Ballard Spahr LLP

We’re excited to announce that Ballard Spahr will begin 2025 by combining with Lane Powell PC—a firm with strength in a range of practices and a reputation for excellence in the Pacific Northwest. Our combined firm, which will retain the name Ballard Spahr, will have more than 750 lawyers in 18 U.S. offices. Joining forces will expand the ways we can go beyond for clients. What a way to celebrate our 140th anniversary! Read more about our combination here:?https://bit.ly/3XAbXQU

Please see the latest in Money Laundering Watch by Terence Grugan and Kaley Schafer on FinCEN's finalized AML regulations regarding investment advisers. According to FinCEN, "[t]hese requirements will . . . address the current uneven application of AML/CFT requirements across the investment adviser sector, which creates illicit finance risk and allows both legitimate and illicit investors to 'shop around' for an adviser who does not need to apply AML/CFT controls, such as inquiring into the investor’s source of wealth." https://lnkd.in/eg3Buw-X

According to one story, the phrase “Philadelphia lawyer,” meaning an attorney with exceptional skill, arose from Andrew Hamilton’s successful representation of what was the 18th century’s version of a startup. In this piece for Technical.ly, founder Christopher Wink writes about the role attorneys play in startup ecosystems, and how the work of lawyers like Kimberly Wexler Klayman, whom he interviewed, are a continuation of Andrew Hamilton’s work so many years ago. Read more: https://bit.ly/3MH78z4 #BallardBusinessandTransactions #Startups

The SEC continues to investigate companies for including language in their employment and separation agreements or retail client settlement agreements that violates whistleblower protection rules. Celia Cohen, Michael Robotti, Charles Frohman, and Ana María B. discuss the SEC’s most recent settlements against seven companies, and what companies should be doing to avoid an SEC inquiry on this issue. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3zhRyXx #BallardLitigation #SEC #Whistleblowers

One thing is for certain – the Supreme Court decision Loper Bright v. Raimondo, et al. ended the Chevron Deference Doctrine. What’s less certain are the scope and effects the decision will have on the future course of regulatory agency interpretive and enforcement authority. In this week’s Consumer Finance Monitor episode, the first of a two-part series, our guests are Craig Green, Charles Klein Professor of Law and Government at Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law, and Kent Barnett, Dean of the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. They join Alan Kaplinsky; Rich Andreano, Jr.; and John Culhane, Jr. to discuss the history of judicial deference to agency interpretations and post-Chevron developments, including shifts in judicial and political views of the role courts should play in interpretation of agency action. Listen in: https://bit.ly/3Tss40z #BallardBusinessandTransactions #ConsumerFinancialServices #ChevronDeference

Edward Rendell, our colleague and former #Philadelphia Mayor and #Pennsylvania Governor, has monumental accomplishments to his credit during an incredible career. The latest accolade comes from The Bond Buyer—the venerable municipal finance industry publication—which has inducted Governor Rendell into its Hall of Fame in the Class of 2024. The honor recognizes his accomplishments as a pioneer in municipal bond financing for public infrastructure projects. Read more at the link: https://bit.ly/3Zfiuls #MunicipalBonds #InfrastructureFinance #BallardFinance

Click below to check out highlights and the full recording of a recent webinar conversation among Ballard Spahr attorneys and legal scholars Craig Green and Kent Barnett. Both of these prominent legal analysts say that regulated businesses—and their counsel—are in for a period of severe unpredictability in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, et al., which upended the 40-year-old Chevron Deference Doctrine. What factors will play into the early and long-term fallout in courts and in Congress? Our guests join Alan Kaplinsky, Richard Andreano, Jr., and John L. Culhane, Jr., for the discussion. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TpeDhO #BallardBusinessandTransactions #ConsumerFinancialServices #ChevronDeference

Please see the latest in Money Laundering Watch by Rich Andreano, Kaley Schafer and myself on the final AML regulations for the residential real estate industry. Lots going on, including a solid "reasonable reliance" standard for information obtained from others, and no exemption for lawyers. https://lnkd.in/ep5WCetw

The SEC and other agencies recently proposed joint standards under the Financial Data Transparency Act. Kimberly Magrini and David Atlas, attorneys in our Municipal Securities Regulation and Enforcement Group, discuss the possible impact across markets. Read the full advisory here https://bit.ly/3z9XYIl #BallardFinance #FDTA #MunicipalSecurities

Ballard Spahr and 18 of its attorneys have been recognized in this year's IFLR 1000. Of special note are the firm's national recognitions in five categories: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Project Development: Energy; Project Development: Infrastructure; and Project Finance. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4dYhKWe #BallardBusinessandTransactions #BallardFinance #BallardRealEstate