RegFi Podcast

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, l...

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...

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 ma...

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 c...

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...

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...

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...

Orrick partner Shannon Yavorsky — head of the firm's Global Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation group and co-lead of the AI practice — joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk to unpack newly approved California Consumer Privacy Act regulations. The conversation offers insights into the definitions and requirements for automated decision-making technology (ADMT), risk assessments, and cy...

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Justin Wiseman, George Rogers and Rachel Kelley join RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt to discuss the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (HPPA) — a targeted FCRA amendment aimed at curbing "trigger leads" generated from mortgage credit inquiries. The conversation explores the bipartisan legislation's origin and path through Congress, how targeted ex...

Fraud and scams are costing Americans an estimated $400 million every day, threatening household financial security and fueling transnational crime. Kate Griffin and Nick Bourke join RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk to discuss the work of the Aspen Institute's National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. The conversation examines the scale and sophistication of today's scams, t...

Mona Elliot and Sam Canavos of Patomak Global Partners join RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk to discuss the newly enacted GENIUS Act, its goals and implications for the stablecoin market. The conversation explores how regulations implementing the Act will evolve, including federal and state chartering authority, reserve and compliance requirements, and potential use cases that will...

Gabriel Acosta and Liz Facemire from the Mortgage Bankers Association join RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk to discuss how artificial intelligence — both long-standing automated underwriting tools and emerging generative AI applications — is shaping the mortgage banking industry. The conversation explores the human-in-the-loop nature of mortgage origination, the role of federal laws...

In our continuing coverage of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton are joined by Orrick partners Shannon Yavorsky and Julia Apostle. The conversation explores how companies can navigate emerging AI compliance requirements in both the European Union and the United States, including assessing risk, mapping AI systems and developing scalable governance fra...

Christian Schröder, leader of Orrick's European Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation practice, joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton to break down the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. The conversation explores the act's global reach, regulatory framework and what companies can do to prepare as some provisions become effective on Aug. 2, 2025. Links: Orrick AI Law Center Orrick Cyber...

FS Vector's Jackson Mueller sits down with RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt to discuss the recently Senate-passed GENIUS Act. They explore the regulatory requirements that would be established under the legislation, the potential impact on domestic and international payments system providers, and the implications for the U.S. dollar and the market for U.S. Treasury obligations. The...

RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt are joined by Orrick partner Ellen Ehrenpreis, head of the firm's US Venture and Bay Area Technology Companies practice. Ellen shares insights on best practices for fintech startups engaging with investors, navigating regulatory complexity, and structuring companies for long-term success. The conversation also explores the growing interplay between...

RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt welcome Orrick colleague James Wigginton and John Paller, Founder of Opolis and EthDenver, to explore how blockchain technology can be used to enable decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to transform corporate ownership and governance using a limited cooperative legal format. Discussed are the benefits of DAO memberships and meetings with t...

RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk are joined by Orrick partner Jedd Bellman, former Maryland Assistant Commissioner of Financial Regulation, for a deep dive into the evolving role of state regulators in supervising fintechs and other nonbank financial services providers. The conversation explores how the NMLS and CSBS are shaping multistate licensing and oversight, the growing emphas...

Orrick Partners Matthew Coleman and Jeanine McGuinness join RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk to explore the implications of the Justice Department's recent issuance of a final rule prohibiting and restricting certain transfers of bulk personal sensitive data and U.S. government-related data. The group discusses what data transfers are restricted, what countries and individuals are i...

Rob McKenna, Orrick partner and former Washington State Attorney General, joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Caroline Stapleton to discuss the expanding role of state attorneys general in consumer financial protection. The conversation explores how state AGs and regulators are setting standards for privacy, crypto and other digital assets, artificial intelligence, bank/fintech partnerships and...

Jo Ann Barefoot, founder and CEO of the Alliance for Innovative Regulation (AIR), and Kabir Kumar, partner at Flourish Ventures, join co-hosts Jerry Buckley, Sasha Leonhardt and Sherry Safchuk for a special RegFi episode recorded during Orrick's Annual ConFi Today conference. The conversation explores the future of financial regulation in the technology age, including AI's transformative potential...

RegFi Co-Hosts Jerry Buckley and Sasha Leonhardt welcome Orrick partner Behnam Dayanim to explore the applications of blockchain in financial services, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and decentralized finance. The conversation also covers the evolving regulatory landscape for these technologies following the recent White House Digital Asset Summit, guidance from the new administration and...

RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk welcome fellow Orrick partner Katy Ryan to discuss the state financial regulatory landscape. Katy provides an overview of how federal agencies and states interact in our dual-regulatory system, the benefits and limitations of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), and the importance of maintaining constructive relationships with state reg...

Ian P. Moloney, Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the American Fintech Council, joins RegFi co-hosts Jerry Buckley and Sherry Safchuk for a conversation about earned wage access (EWA), a service that affords workers access to their wages before the date of their next paycheck. The discussion explores how this innovative product works, regulatory challenges and considerations, and AFC's work...

Opening a Path for New Bank Formations The Klaros Group's Michele Alt joins Orrick partners Jerry Buckley, Caroline Stapleton and Walt Zalenski to explore actions needed to facilitate new bank formations, which have slowed to trickle in recent years. The conversation highlights a recent letter — cosigned by Michele, Jerry, Walt and other senior banking and financial services advisers — outlining h...