On July 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added the category of Environmental/Natural Resource Economics (03.0204) as a qualifying field of study to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. DHS did...more
On May 23, 2024, FERC approved the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (“NERC”) proposed Critical Infrastructure Protection (“CIP”) Reliability Standard, CIP-012-2 (Cyber Security – Communications between...more
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a proposed rule on May 13, 2024 (Proposed Rule), which could have sweeping effects on the...more
On October 19, 2021, FinCEN, the U.S. Government’s lead AML regulator, exercised its regulatory relief authority to allow casinos and card clubs to employ “non-documentary means” to verify patrons’ identity. The original...more
On September 15, 2020, FinCEN issued a Final Rule stating that Banks lacking a Federal Functional Regulator will be required to establish and implement AML programs including policies and procedures, a dedicated compliance...more
The Federal Banking Agencies (“FBAs”) — collectively the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”); the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”); the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation...more
On October 2, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the “Commission”) terminated its inquiry into the need for, and potential effects of, modifications to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)...more
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a continuing end-of-year series. See our previous posts on trade secrets, state regulation and law enforcement, HIPAA compliance, and emerging threats. Our last post will focus on...more
For the second time in less than a year, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has imposed a six-figure penalty on a participant in the electric market for fundamentally failing to comply with the NERC...more
Last month the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed new rules which would require non-federally regulated banks to implement Customer Identification Program (CIP) requirements...more
FinCEN has proposed extending its anti-money laundering (AML) program requirement for banks to banks that are not subject to regulation by a federal functional regulator, including state chartered limited purpose trust...more
SEC Overturns CBOE Determination That Individual Traders of Two Omnibus Accounts Were Customers Requiring Application of Customer Identification Rule - The Securities and Exchange Commission set aside a determination by...more
Continuation applications are wonderful tools for increasing the size and scope of your patent portfolio. With some careful planning, you can use continuation applications to turn your experience with the patent office and...more
The long-awaited proposed rule on F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) was published in the Federal Register on October 19, 2015, by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The proposed rule is titled “Improving and...more
On September 1, 2015, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) published in the Federal Register long-rumored proposed regulations that will require Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)-registered investment...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the Department of Treasury, issued a proposed anti-money laundering rule applicable to investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
Part of Bradley Arant’s Policyholder Insurance Coverage Team’s six-part Maximize Your Company's Insurance Coverage Webinar Series, the “Understanding CIPs, Builder’s Risk, and Inland Marine Insurance Policies” webinar, led by...more
On August 25, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released proposed rules that would require investment advisers that are registered or required to be registered (RIAs)...more
On August 25, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which would impose anti-money laundering (AML), suspicious activity reporting,...more
The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on August 25, 2015 proposed rules to require SEC- registered investment advisers to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering (AML) programs and to...more
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a proposed rule that would subject certain investment advisers to AML requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (the BSA). In proposing the rule, FinCEN cited...more
The Gainful Employment Rules became effective on July 1, 2015, and you probably already know that your institution has a deadline to report six years' worth of institutional, student and financial data to the Department of...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) July 16, 2015, proposing to approve various Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) reliability standards proposed by the North...more
A sophisticated cyberattack on the U.S. power grid could cause nearly $250 billion in economic losses and, under the most severe circumstances, cost more than $1 trillion to the U.S. economy, according to a recent report...more
Companies file patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to protect promising innovations. Often, however, improvements, additional uses and refinements surface after filing a patent...more