J. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will be the keynote luncheon speaker at the American Bar Association's 2018 Derivatives and Futures Law Committee Meeting, Jan. 18-20 in Naples, Fla. The three-day conference will discuss such topics as the latest in enforcement and litigation, competition issues in the commodities markets and cybersecurity.
Giancarlo, who was nominated to serve as CFTC chairman by President Donald Trump in March 2017, will deliver the keynote address on Friday, Jan. 19, from 12:45-2 pm. in the Bayview Ballroom at La Playa Beach & Golf Resort. Giancarlo had served as a CFTC commissioner since June 2014, having been by President Barack Obama in August 2013. Before entering public service, Giancarlo was executive vice president of GFI Group Inc., a financial services firm.
Program highlights include:
- "Enforcement/Litigation Development" - Panelists, including James McDonald, director of CFTC's Division of Enforcement, will examine current enforcement and litigation trends including the FCTC's policies and practices in addressing cooperation with its investigations; self-reporting/whistleblowers' current state of the law on manipulation; and cross-border enforcement, including dealing with the General Data Protection Regulation.
- "International Developments" - Panelists, including Eric Pan, director of CFTC's Office of International Affairs, will discuss the latest international developments. Topics will include the global regulatory reform effort and its progression, regulatory reform in non-U.S. and non-EU jurisdictions and Brexit and its impact within Europe and on discussions with third-country jurisdictions.
- "New Products/FinTech" - The panel will discuss legal and regulatory issues and developments in the rapidly changing areas of cryptocurrency and distributed ledger technology, including blockchain. The discussion will include securities laws, commodities laws, state regulation and cross-border regulation. Panelists will discuss these issues from the perspectives of different categories of market participants, including purchasers and sellers of cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency derivatives, and financial institutions and product developers with respect to distributed ledger technology. Among the speakers will be Brian D. Quintenz, CFTC commissioner.
- "Competition Issues in the Commodities Markets" - The panel will discuss the convergence of commodities and competition law focusing on the special antitrust enforcement and private litigation considerations relevant to derivatives and commodities trading operations and markets. The discussion will touch on recent cases and theories of liability and penalties. Topics will include antitrust immunities and prohibitions of the Commodity Exchange Act, including restraining trading and market manipulation; application of antitrust laws to commodities markets; special considerations for traders, dealers, intermediaries and markets; and parallel and sequential CFTC and U.S. Department of Justice investigations, as well as private litigation. Panelists will include Daniel Davis, CFTC general counsel; and Gretchen Lowe from the CFTC's Division of Enforcement.
A complete program schedule can be found online.
Published: Tue, Jan 16, 2018
