Expert Analysis

• Bid Protest Spotlight: GAO Lessons For Small Biz Contractors

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, Alissandra McCann at MoFo offers small business takeaways from three recent U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions about rule-of-two challenges, joint ventures maintaining service-disabled, veteran-owned small business certifications, and joint venture and teaming arrangement eligibility distinctions.

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  Juggling And Unicycling Make Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Because I juggle (sometimes with fire) and ride the unicycle, friends and family used to joke that I should join the circus, but I pursued the practice of law instead and learned that my hobbies benefit my profession in several important ways, says Morgan Eddy at Smith Currie.

• How 'Swap' Fight Underpins Prediction Market Enforcement

  

  As courts around the country grapple with whether, and under what circumstances, event contracts qualify as swaps, federal enforcement authority hangs in the balance, with implications for companies that need to manage compliance risks during this period of legal uncertainty, say attorneys at Debevoise.

• How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

  

  Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

• How Orbital Data Centers May Test NEPA's Reach

  

  With environmental and scientific groups recently pushing back against the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to exempt massive data center satellite constellations from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, the question of whether NEPA even applies to projects in space turns on three closely related issues, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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  Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

• Using CFIUS' New Risk Matrix And Mitigation Guidance

  

  The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' national security matrix and related mitigation guidance provides a common vocabulary for allocating regulatory and mitigation risk in transaction documents, and may help focus any discussions with the agency, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• What 9th Circ. Devas Ruling Means For AI Infrastructure Deals

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent confirmation of a $2 billion arbitration award in Devas Multimedia's arbitration against a state-owned commercial arm of India’s space agency creates a cross-border enforcement road map for disputes that are bound to arise from the current generation of artificial intelligence infrastructure deals, says Fernanda Merouco at Davis Wright.

• FTC IonQ Review Unearths A Divide In Vertical Merger Remedy

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent split decision to close its investigation into the merger between IonQ and SkyWater Technology offers a candid window into how enforcers may approach vertical merger concerns after a string of difficult government cases, says Nicholas Cheolas at Wiley.

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  Taekwondo Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Taekwondo has taught me to recognize when to fight for a position and when to focus on finding a solution, and that the best outcomes are often achieved by solving problems — all of which has improved my work as a bankruptcy lawyer, mediator and Subchapter V trustee, says Amy Denton Mayer at Berger Singerman.

• Bid Protest Spotlight: Evaluation Criteria, Omissions, Conflicts

  

  In this month's bid protest roundup, James Tucker at MoFo offers takeaways from recent decisions examining a soliciting agency’s latitude to deviate from its own evaluation criteria, a missing small-business certification's materiality and an agency's mid-litigation waiver resolving meritorious conflict of interest allegations.

• Del. Boeing Ruling Shows How Compliance Defeats Caremark

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court's recent dismissal of shareholder litigation against Boeing's board in the wake of the Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout incident carries significant lessons for shareholders pursuing Caremark claims, and for corporate counsel advising boards on oversight obligations, says Brian Rostocki at Reed Smith.

• 4th Circ. Class Cert. Ruling Offers Tips For Damages Experts

  

  The Fourth Circuit's recent decision reversing class certification in litigation against Boeing raises the cost of a bare-bones damages model proposal for plaintiffs, but it also clarifies what a defensible proposal should contain, say Alok Khare and Erica Rose at FTI Consulting.

• What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

  

  While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

• How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

  

  The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.