Expert Analysis

• 9th Circ. Ruling Clarifies Auditor Liability For IPO Errors

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Hunt v. PricewaterhouseCoopers elucidates the legal standard for claims against auditors in connection with a company's initial public offering, confirming that audit opinions are subjective and becoming the first circuit to review this precise question since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 Omnicare ruling, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• A Look At The Wave Of 2025 Email Marketing Suits In Wash.

  

  Since the Washington Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy in April, more than 30 lawsuits have alleged that a broad range of retailers across industries sent emails that violate the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act, but retailers are unlikely to find clear answers yet, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Integrating Practice Groups

  

  Enacting unified leadership and consistent client service standards ensures law firm practice groups connect and collaborate around shared goals, turning a law firm merger into a platform for growth rather than a period of disruption, says Brian Catlett at Fennemore Craig.

• Opinion

  Supreme Court Term Limits Would Carry Hidden Risk

  

  While proposals for limiting the terms of U.S. Supreme Court justices are popular, a steady stream of relatively young, highly marketable ex-justices with unique knowledge and influence entering the marketplace of law and politics could create new problems, say Michael Broyde at Emory University and Hayden Hall at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

• Key Crypto Class Action Trends And Rulings In 2025

  

  As the law continued to take shape in the growing area of crypto-assets, this year saw a jump in crypto class action litigation, including noteworthy decisions on motions to compel arbitration and class certification, according to Justin Donoho at Duane Morris.

• How New SEC Policies Shift Shareholder Proposal Landscape

  

  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins' recent remarks provide a road map for public companies to exclude nonbinding shareholder proposals from proxy materials, which would disrupt the mechanism that has traditionally defined how shareholders and companies engage on governance matters, say attorneys at Gunderson.

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  Knitting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Stretching my skills as a knitter makes me a better antitrust attorney by challenging me to recalibrate after wrong turns, not rush outcomes, and trust that I can teach myself the skills to tackle new and difficult projects — even when I don’t have a pattern to work from, says Kara Kuritz at V&E.

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  The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

  

  After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Identifying And Resolving Conflicts Among Class Members

  

  As the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. McDermott International illustrates, intraclass conflicts can determine the fate of a class action — and such conflicts can be surprisingly difficult to identify, says Andrew Faisman, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

• What US Can Learn From Brazil's Securities Arbitration Model

  

  To allay investor concerns about its recent approval of mandatory arbitration clauses in public company registration statements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should look to Brazil's securities arbitration model, which shows that clear rules and strong institutions can complement the goals of securities regulation, say arbiters at the B3 Arbitration Chamber.

• AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

  

  Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

• Series

  The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Getting The Message Across

  

  Communications and brand strategy during a law firm merger represent a crucial thread that runs through every stage of a combination and should include clear messaging, leverage modern marketing tools and embrace the chance to evolve, says Ashley Horne at Womble Bond.

• 2 Early Settlement Alternatives In Federal Securities Litigation

  

  Most class actions brought under the federal securities laws are either settled or won by the defendants following a motion to dismiss, but two alternative strategies have the potential to lower discovery costs and allow defendants to obtain judgment without the uncertainty of jury trials on complex matters, says Richard Zelichov at DLA Piper.

• Previewing Justices' Driver Arbitration Exemption Review

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's forthcoming decision in Flowers Foods v. Brock, addressing whether last-mile delivery drivers are covered by the Federal Arbitration Act's exemption for transportation workers, may require employers to reevaluate the enforceability of arbitration agreements for affected employees, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

• Opinion

  Horizontal Stare Decisis Should Not Be Casually Discarded

  

  Eliminating the so-called law of the circuit doctrine — as recently proposed by a Fifth Circuit judge, echoing Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence in Loper Bright — would undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and create costly uncertainty for litigants, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.