Expert Analysis

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: How To Build On Cultural Fit

  

  Law firm mergers should start with people, then move to strategy: A two-level screening that puts finding a cultural fit at the pinnacle of the process can unearth shared values that are instrumental to deciding to move forward with a combination, says Matthew Madsen at Harrison.

• Mulling Differing Circuit Rulings On Gender-Affirming Care

  

  Despite the Eleventh Circuit's recent holding in Lange v. Houston County that a health plan's exclusion for gender-affirming surgery did not violate Title VII, employers should be mindful of other court decisions suggesting that different legal challenges may still apply to blanket exclusions for such care, say attorneys at Smith Gambrell.

• Ending All-In Airfare Pricing Could Pose Ad Dilemma For Cos.

  

  The U.S. Department of Transportation's plan to scrap its requirement that airfare ads include all fees and taxes in price listings means that airlines, travel agents and other affected businesses must balance competitive pricing against the risk of alienating consumers, say Kimberly Graber at Steptoe and Serena Viswanathan, formerly at the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices.

• Considerations When Invoking The Common-Interest Privilege

  

  To successfully leverage the common-interest doctrine in a multiparty transaction or complex litigation, practitioners should be able to demonstrate that the parties intended for it to apply, that an underlying privilege like attorney-client has attached, and guard against disclosures that could waive privilege and defeat its purpose, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

• NBA Gambling Probes Highlight Sports Betting's Broad Risks

  

  Recent NBA gambling scandals illustrate the integrity risks arising from legal sports betting, but organizations, which must navigate a patchwork of state laws, can protect their reputations by drafting and enforcing internal policies to address betting-related risks and complying with league and institutional rules, say attorneys at Littler.

• How Marsy's Law Has Been Applied In Unexpected Ways

  

  Since Marsy’s Law was first passed in California 17 years ago, 12 states have passed similar laws to protect crime victims’ rights, but recent developments show that it’s being applied in ways that its original proponents may never have anticipated — with implications for all legal practitioners, says Tom Jones at Berk Brettler.

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

  

  When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

• Key Risks For Cos. As MAHA Influences Food Regulation

  

  As the Make America Healthy Again movement alters state and federal legislative and regulatory priorities, measures targeting ultra-processed foods, front-of-package labeling requirements and restrictions on schools are creating new compliance and litigation risks for food and beverage manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, retailers and digital advertisers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

• What To Know As Rulings Limit NLRB's Expanded Remedies

  

  Two recent appellate decisions strongly rebuke the National Labor Relations Board's expansion of remedies beyond reinstatement and back pay under Thryv, which compensated employees for all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms, signaling increased judicial skepticism toward the board's broadened remedial authority, says Shay Billington at CDF Labor.

• 5 Bonus Plan Compliance Issues In Financial Services

  

  As several legal constraints — including a new California debt repayment law taking effect in January — tighten around employment practices in the fiercely competitive financial services sector, the importance of compliant, well-drafted bonus plans has never been greater, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

• Opinion

  Despite Deputy AG Remarks, DOJ Can't Sideline DC Bar

  

  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent suggestion that the D.C. Bar would be prevented from reviewing misconduct complaints about U.S. Department of Justice attorneys runs contrary to federal statutes, local rules and decades of case law, and sends the troubling message that federal prosecutors are subject to different rules, say attorneys at HWG.

• How Cos. Should Prepare For Prop 65 Listing Of Bisphenols

  

  California regulators are moving toward classifying all p,p'-bisphenol chemicals as causing reproductive toxicity under Proposition 65, which could require warning notices for a vast range of consumer and industrial products, and open the floodgates to private litigation — so companies should proactively review their suppy chains, says Gregory Berlin at Alston & Bird.

• Rule Amendments Pave Path For A Privilege Claim 'Offensive'

  

  Litigators should consider leveraging forthcoming amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which will require early negotiations of privilege-related discovery claims, by taking an offensive posture toward privilege logs at the outset of discovery, says David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law.

• Series

  My Miniature Livestock Farm Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Raising miniature livestock on my farm, where I am fully present with the animals, is an almost meditative time that allows me to return to work invigorated, ready to juggle numerous responsibilities and motivated to tackle hard issues in new ways, says Ted Kobus at BakerHostetler.

• The Future Of Gen AI Training Amid Reddit Data Scraping Suit

  

  Reddit's lawsuit against Perplexity AI is not framed as a classic copyright infringement fight, demonstrating that even when companies avoid fair use claims, the path by which training data is obtained is legally consequential, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.