Expert Analysis

• The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Leadership Strategy After Day 1

  

  For law firm leaders, ensuring a newly combined law firm lives up to its promise, both in its first days of operation and well after, includes tough decisions, clear and specific communication, and cheerleading, says Peter Michaud at Ballard Spahr.

• The Challenges Of Detecting Event Contract Manipulation

  

  While concerns about possible manipulation and insider trading in event contracts have increasingly been raised by market observers, distinguishing a speculative position from a hedge and effective surveillance make regulation difficult, particularly as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission argues for exclusive jurisdiction to do so, say economic consultants at the Brattle Group.

• How US Liability Law Is Becoming The Primary Regulator Of AI

  

  Comprehensive federal AI regulation remains fragmented and uncertain — but U.S. courts, applying long-standing doctrines of liability and responsibility, are actively shaping how AI systems are designed, deployed and governed, and companies are aligning their AI practices because courts may hold them accountable if they do not, says Alexander Lima at Wesco International.

• Record FCA Recoveries Signal Intensified Healthcare Focus

  

  In its recently released False Claims Act statistics, the U.S. government's emphasis on record healthcare recoveries and government-initiated healthcare matters last year indicates robust enforcement ahead, though the administration's focus on current policy objectives also extends beyond the healthcare sector, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

• Clearing US Legal Hurdles To Biz Opportunities In Venezuela

  

  Companies evaluating foreign investment or activity in Venezuela given the U.S. government's recently announced plans to reinvigorate its natural resources should take specific steps to minimize risks connected to interactions with restricted parties given the web of U.S. counterterrorism, anticorruption and sanctions controls, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Methods For Challenging State Civil Investigative Demands

  

  Ongoing challenges to enforcement actions underscore the uphill battle businesses face in arguing that a state investigation is prohibited by federal law, but when properly deployed, these arguments present a viable strategy to resist civil investigative demands issued by state attorneys general, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

• How Blockchain Could Streamline Real Estate Transactions

  

  As U.S. real estate markets face pressure to adopt digital frameworks, blockchain technology offers a credible solution for consolidating execution, payment and recording into a single record, with a unified ledger potentially replacing fragmented processes with digitally authenticated events, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

• Monetizing EV Charging Stations For Long-Term Success

  

  An electric vehicle charging station's longevity hinges on monetizing operations through diverse revenue streams, contractual documentation of charge point operators' and site hosts' rights and responsibilities, and ensuring reliability and security of facilities, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

• Emerging Themes In Post-Groff Accommodation Decisions

  

  Nearly three years after the U.S. Supreme Court's seminal decision in Groff v. DeJoy reshaped the legal framework for religious accommodations, lower court decisions and agency guidance have begun to reveal how this heightened standard operates in practice, and the pitfalls for unwary employers, says Helen Jay at Phelps Dunbar.

• Calif.'s Civility Push Shows Why Professionalism Is Vital

  

  The California Bar’s campaign against discourteous behavior by attorneys, including a newly required annual civility oath, reflects a growing concern among states that professionalism in law needs shoring up — and recognizes that maintaining composure even when stressed is key to both succeeding professionally and maintaining faith in the legal system, says Lucy Wang at Hinshaw.

• Del. Dispatch: Workplace Sexual Misconduct Liability In Flux

  

  Following the Delaware Court of Chancery's recent contradictory rulings in sexual misconduct cases involving eXp World, Credit Glory and McDonald's, it's now unclear when directors' or officers' fiduciary duties may be implicated in cases of their own or others' sexual misconduct against employees, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• A Potential Shift In FDA's Approach To Drug Trial Design

  

  Recent guidance released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration clarifying how Bayesian approaches — which combine prior knowledge with new data — may be used in clinical trials reflects the agency's continued interest in innovative trial designs that may accelerate drug approvals, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

• US-Ukraine Reconstruction Fund Tax Exemptions Uncertain

  

  Tax provisions in the bilateral agreement to establish the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which recently announced it is accepting applications, are so broad and imprecise as to leave uncertainty regarding whether and when tax exemptions will apply to investors' income, say attorneys at Avellum and Debevoise.

• Locations, Permits And Power Are Key In EV Charger Projects

  

  To ensure the success of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure projects, developers, funders, site hosts and charge point operators must consider a range of factors, including location selection, distribution grid requirements and costs, and permitting and timeline impacts, says Levi McAllister at Morgan Lewis.

• Should Prediction Markets Allow Trading On Nonpublic Info?

  

  Recent trading activity, such as the Polymarket wager on the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, has raised questions about whether some participants may be engaging in trading that is based on material nonpublic information, and highlights ongoing uncertainty about how existing derivatives and anti-fraud rules apply to event-based contracts, say economic consultants at the Brattle Group.