During the past few years, operatives associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea or the DPRK) have reportedly infiltrated hundreds of U.S. companies by fraudulently posing as legitimate remote IT workers. The perpetrators, together with accomplices across multiple jurisdictions (including inside the U.S.), funnel wages back to North Korea in violation of economic sanctions, and in many cases steal company data, source code, and trade secrets. In a smaller subset of cases, after being discovered and...

Read more

The EU Commission has launched a public consultation on draft revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and voluntary sustainability reporting standards for undertakings with up to 1,000 employees. The revised ESRS aim to significantly reduce reporting burdens while preserving decision-useful information, while the voluntary standards introduce a “value chain cap” to limit information requests addressed to smaller undertakings within value chains. Context On 6 May 2026, the EU Commission announced a call for feedback on its draft Delegated Acts covering (i)...

Read more

Key Points The GAO's report on the CFPB reorganization confirms that mass workforce reductions, dismissed enforcement actions and a congressionally slashed budget cap have fundamentally reshaped federal consumer finance supervision. The pending en banc D.C. Circuit decision in National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought will likely determine whether the CFPB's proposed 88% reduction in force proceeds. Financial services providers should prepare for fewer federal CFPB enforcement actions offset by aggressive multistate regulatory oversight and a rise in private consumer finance litigation invoking CFPB-developed legal theories. The Government Accountability...

Read more

As the transposition deadline of 7 June 2026 looms closer, EU member states remain at vastly different stages of implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Quick Hits EU member states Estonia, Malta, Lithuania, and Slovakia have released recent updates on their respective implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Delays are now expected for Estonia; meanwhile, Malta, Slovakia, and Lithuania are still on track to meet the 7 June 2026 deadline. The European Commission has previously stated that the date for implementation remains...

Read more

On April 10, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) jointly issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) setting out their view of how sanctions, anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance requirements should apply to permitted payment stablecoin issuers (PPSIs) under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. The agencies also issued an accompanying fact sheet. This NPRM follows Treasury’s earlier proposal on principles for acceptable state stablecoin regulatory...

Read more

Lawyers, both in-house and in private practice are making growing use of generative AI in the delivery of legal services.  This had led to the creation of a whole new category of documents, in the form of prompts and AI outputs.  Such documents, as with any others, may be subject to disclosure in legal proceedings, unless protected by privilege. Recent rulings on both sides of the Atlantic have highlighted the growing tensions between the use of generative AI tools and...

Read more

For European investors eyeing the U.S. market with an acquisition, the “Stock vs. Assets” debate is more than just a legal technicality; it dictates your future liability profile and tax efficiency. Whether you acquire shares of stock directly through a European legal entity (“European Entity”) or utilize a Delaware “Newco” to buy assets, your choice should align with your long-term risk tolerance and exit strategy. In our new alert, we outline two different acquisition scenarios, highlighting the benefits, opportunities, and...

Read more

European Commission adopts RTS under EU Ratings Regulation The European Commission adopted two draft Delegated Regulations supplementing the ESG Ratings Regulation. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) consulted on the draft RTS in May 2025. Draft Delegated Regulation with regard to RTS specifying the measures and safeguards to be implemented by ESG rating providers to separate their ESG rating activities from their other activities Draft Delegated Regulation with regard to RTS specifying the elements of ESG rating products to...

Read more