Benjamin C.Seelig

Jenner & Block continued its longstanding tradition of recognizing exceptional pro bono service at the firm's 2026 Pro Bono Awards Ceremony, honoring lawyers and professional staff who exemplify the firm's core commitment of expanding access to justice through zealous advocacy. The recipients represent the breadth of Jenner's pro bono work across all offices and practice areas, demonstrating how dedicated legal service can make meaningful impact.

The Daily Journal has honored a Jenner & Block team with a 2026 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award for their work in Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria v. California Department of Social Services —a pro bono matter that secured both individual justice and statewide policy change for Native American foster youth.

California's new licensing regime for digital financial asset businesses is no longer on the horizon, it is here. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) opened its application portal last month, and the July 1, 2026 compliance deadline is now less than three months away. For companies that anticipate serving California residents with covered digital financial assets services, there is a significant advantage to having a license application in by July 1.

Jenner & Block successfully represented a former foster youth and member of the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria, a federally recognized tribe in Humboldt County, California, who faced homelessness and the loss of critical services. The firm advocated for pro bono clients Madison Fisher and her tribe in litigation against the State of California and Humboldt County, securing $45,000 in compensation and a statewide policy change that will protect Native foster youth throughout California.

Associate Ben Seelig is being recognized by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) with its 2025 Pro Bono Advocate of the Year Award. The award honors outstanding pro bono lawyers and volunteers who have gone above and beyond in their assistance to unaccompanied children throughout the year.

As artificial intelligence takes the world by storm, potential use cases proliferate by the day. Compliance professionals are looking closely at the tasks that AI technology may be able to perform, supplement and improve in their compliance processes.In this article, we examine the considerations around the use of AI in one important area in the regulatory and enforcement environment affecting financial services businesses — suspicious activity reports, or SARs.The filing of SARs, and failures r

In an article for Law360, Partner Jan Larson, Special Counsel Carolyn Small, and Associate Ben Seelig provide insight on the quirks and potential pitfalls in applying common definitions of a “claim” to different types of government inquiries and investigations. They also explain how recent decisions have interpreted whether certain initiating steps rise to the level of a claim for purposes of triggering potential insurance coverage under liability insurance policies.

Dually registered, or “dual hat,” investment advisers are already well aware of the extensive obligations imposed by the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). But for others, the finalization of a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) rule imposing anti-money-laundering obligations on a broader range of investment advisers may place them in an unfamiliar and heavily regulated territory. Below, we briefly recap the requirements of the rule we first outlined in its proposed form in our February 2024

Financial regulatory enforcement continues to be active this year, with approximately 18 anti-money laundering actions against financial institutions across federal regulators including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, one of the most aggressive state regulators.With these actions, regulators are looking closely at custom

Self-disclosure and cooperation policies have been in the spotlight lately, as components of the U.S. Department of Justice, including several U.S. attorney's offices, have formalized and announced policies regarding self-disclosure and cooperation credit.On the other hand, some, but not all, financial regulatory agencies have policies or regulations providing for consideration of voluntary self-disclosures. As enforcement risk heats up for regulated financial institutions — from prudentially su

In a sequel to FinCEN’s proposal earlier this year to extend anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act regulations to investment advisers (AML/BSA Proposal), on May 13, 2024, FinCEN and the SEC jointly issued a new Notice of Proposed Rule Making. This rule would extend formal customer identification program (CIP) obligations to investment advisers, something not otherwise included in FinCEN’s earlier proposal. If adopted, certain investment advisers would be required to establish and maintain a

In their article for Law360, Partner Laurel Loomis Rimon, Associate Benjamin Seelig, and Department Counsel Gina Shabana provide analysis on what companies in the digital assets space can expect from two new virtual currency regulatory bills signed into law in California. 

In 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) enacted a landmark regulation requiring financial services institutions such as banks and insurance companies in the state to meet substantial cybersecurity preparedness requirements and certify such compliance on an annual basis. On November 1, 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a significant overhaul of that regulation, with the goal of further improving the state’s ability to protect sensitive consumer data held by financial

In their article for Law360, Partner Laurel Loomis Rimon, Associate Benjamin Seelig, and Department Counsel Gina Shabana provide key takeaways that financial institutions can learn from regulators’ findings on Shinhan Bank America’s failures to develop and implement an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program.

After prolonged deliberation, California has finally decided to enter the virtual currency regulatory arena by adopting two virtual currency regulatory bills into law. The California Digital Financial Assets Law (“DFAL”), originally introduced as Assembly Bill 39 (“AB-39”), and Senate Bill No. 401 (titled “Digital Financial Asset Transaction Kiosks”) were signed into law on October 13, 2023, by Governor Gavin Newsom. The DFAL establishes a virtual currency regulatory regime similar to the New Yo

Shinhan Bank America (“Shinhan”), a New York-based subsidiary of a Korean bank, faced coordinated enforcement actions on September 29 from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), and the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”). These concurrent actions resulted in a total of $25 million in civil penalties for failing to develop and implement an effective AML program in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and New Yo

With pro bono support from Jenner & Block, the California Tribal Families Coalition (CTFC) and Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria filed a lawsuit against Humboldt County and the State of California for discriminatory treatment of tribal foster youth.