Co-Founder Ray D. McKenzie spoke with Law360 regarding the $150 million fine recently imposed on Deutsche Bank AG by the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) for alleged failures in its anti-money-laundering compliance program. DFS’s allegations focused on Deutsche Bank’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and two correspondent banks, Danske Bank Estonia and FBME Bank. McKenzie opined that the fine imposed on Deutsche Bank serves as a warning to other financial institutions that they should have compliance programs in place that recognize the risk of dealing with particular clients and should take appropriate corrective action when those programs identify red flags.
COVID-19: How to Mitigate Compliance Risk Amid a Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic places enormous strain on businesses as they attempt to comply with ever-shifting laws and regulations. Many companies’ employees are doing their best to meet unprecedented business challenges while they are physically dispersed and distracted by both personal and professional stressors. Our firm’s founding principle is that human and relationship capital are the most important assets in any business. From that perspective, Warren T. Allen II shared advice with Thomson Reuters on measures businesses can take to continue meeting their compliance obligations while simultaneously doing what they can to foster employees’ wellbeing.
Fourth Circuit Rules Litigants Must Assert Arbitration Rights in Foreign Litigation to Preserve Them
Litigants Should Expressly and Unequivocally Assert Arbitration Rights Early in Foreign Litigation—Fourth Circuit Ruling Suggests Failure to Do So Might Result in Forfeiture
In Iraq Middle Market Development Foundation v. Mohommad Ali Mohammad Harmoosh, the Fourth Circuit clarified the standard district courts should apply to determine whether an arbitration clause provides a viable means of invalidating an adverse foreign judgment. The Fourth Circuit explained that a party seeking to enforce an arbitration clause must expressly assert the right to arbitrate in both domestic litigation and in foreign tribunals.
WTAII Now Serving Clients in Maryland
On January 22, 2020, Warren T. Allen II was admitted to the bar of the State of Maryland. As a result, our firm is now able to assist clients with their legal needs in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.