Expert Analysis

• Series

  Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.

• Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

  

  Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s criminal law decisions in its recently concluded term proved underwhelming by many measures, their opinions revealed trends in how the justices approach criminal cases and offered reminders for practitioners, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

• Compliance Is A New Competitive Edge For Mortgage Lenders

  

  So far, 2025 has introduced state and federal regulatory turbulence that is pressuring mortgage lenders to reevaluate the balance between competitive and compliant employee and customer recruiting practices, necessitating a compliance recalibration that prioritizes five key strategies, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

• Even As States Step Up, They Can't Fully Fill CFPB's Shoes

  

  The Trump administration's efforts to scale down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have prompted calls for state regulators to pick up the slack, but there are also important limitations on states' ability to fill the gap left by a mostly dormant CFPB, say attorneys at Covington.

• Opinion

  The Legal Education Status Quo Is No Longer Tenable

  

  As underscored by the fallout from California’s February bar exam, legal education and licensure are tethered to outdated systems, and the industry must implement several key reforms to remain relevant and responsive to 21st century legal needs, says Matthew Nehmer at The Colleges of Law.

• What Dismissal Rulings May Mean For ERISA Forfeiture Cases

  

  Following an influx of Employee Retirement Income Security Act class actions challenging the long-standing practice of plan sponsors using plan forfeitures to offset employer contributions, recent motion to dismiss rulings and a U.S. Department of Labor amicus brief may encourage more courts to reject plaintiffs' forfeiture theories, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• 'Pig Butchering' Seizure Is A Milestone In Crypto Crime Fight

  

  The U.S.' recent seizure of $225 million in crypto funds in a massive "pig butchering" scheme highlights the transformative impact of blockchain analysis in law enforcement, and the increasing necessity of collaboration between law enforcement agencies, cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoin issuers, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

• The Pros, Cons Of A Single Commissioner Leading The CFTC

  

  While a single-member U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may require fewer resources and be more efficient, its internal decision-making process would be less transparent to those outside the agency, reflect less compromise between competing viewpoints and provide the public with less predictability, says former CFTC Commissioner Dan Berkovitz.

• E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Relevance Redactions

  

  In recent cases addressing redactions that parties sought to apply based on the relevance of information — as opposed to considerations of privilege — courts have generally limited a party’s ability to withhold nonresponsive or irrelevant material, providing a few lessons for discovery strategy, say attorneys at Sidley.

• Opinion

  Section 1983 Has Promise After End Of Nationwide Injunctions

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the practice of nationwide injunctions in Trump v. Casa, Section 1983 civil rights suits can provide a better pathway to hold the government accountable — but this will require reforms to qualified immunity, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.

• Why Bank Regulators' Proposed Leverage Tweak Matters

  

  Banking agencies' recent proposal to modify the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio framework applicable to the largest U.S. banks shows the regulators are keen to address concerns that the regulatory capital framework is too restrictive, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

• How Banks Can Harness New Customer ID Rule's Flexibility

  

  Banking regulators' update to the customer identification process, allowing banks to collect some information from third parties rather than directly from customers, helps modernize anti-money laundering compliance and carries advantages for financial institutions that embrace the new approach, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

• Series

  Playing Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Soccer has become a key contributor to how I approach my work, and the lessons I’ve learned on the pitch about leadership, adaptability, resilience and communication make me better at what I do every day in my legal career, says Whitney O’Byrne at MoFo.

• Opinion

  The SEC Should Embrace Tokenized Equity, Not Strangle It

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should grant no-action relief to firms ready to pilot tokenized equity trading, not delay innovation by heeding protectionist industry arguments, says J.W. Verret at George Mason University.

• Compliance Changes On Deck For Banks Under Texas AI Law

  

  Financial services companies, including banks and fintechs, should evaluate their artificial intelligence usage to prepare for Texas' newly passed law regulating AI governance, noting that the enforcement provisions provide for an affirmative defense to liability, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.