Expert Analysis

• Mich. Ruling Narrows Former Athletes' Path To NIL Recovery

  

  A federal judge's recent dismissal of a name, image and likeness class action by former Michigan college football players marks the third such ruling this year, demonstrating how statutes of limitation and prior NIL settlements are effectively foreclosing these claims for pre-2016 student-athletes, say attorneys at Venable.

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  Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Painting trains me to see both the fine detail and the whole composition at once, enabling me to identify friction points while keeping sight of a client's bigger vision, but the most significant lesson I've brought to my legal work has been the value of originality, says Jana Gouchev at Gouchev Law.

• 3 Trends From AI-Related Securities Class Action Dismissals

  

  A review of recently dismissed securities class actions centering on artificial intelligence highlights courts' scrutiny of statements about AI's capabilities and independence, and sustained focus on issues that aren't AI-specific, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• Hybrid Claims In Antitrust Disputes Spark Coverage Battles

  

  Antitrust litigation increasingly includes claims for breach of warranty, product liability or state consumer protection violations, complicating insurers' reliance on exclusions as courts analyze whether these are antitrust claims in disguise, says Jameson Pasek at Caldwell Law.

• Protecting Sensitive Court Filings After Recent Cyber Breach

  

  In the wake of a recent cyberattack on federal courts' Case Management/Electronic Case Files system, civil litigants should consider seeking enhanced protections for sensitive materials filed under seal to mitigate the risk of unauthorized exposure, say attorneys at Redgrave.

• Wash. Ruling Raises Pay Transparency Litigation Risk

  

  Washington Supreme Court’s recent decision in Branson v. Washington Fine Wine and Spirits, affirming applicants standing to sue regardless of their intent in applying, broadens state employers' already broad exposure — even when compared to other states with pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hunton.

• New Calif. Chatbot Bill May Make AI Assistants Into Liabilities

  

  While a pending California bill aims to regulate emotionally engaging chatbots that target children, its definition of "companion chatbot" may cover more ground — potentially capturing virtual assistants used for customer service or tech support, and creating serious legal exposure for businesses, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

• Training AI On Books: A Tale Of 2 Fair Use Rulings

  

  Though two recent decisions from the Northern District of California concluded that training artificial intelligence with copyrighted books counts as fair use, certain meaningful differences in reasoning could affect pending and future cases, says Brett Carmody at Atheria Law.

• How AI Can Find Environmental Risks Before Regulators Do

  

  By using artificial intelligence to analyze public information that regulators collect but find incredibly challenging to connect across agencies and databases, legal teams can identify risks before widespread health impacts occur, rather than waiting for harm to surface — potentially transforming environmental litigation, says Paul Napoli at Napoli Shkolnik.

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  Judging Figure Skating Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Judging figure skating competitions helps me hone the focus, decisiveness and ability to process complex real-time information I need in court, but more importantly, it makes me reengage with a community and my identity outside of law, which, paradoxically, always brings me back to work feeling restored, says Megan Raymond at Groombridge Wu.

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  Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q3

  

  The third quarter of 2025 brought legislative changes to state money transmission certification requirements and securities law obligations, as well as high-profile accounting and anti-money laundering compliance enforcement actions by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

• 9th Circ. Ruling May Help Pharma Cos. Avert Investor Claims

  

  The Ninth Circuit's recent decision affirming the dismissal of a securities fraud class action alleging that Talphera deceived investors by marketing a drug with a misleading slogan should give plaintiffs pause before filing similar complaints where snappy slogans are accompanied by copious clarifying information, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

• What Ethics Rules Say On Atty Discipline For Online Speech

  

  Though law firms are free to discipline employees for their online commentary about Charlie Kirk or other social media activity, saying crude or insensitive things on the internet generally doesn’t subject attorneys to professional discipline under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, says Stacie H. Rosenzweig at Halling & Cayo.

• 4 Steps To Designing Effective Survey Samples For Trial

  

  The Federal Trade Commission's recent move to exclude a defense expert's survey in FTC v. Amazon on the basis of flaws in the survey sample design highlights that ensuring survey evidence inclusion at trial requires following a road map for effective survey sample design, say consultants at Compass Lexecon.

• Junior Attys Must Beware Of 5 Common Legal Brief Mistakes

  Excerpt from Practical Guidance

  

  Junior law firm associates must be careful to avoid five common pitfalls when drafting legal briefs — from including every possible argument to not developing a theme — to build the reputation of a sought-after litigator, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.