Rare decays such as $B \to K \ell^+ \ell^-$ and $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda \ell^+ \ell^-$ provide a sensitive probe of flavor dynamics and possible new physics. A major theoretical challenge in describing these processes lies in the treatment of local and nonlocal hadronic effects. In this talk, I will discuss recent progress based on light-cone sum rules, focusing on nonlocal hadronic contributions in $B \to K \ell^+ \ell^-$ and on the computation of form factors for $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda$, including insights into the choice of interpolating currents.