired by the technology underlying the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the World’s most popular cryptocurrency and was the originator of the new financial technology disruptor Blockchain. The concept of Blockchain is essentially a “revolutionary approach to the age-old problem of trust.” Blockchain is a decentralized network that produces a public ledger by recording transactions conducted on the network which are then verified by third parties. Because of its design, Blockchain cannot be changed or modified unilaterally, and therefore any changes made to the ledger need to be accepted by the entire network making it more reliable and secure than contemporary methods.
Continue reading »
Posted: February 5th, 2017
By: Anna-Bryce Flowe*| Staff Writer
Throughout history, families with disabled children have grappled with how to provide adequate housing for their mentally disabled children as these children, and their caretakers, grow older. Often, families turn to the state and federal governments for funding assistance, like Medicaid, and/or state-funded housing options. Over time, the government’s approach to providing said housing assistance has changed. Asylums, which were funded by most state housing boards in the early part of the twentieth century, were initially popular for providing cheap housing and hospital-like care to anyone who seemed mentally inapt in any way. Continue reading »
Posted: January 29th, 2017
By: Jacky Brammer*| Staff Writer
Diehard football fans may have yet another outlet for their passion if sports agent Don Yee has his way. Yee, who represents New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, has plans for a new football league to start in the summer of 2018. Continue reading »
Posted: January 20th, 2017
By: Doriyon Glass*| Staff Writer
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is an agency within the Health and Human Services Department. CMS is the federal agency that controls over $1 trillion in Medicare and Medicaid funding. In September, the agency promulgated Part 483 to Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Requirements for States and Long-Term Care Facilities. These regulations cover many regulatory requirements for long term care facilities and make new compliance obligations for providers. Continue reading »
Posted: January 11th, 2017
By: Doriyon Glass*| Staff Writer
As states continue to legalize marijuana, its effect on the employment realm has also continued to surface. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia (DC) have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. Seven of these states and DC have legalized recreational use of the drug. Some states have also decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. One reason issues arise is because although a state may permit the use of marijuana, it is still an illegal Schedule 1 drug under federal law. This inconsistency may lead to confusion for employees and employers, especially regarding employees with medicinal marijuana licenses. Continue reading »
