RegFi Podcast

Orrick's James Chou joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk for a wide-ranging discussion on how cyber risk is evolving for financial services providers. The conversation explores the growing sophistication of nation-state and criminal cyber threats, increasing regulatory expectations across federal and state regimes, and the operational realities of responding to cyber incidents and ransomware attacks. The episode also looks ahead to emerging risks associated with quantum computing and the steps financial institutions can take today to begin planning for a post-quantum environment. Links: RegFi Episode 28: Preparing Financial Systems for Post-Quantum Cyber Risk Orrick Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

Doyle Bartlett, founder of Eris Group, joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt to discuss the packed financial services policy agenda for 2026. The conversation examines what lies ahead as stablecoin regulations are rolled out, the Clarity Act wends its way through Congress, new types of bank charters are being crafted, and the administration seeks to reign in 1,200 proposed state AI laws. Links: Eris Group Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

Orrick partner Walt Zalenski joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton for a conversation that explores how bank-fintech partnerships work, the legal and regulatory challenges they face, and how the proposed Bank-Fintech Partnership Enhancement Act could help create a regulatory environment that fosters innovation. Links: Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

In this year-end episode of RegFi, co-hosts Jerry Buckley, Sasha Leonhardt, Sherry Safchuk and Caroline Stapleton take stock of how momentous changes in financial regulation and technology in 2025 set the stage for more of the same in 2026. The conversation covers the uncertain future of the CFPB, the growing role of state regulators, accelerating AI regulation, implementation of the GENIUS Act, leadership changes across federal agencies and emerging themes in bank chartering and crypto oversight. Links: Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

In this follow-up conversation, RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt welcome back Dan Ullman, Orrick partner and former CFTC Chief Trial Attorney, to unpack Congress's most consequential digital-asset proposal to date: the Clarity Act. Building on last week's discussion of the CFTC's agenda, Dan breaks down how the Clarity Act would establish the first comprehensive federal regulatory structure for digital assets — shifting most oversight to the CFTC, reshaping the agency's mandate and setting in motion an extensive rulemaking effort reminiscent of the post-Dodd-Frank swaps regime. Links: RegFi Episode 79: Inside the CFTC: Priorities, Leadership and What Comes Next Clarity Act Coming Into Focus (Orrick Insight) Orrick Blockchain & Digital Assets Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

In this episode, Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt sit down with Orrick partner Dan Ullman, former Associate Director and Chief Trial Attorney at the CFTC, for an insider's look at what's shaping the agency's agenda. Dan discusses how the Commission is approaching digital asset innovation, the evolving interplay between SEC and CFTC authority, ongoing litigation around sports-related prediction markets, and what a more centralized federal regulatory model could mean for market participants. Links: Orrick Blockchain & Digital Assets Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

Agentic AI is moving from theory to real-world deployment in financial services, bringing both extraordinary potential and complex regulatory questions. FinRegLab Founder and CEO Melissa Koide joins Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton to break down what makes agentic AI different from traditional and generative models, where the most compelling use cases are taking shape, and how the technology could reshape consumer financial health, operational risk management, and long-standing regulatory frameworks. Links: FinRegLab Website FinRegLab Report: "The Next Wave Arrives: Agentic AI and Financial Services" Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

Sarah Schaedler, Global Chair of Orrick's Technology Transactions Group, joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton to discuss how companies are operationalizing AI amid rapidly evolving technology and policy landscapes. Rather than waiting to see how AI adoption will unfold, companies are moving forward with implementation. This episode offers practical guidance on how parties are allocating responsibility for both the functionality of AI systems and compliance with emerging legal and regulatory requirements. Links: Orrick AI Law Center Orrick Technology Transactions Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

The EU's landmark Data Act took effect on Sept. 12, 2025, reshaping how customer data can be accessed, shared and monetized across the European digital economy. Orrick partners Christian Schröder and Julia Apostle join RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt to unpack what the law means for global businesses operating in Europe. The group discusses how the Act interacts with the GDPR, new rights for users and third parties, obligations for manufacturers and cloud providers, and the compliance and revenue implications of data-sharing and switching obligations. The conversation also explores the opportunities the Act creates for innovation and competition in the data economy. Links: "The EU Data Act is in Force — What Should Businesses Do?" (Orrick Insight) Orrick Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com

Georgia State law professor Todd Phillips joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton to break down the newly enacted GENIUS Act framework for payment stablecoins. The conversation explores whether regulators will curb "yield-evasion," how capital and BSA/AML expectations could apply to secondary-market transfers and why tokenized deposits may offer banks a cleaner path than issuing stablecoins themselves. Links: U.S. Treasury RFI on Payment Stablecoins Orrick Blockchain & Digital Assets Orrick Financial & Fintech Advisory RegFiPodcast.com