Insights

On October 30, 2026, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro presented on “Deepfakes: Risks and Responses” to the Tech Labs program at the Meridian International Center in Washington, DC. Mr. Ferraro spoke of the risks and policy mitigations of synthetic imagery, or deepfakes, to a cohort of Congressional and Executive Branch staff. Meridian is a nonpartisan center dedicated to empowering leaders to advance the next era of diplomacy, and Tech Labs is an immersive training program designed to strengthen U.S. government policymakers’ ability to engage with emerging technologies that shape national security, economic competitiveness, and global governance. Mr. Ferraro is a leading counselor on the legal implications of deepfakes and synthetic media, and he regularly writes, speaks, and advises clients on these issues. For example, in July 2026, he testified before the U.S. Senate on deepfake-enabled frauds and scams and, in mid-October, joined a panel of American jurists to discuss the impacts of synthetic media on litigation. He also recently published a book chapter in the ABA Cybersecurity Handbook (4th ed.) on “Dealing with Deepfakes: The Role for Lawyers and Law Firms.”

On October 21, 2026, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro presented a briefing to the U.S.-Qatar Business Council in Doha, Qatar on “The Artificial Intelligence Agenda: AI Governance Amid Policy Uncertainty.” Mr. Ferraro discussed the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, AI regulations in the United States, Europe, and Qatar, and how companies can build AI governance structures amid developing technology and changing requirements. Mr. Ferraro – who counsels clients widely on emerging global regulations impacting AI – was introduced by Charbel M. Maakaron, the Managing Partner of Crowell’s Doha office.

On October 15, 2026, Partners James Bair, Sharmi Das, Matthew F. Ferraro, and Tyler A. O’Connor convened an in-person Congressional simulation with clients at the firm’s Chicago office. This dynamic, hands-on experience provided participants with a first-hand view of the complexities of investigations conducted by the U.S. Congress. Participants explored the realities of Congressional engagement, from responding to a request or a subpoena to managing witness preparation and public communications.

On October 2, 2026, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro co-presented a webinar sponsored by the American Bar Association on “Seeing Isn’t Believing: A Lawyer’s Guide to Cybercrime and Deepfakes in 2026.”

On July 29, 2026, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging at the hearing, “The AI Deception Machine: Deepfakes, Chatbots, and the New Frontier of Senior Fraud.” Chairman Sen. Rick Scott of Florida invited Mr. Ferraro, who has been writing, speaking, counseling clients, and developing U.S. government policy related to AI-generated media and deepfakes since 2019, to share his long-standing expertise with the Committee. In his testimony, Mr. Ferraro explained the benefits and dangers, particularly to America’s seniors, of AI-generated media, possible policy responses, and steps all Americans can take to thrive in a world increasingly awash with synthetic media. For more on Mr. Ferraro’s and Crowell’s work with all stakeholders in the artificial intelligence field, please see here.

On March 31, 2026, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro moderated the panel “The AI Agent Advantage: Defense, Privacy, and the Future of Cybersecurity” at the IAPP Global Summit 2026 conference in Washington, DC. Ferraro was joined on the panel by Joo Chung, founder of PrivStrat LLC and former Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Transparency; Carl Hahn, co-founder of Gentic Global Advisors PLLC and Partner at Steptoe; and Geoffrey Schaefer, Vice President, AI Strategy and Governance at Leidos. Ferraro, a former cyber and technology senior official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, led the panel in a discussion of the transformative impact of AI agents on cybersecurity defense, particularly in the national security and defense sectors, and the practical applications and legal implications of agentic AI.

On March 13, 2026, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro presented virtually on “Deepfakes: Risks and Responses” to the Tech Labs program at the Meridian International Center. Ferraro spoke of the risks and possible technical and policy mitigations to synthetic imagery, or deepfakes. Meridian is a nonpartisan center dedicated to empowering leaders to advance the next era of diplomacy, and Tech Labs is an immersive training program designed to strengthen U.S. government policymakers’ ability to engage with emerging technologies that shape national security, economic competitiveness, and global governance. Ferraro is a leading legal expert on the legal implications of deepfakes and synthetic media. He recently co-authored an article on navigating deepfakes in litigation, arbitration, and mediation, and published a book chapter in the ABA Cybersecurity Handbook (4th ed.) on “Dealing with Deepfakes: The Role for Lawyers and Law Firms.”

On December 11, 2025, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro gave a virtual presentation to the New York Technology Innovation 2025 conference on “The State of AI Regulation.” He explained the current state of artificial intelligence regulation at the international, federal, and state levels, and discussed how companies can thrive in an era of varying policies and rapid technological change. Click here to view his presentation.

On October 30, 2025, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro spoke on the panel “An Interdisciplinary Approach to AI Development and Regulation in the Age of AI” at IAPP’s Privacy. Security. Risk. 2025 conference in San Diego, California. Ferraro was joined on the panel by Robyn Eckerling, Chief Privacy Officer at Tempus, Ali Jessani, Counsel at WilmerHale, and Shannon Togawa Mercer, Senior Counsel at OpenAI. Ferraro, a former cyber and technology senior official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the panel discussed how AI developers, deployers, attorneys and policymakers can navigate changing policies, advancing technologies, and evolving business goals.

On October 16, 2025, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro, Partner and CHS Managing Director Jason Johnson, and Counsels Jacob Canter and Anna Z. Saber hosted a webinar on the shifting dimensions of AI governance and regulation. They discussed federal policy, state laws, international efforts, and key court cases and how these many sources of regulation serve to fragment the AI compliance environment for businesses and how firms can respond. Click here to view the webinar on demand.

On October 8, 2025, Partner Matthew F. Ferraro spoke on the panel “Info Sec: Safeguarding Bank Operations in the Digital Age” at the Risk Live North America conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Nyela Graham, U.S. Senior Reporter for Waters Technology, moderated the panel, which included Ferraro, Spruille Braden, Vice President and Head of Operational Resilience at PGIM, Inc. (formerly Prudential Global Investment Management), and Robert Francis, Senior Director at FINRA. They discussed evolving and emerging cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data risks to the financial services industry.