It is not often that new laws come into effect that change the ways lawyers practice law. However, the Corporate Transparency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 5336 (CTA) will impact not only new and existing entities represented by lawyers, but may impact the attorneys who form those entities as well.

In 2021, Congress passed the CTA to address the use of shell corporations and other entities that facilitate money laundering and other illicit activities. According to the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the CTA is intended “to make it harder for bad actors to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.”