Author Archives: Jeremiah Evans

Increasing Disclosures and Data to Increase Inclusion

by Jean Lee

The SEC is considering a new rule that would require businesses to disclose more information about the diversity within their companies, a promising sign that corporate America is embracing transparency and accountability when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Better data is an essential step towards progress on DEI efforts at disclosing companies—a philosophy that drives the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s (MCCA) work and the release of our new Diversity Scorecard.

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Federal Agencies Announce Ramp-Up of Redlining Enforcement

by Rick Fischer, Nancy Thomas, and Jeremy Mandell

The Department of Justice (DOJ) joined other federal agencies in announcing an increased focus on fair lending issues. On October 22, 2021, DOJ announced a new initiative to crack down on “modern-day” redlining. DOJ is partnering with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in this initiative, which will also involve increased coordination among the three agencies, federal prosecutors, and state attorneys general. To kick off the new initiative, DOJ, the CFPB, the OCC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee announced a consent order against Trustmark National Bank for alleged illegal redlining.

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Bank Relationships with Fintechs

by Jai R. Massari, Eric McLaughlin, Gabriel D. Rosenberg, Margaret E. Tahyar, Zachary J. Zweihorn, Adam Greene, and Dana E. Seesel

Federal banking regulators continue to signal their attention to banks’ relationships with third parties, and particularly with fintechs. We think that these developments should be of interest to larger banking organizations as well.

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New Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative Uses False Claims Act to Enforce Cybersecurity Requirements

by David Bitkower, Brandon D. Fox, Shoba Pillay, David B. Robbins, and Moshe Broder

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new Civil Cyber-Fraud initiative which will use the False Claims Act (FCA) to enforce government contract cybersecurity requirements. The initiative will be led by the Fraud Section of the DOJ Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch. DOJ believes it can bring its experience and resources from its civil fraud enforcement, procurement, and cybersecurity focused attorneys to make this a successful initiative.

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Recent Developments in Environmental Justice Enforcement and Permitting

by Peggy Otum, Shannon Morrissey, and Caroline McHugh

The Biden Administration’s “whole of government” approach to advancing environmental justice (EJ) continues apace, with agencies and courts pursuing focused enforcement and environmental review strategies that could affect regulated entities in a number of ways. At a high level, a novel partnership between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9, the federal EJ leader, and the California EPA (CalEPA) could inform the way that the agencies investigate and enforce violations affecting communities overburdened by pollution. And other federal agencies—not previously known for their attention to EJ—are now taking steps to more thoroughly account for impacts to disadvantaged communities in their environmental reviews and permitting decisions. In light of these recent developments, companies should continue to anticipate increased enforcement of violations affecting overburdened communities and prepare for heightened scrutiny of EJ impacts in environmental permitting reviews.

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