The Dodd-Frank Act is a paradise for lawyers – but not for ordinary mortals, argues Philip McBride Johnson. A nasty trap lies waiting for firms that help process swap transactions. Meanwhile, CCPs are getting a bashing in the press.
So, there is a purpose for lawyers after all. We can consign to them the world’s most boring literature (sometimes called legislation) so that the rest of the population may focus on useful matters.
Thus, thousands of attorneys have become skilled in the art of understanding America’s answer to the financial crisis – the Dodd-Frank Act.
That name is inappropriate, however. It suggests brevity. No, this statute, when marked to show its changes to our Commodity Exchange Act, requires 212 pages of verbiage and should really be called by its lengthier name, the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.
There is a certain weirdness...