Expert Analysis

• 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.

• Series

  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.

• Series

  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.

• Opinion

  State AGs, Not Local Officials, Should Lead Public Litigation

  

  Local governments’ public nuisance lawsuits can raise constitutional and jurisdictional challenges, reinforcing the principle that state attorneys general — not municipalities — are best positioned to litigate on behalf of citizens when it is warranted, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

• Montana Federal Ruling Takes Broad View Of 'Related Claims'

  

  A Montana federal court recently took a broad view of related claims, ruling that claims brought by different plaintiffs in different states alleging different legal theories were nevertheless under a directors and officers insurance policy, illustrating the range of interpretations courts may give these clauses, say attorneys at Hunton.

• Lessons As Joint Employer Suits Shift From Rare To Routine

  

  Joint employer allegations now appear so frequently that employers should treat them as part of the ordinary risk landscape, and several recent decisions demonstrate how fluid the liability doctrine has become, says Thomas O’Connell at Buchalter.

• Utilizing 6th Circ.'s Expanded Internal Investigation Protection

  

  A recent Sixth Circuit decision in In re: FirstEnergy demonstrates one way that businesses can use a very limited showing to protect internal investigations from discovery in commercial litigation, while those looking to force production will need to employ a carefully calibrated approach, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.

• 3rd Circ. Clarifies Ch. 11 3rd-Party Liability Scope Post-Purdue

  

  A recent Third Circuit decision that tort claims against the purchaser of a debtor's business belong to the debtor's bankruptcy estate reinvigorates the use of Chapter 11 for the resolution of nondebtor liability in mass tort bankruptcies following last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Purdue Pharma, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.