In a recent article, The Hedge Fund Law Report profiled a webinar by WilmerHale's Futures and Derivatives Practice that analyzed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) major actions in 2016 and its top priorities for 2017. 
 
Partners Paul Architzel, Dan Berkovitz and Anjan Sahni and Special Counsel Gail Bernstein described the CFTC's notable enforcement actions last year, which included a crackdown on spoofing, illegal contracts, recordkeeping mishandling and insider trading. The article noted the attorneys also discussed the CFTC's major rulemaking initiatives, which focused on maintenance of electronic records, automated trading and cybersecurity guidelines.
 
In 2017, the CFTC will continue to focus on market reforms and Acting Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo will likely pay particularly close attention to encouraging the development of FinTech firms, according to the article. But the CFTC will be faced with unfilled board member seats, which could slow the pace of rulemaking, especially if an another commissioner departs. The CFTC's enforcement agenda, meanwhile, will likely remain unchanged, since a long-serving member of its Division of Enforcement, Vincent A. McGonagle, has been named acting director.
 
The webinar, developed with the assistance of Associate Daniel Martin, was based on our Client Alert “2016 CFTC Year-in-Review and a Look Forward.” 
 
Read the full article by The Hedge Fund Law Report.