Expert Analysis

• 5 Takeaways From Capital Proposals For Community Banks

  

  While much commentary has centered on how federal regulators' proposed capital overhaul would affect the biggest banks, there are several aspects that regional and community institutions should note too, including the potential benefits of the expanded risk-based approach and reduced capital requirements for mortgage origination, say attorneys at Covington.

• Opinion

  State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

  

  Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

• EPA's Retreat On GHGs Reshapes Preemption Debate

  

  In the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission of its finding that it can regulate climate-threatening greenhouse gases, states are poised to step up their own GHG regulation — but the EPA's new framework creates substantial uncertainty over the extent of federal preemption, say attorneys at Holland & Hart.

• What Justices' Review Of Guam Case Will Mean For Permitting

  

  In U.S. Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, the U.S. Supreme Court will address whether a federal agency's permit application is a final decision that courts can review — a question whose answer could reshape the timing and strategy of environmental litigation across the federal permitting landscape, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

• Calculating Damages In IEEPA Tariff Refund Litigation

  

  To calculate damages in the spate of refund litigation triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision invalidating tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the central question will be how to determine where in the supply chain their economic burden ultimately came to rest, say analysts at Charles River Associates.

• Mortgage EO Casts Wide Net In Push To Ease Lending Rules

  

  A recent executive order targeting mortgage credit access states an intent to promote competition among all types of lenders and is notable for its breadth, resetting regulatory expectations in a number of areas including origination, digitization and licensing, says Kara Ward at Baker Donelson.

• Opinion

  Futures Market Anonymity Now Presents A Structural Problem

  

  Following anomalous trading on prediction markets just before major recent policy announcements from the Trump administration, many have called on Congress to act, but the problem is not primarily a statutory gap — it is a structural one, built into the self-regulatory model that governs futures exchanges, says Tamara de Silva at De Silva Law Offices.

• Opinion

  Judicial Restraint Anchors Constitutional Order

  

  Contrasting opinions in two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Trump v. CASA and Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections — demonstrate how the judiciary’s constitutionally entrusted role can easily be preserved or disrupted, and invite renewed attention to the enduring importance of judicial restraint, says Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace.

• 'Made In America' Rules Raise Stakes For Gov't Contractors

  

  The convergence of widely varying "buy American" requirements, increased enforcement efforts and continuing regulatory attempts to limit foreign sourcing suggests that government contractors should carefully review their supply chain and country-of-origin compliance to remain competitive, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

• The Evolution Of States' Workplace Violence Prevention Laws

  

  Utah's new law requiring hospitals to implement comprehensive workplace violence reporting systems continues a broader trend of state efforts to expand workplace protections in the absence of sufficient federal regulations, say attorneys at Ogletree.

• Recent Bank Resolution Filings Stress Readiness Over Docs

  

  Against the backdrop of banking regulators' recent emphasis on institutional readiness in the event of a bank failure, a review of more than a dozen public resolution plan submissions points to an immediate future in which regulators and banks alike prioritize operational preparedness over extensive documentation, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

• Series

  Alpine Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

  

  Skiing has shaped habits I rely on daily as an attorney — focus, resilience and the ability to remain steady when circumstances shift rapidly — and influences the way I approach legal strategy, client counseling and teamwork, says Isaku Begert at Marshall Gerstein.

• 3 Federal Policy Trends Shaping Data Center Power

  

  With the White House, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Congress each pushing energy policies that will influence how data centers are sited, powered and interconnected for years to come, industry stakeholders should understand compliance obligations, consider possible downstream effects, and evaluate off-grid and self-supply energy options, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

• Weighing The Practical Implications Of SC Kids' Privacy Law

  

  South Carolina's recently enacted Age-Appropriate Code Design Act includes a unique provision: a private right of action for certain violations, but its practical effect remains uncertain, as courts and litigants grapple with complex questions of standing, causation and the definition of actionable harm, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• Fair Housing Takeaways From Colony Ridge Settlement

  

  The recent settlement agreement between Colony Ridge Developments, the U.S. government and the state of Texas — perhaps the first settlement involving unfair lending and housing practices during the second Trump administration — reflects current enforcement priorities and sheds light on shifting compliance risks, say attorneys at Weiner Brodsky.