James Holbein, Author at Braumiller Law Group

Buy American – Treatment of Preferences in the Federal Acquisition Regulations

June 5, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney, Braumiller Law Group

This article provides an overview of federal procurement laws and how the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) implement some of those commitments in government contracts. The FAR, found under 48 C.F.R. Part 25, comprises the list of rules governing procurement of products and materials by federal agencies for public use.

OMB Proposes Rule to Clarify Buy America Provision for Grants and Agreements

April 5, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel and Harold Jackson, Associate Attorney

This article provides a brief analysis of the fundamental changes and clarifications to the Buy America requirements for federally-funded infrastructure projects that are currently proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Made in America Office in a Federal Register Notice, “Guidance for Grants and Agreements, issued on February 9, 2023 (86 FR 8374).

Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field

Regenerative Finance (ReFi): Tokenizing Carbon Offsets and Incentives

February 1, 2023

By: James R. Holbein, Braumiller Law Group PLLC, Justin Holbein, Web3 Consulting LLC

Introduction to ReFi. Regenerative Finance (ReFi) is a growing Web3 field that offers an opportunity to rethink how we approach finance, investing, and sustainable economic development. ReFi takes a holistic approach to finance and development, considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of financial decisions, and aims to create a regenerative economic ecosystem rather than following a primarily extractive approach.

Can the U.S. Mitigate Digital Assets Fraud While Fostering Innovation?

December 9, 2022

By James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group PLLC

This article will review the options the White House has outlined for regulation and oversight of the digital assets sector, based upon a set of reports issued in the last six months. The collapse in November 2022 of FTX, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, has precipitated calls for better oversight for digital assets.

Can, and Should, the U.S. Government Develop a CBDC System?

October 2, 2022

By: James Holbein, Braumiller Law Group PLLC
In response to the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets issued on March 9, 2022, both the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Treasury Department (Treasury) have recently issued reports analyzing the possible design and feasibility of creating a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The reports make clear that significant technical issues and major policy considerations need to be addressed for the U.S. to develop a CBDC. Both reports look at time frames in years, not weeks or months, for such a system.

ImpactDAOs: Shaping the Future of Regenerative Organizations

August 9, 2022

By: Justin Holbein and James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

As Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) have exploded into public consciousness, new types of DAOs are proliferating. A novel use case for DAOs, termed “ImpactDAOs”, are defined as “any DAO that creates net positive externalities to the ecosystem around it.” An ImpactDAO seeks to use web3 and crypto-economic principles to regenerate a system, increasing resources and sustainability over time.

Indo-Pacific Trade Initiative to Enhance U.S. Economic Influence

June 12, 2022

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

On May 23, 2022, President Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Implications of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency

June 12, 2022

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

This article provides an overview of the issues surrounding CBDCs in a Q&A format to provide a lens for the analysis of the many government reports due in September, October and through the end of this year.

Evolving Legal Issues for NFTs

April 10, 2022

By: Justin Holbein and James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have increasingly grown into public awareness. People often hear about NFTs through collectible projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, and World of Women. Usually, people then encounter the hype, interest, and indignation about what exactly NFTs are along with the corresponding potential use cases. Why have NFTs exploded into the zeitgeist?

Executive Order on Digital Assets a Welcome Start to Responsible Regulation

April 10, 2022

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group, and Justin Holbein

The President issued an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets on March 9, 2022. The value of the cryptocurrency and digital assets sector exceeds $3 trillion and has the potential to grow much larger with proper regulation. No country has taken a lead role to develop regulation that will foster innovation while simultaneously protecting consumers, investors and businesses from criminal activity related to digital assets.

Legal Issues Confronting Formation and Operation of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)

December 6, 2021

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group, and Justin Holbein

“A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), is an organization represented by rules encoded as a computer program that is transparent, controlled by the organization members and not influenced by a central government.”

Approaches to Regulation for Decentralized Finance

October 5, 2021

By: James Holbein, Of Counsel

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is a term describing the assortment of different financial applications enabled by blockchain technology and cryptocurrency with the aim to decentralize financial services that are currently intermediated by financial institutions.

Developing Digital Approaches to Trade Finance

August 4, 2021

By: James R. Holbein, Counsel to Braumiller Law Group PLLC

The digital revolution affecting so much change across the world is coming to international trade processing and logistics. The transition to all digital documentation and processing from formerly inefficient analog systems is well underway.

Digital Blockchain Services Bolster Supply Chains

June 7, 2021

By: James R. Holbein, Of Counsel, Braumiller Law Group Introduction: Blockchain is a transformative new technology, like artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, machine learning

Recourse for USMCA Environmental Issues

April 5, 2021

By James Holbein, Braumiller Law Group

This article seeks to assist potential users of the provisions of the Agreement Between the U.S., the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) to understand the multiple layers of review required for an issue to wend its way through the environmental review bodies.

Trade in the New Digital World

March 7, 2021

By James Holbein, Braumiller Law Group

This article describes how digitization of information and development of new tools and equipment is expanding to improve efficiency, productivity, safety and almost every aspect of the movement of goods.